48 Hours - The Murder of Jackie Vandagriff

Episode Date: January 17, 2021

After a chance encounter at a bar a college student is murdered. Was it because she resembled the killer’s ex? CBS News chief investigative and senior national correspondent Jim Axelrod reports for "48 Hours."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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ConstantContact.ca One of my friends' mom had texted me because she lived pretty close to Grapevine Lake. And she was like, look what happened. Developing story right now, a body found on the banks of Grapevine Lake. Nothing happens in Grapevine Lake. Nothing happens in Grapevine, nothing except for what he did. The victim was identified as Jacqueline Vandegrift. Hello everyone my name is Jacqueline Vandegrift but friends call me Jackie. Jackie Vandegrift was 24 years of age. I am currently a junior

here at Texas Women's University and my major is nutrition with an emphasis in wellness. And just beyond this area where the shade is pretty much hitting is where we had our crime scene. There are a lot of things that will shock you and this is by far the worst thing I have seen. My manager texts me. Charles has just been arrested. I felt like the world was spinning, like everything was out of control. It's believed that last Tuesday, Jacqueline Vandegrift

met up with Charles Bryant at a bar in Denton. Surveillance video, also cell phone pings, all put Vandegrift and Bryant together. I remember him just being kind of quiet. I immediately said, there's no way. They have the wrong guy. There's no way that he did this. Are you telling me there's no evidence that Charles Bryant killed Jackie Vandegrift? Not direct evidence. up it. Longbow. This is kind of my calling. Dealing with these really strange cases, the serial killers, the ritualistic killings.

Hey, how you doing? Good, and yourself? Good. Jim Holland with the Rangers. Life good today or not? It's good. This is not a normal homicide. How do you know how they killed someone? It all seemed to have started with Kaitlyn.

How screwed up were you for Kaitlyn, man? In the early days, it was good. After that first month, that's when I started to see these warning signs that he was manipulative, very controlling. I just told him, I can't do this anymore, this isn't working, this is over. He flipped out. He showed up at your dorm room out of the blue. You never gave him the address.

No. You know he trespassed. In his mind, he was seeking revenge. The warrant that we got is for stalking. On his ex-girlfriend, who had called the police on him. How he was stalking me was completely related to Jackie Vandegrift's death. There's some similarities of the way that Vandegrift looks.

And the way that Brian's ex-girlfriend looked. Do you think there's a chance, a possibility, that he walked into this bar and saw somebody, reminded him of you, and took his rage out on her? Most definitely. I think that he really wanted to kill me. I think that he wanted me dead. Субтитры создавал DimaTorzok When I first arrived on the scene, I saw a lot of police cars, saw fire trucks. There was a lot of activity. It was September 14, 2016, just before dawn, when John Luna, a captain with the Grapevine Police Department,

responded to a call about a gruesome discovery here at Grapevine Lake. Just off of the worn footpath, you have an area that's pretty well overgrown with weeds, but you can clearly see a small area that was burned just beyond where I'm standing. There was a body that was obviously charred. It had been set on fire. The body, found inside a blue kiddie pool, was so badly damaged that police could not determine the most basic facts about

the victim. We didn't know if that was an adult or a child, male or female. The next day, using fingerprints, police were able to identify the victim. It was Jackie Vandegrift, a 24-year-old nutrition major at Texas Women's University in nearby Denton. I chose this major because I realized the importance of nutrition and just overall health. We're both named Jacqueline, named after Jacqueline Kennedy. One of Jackie Vandegrift's closest friends, Jackie Tan, they met in high school. Ever since then, we were Jackie squared, and I loved it. They met in high school.

Ever since then, we were Jackie Squared, and I loved it. She made me feel like I could be myself and just be goofy and funny. Jackie Tan remembers her friend as a good student who was focused and trusting. That girl, smartest girl I've known. She had her whole life ahead of her. She had plans. Me and my detectives, we went out there for her memorial service and, um, sorry. For Captain Luna, the brutality of this crime hit close to home.

Could have just as easily have been my daughter that this happened to? Jackie spent the last evening of her life indented with this man. Police didn't know his identity right away, but this woman knew him very well. He would always give me flowers, always, especially if he had something to be sorry about.

Charles Bryant lived some 20 miles away, but he had been making frequent visits to Denton, trying to rekindle a relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Caitlin Mathis, who had recently moved there to attend the University of North Texas. He was just trying to win me back. And I was just like, nothing is going to work. Caitlin's involvement with Briott had begun three months earlier in June in the town of Grapevine when he came into the restaurant where Caitlin was working as a server.

The day that I met him was the day after I graduated high school. He had lots of muscles and tattoos, which kind of interested me at the time. Bryant was then 29, working as a bartender and personal trainer. You're 18, he's 29, he's got muscles and tattoos and must have made your mother crazy. Yeah, extremely crazy. In a good way, though. Yeah.

She cared about me. Being a mother of adult children is a different role. You have to let go for them to fly away and grow up. Caitlin is the youngest of Karen Halsey's four children. She says Caitlin was hard to miss. Fireball. You know when she's in the house, she never walked anywhere.

She ran everywhere. And Caitlin ran headlong into the relationship with Charles Bryant that summer of 2016. One of their regular date spots was at the park by Grapevine Lake, where this picture was taken. When Karen learned about the relationship, she asked Caitlin to show her a picture of him. him. I got this feeling just deep inside to my bones, an evil feeling. And I said, he's going to hurt you. He's going to do something bad. Wow. And she's like, oh, he's nice. He's good to me. He makes me feel like an adult. Were you thinking to yourself, you're 18, you're too young to know? Yes. But I didn't want to insult her. Within weeks, Caitlin was having serious doubts of her own

about Brian. That's when I started to see these warning signs that he was manipulative. He was a bit of a narcissist. He thought very highly of himself. He would say things like, oh, you'll never find anyone better than me. It was toxic, and he was toxic. In mid-August 2016, Caitlin broke up with Brian. She thought that was the last she'd see of him. But the next day, he showed up uninvited at her mother's house. And somehow he convinced me to get back with him. But the next day, he showed up uninvited at her mother's house. And somehow he convinced me to get back with him. He was trying to say, oh, I can work on this and I can be better

and making all these promises. But Caitlin realized she wasn't interested in promises. That was one of the things that my mom taught me. People do not change. You can't change someone. At that point, I was just waiting for the perfect time to end things. A little more than a week later, after Caitlin moved away to school, she told Brian it was over again. Later that night, police found him on campus. Just by sheer coincidence, I had made a traffic stop and he was driving that vehicle. Captain Jeremy Polk was then a lieutenant for the UNT campus police. He pulled Brian over early in the morning of August 24th. I thought he was an intoxicated driver by the way he was driving and that was my focus.

So right now I'm going to have to place you on arrest. So you can just remain seated. It's all good. Bryant was not over the legal limit. He was charged with a few outstanding traffic tickets and they let him go. Later that same day, he was back on Caitlin's campus again. He actually knocked on the door of my dorm room. He didn't know prior to where I lived. And he said, oh, your name was on the door. Did that creep you out? It did. At that point, I was scared. Caitlin got him out of there and called campus police. Captain Polk recognized Bryant's name on the report and went along to interview Kaitlyn the next day. She told us things like, I just did not like the way Charles spoke to me.

I did not like the way he treated me. And I made that choice then and there, you know, I would do everything I could to help her with this situation. Polk issued a no trespass order banning Charles Bryant from the UNT campus. But once again again Bryant would not take no for an answer the biggest fear I have as a police officer sometimes is emotion because emotion drives people to do things you would never imagine In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California.

Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military and when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still a virgin. It just happens to all of them.

I'm journalist Luke Jones and for almost two years I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn trials I'll be uncovering a story of abuse and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It was my first day there and he walked through the door and my heart just dropped to the bottom of my stomach.

It was August 31st, 2016, a week since Charles Bryan had trackedlyn Mathis down at her new dorm, now he was invading her space again, coming into her new restaurant on her first day of work. I was like, I just want you to leave. What did he say to that? He didn't really say anything. He looked upset. My new co-workers, they were like, yeah, he was here yesterday looking for you.

Caitlin asked her manager to keep Bryant out, but her manager said there was nothing he could do. I can't work here. I don't feel safe enough to work here. Caitlin went back to her old job a half hour's drive away. Her mother found it all hard to watch from a distance i said come home it was my motherly instinct to protect her and in order to protect her i had to have her with me but caitlyn thought she'd be safe in her dorm a week later on september 6th what would have been their three-month anniversary, Bryant was back yet again. He showed up to my dorm, knocked on my door, and at this point I was shaking. I'm all alone. I actually hid in my suite mate's closet.

You hid? Yes. When I was on the phone with the police, they were like, we can't hear you, you need to speak up. And I was just afraid that he was going to hear my voice. I did hear him say, Caitlin, I know you're in there, just open up, I can't hear you. You need to speak up. And I was just afraid that he was going to hear my voice. I did hear him say, Caitlin, I know you're in there. Just open up. I have something for you. And I'm like, God, what do you have for me? I don't want it. Bryant left flowers and a two-page letter. When police arrived, he was gone.

I heard him say, hey, it's Charles. I have something for you. You didn't know for sure it was him? Yeah, I know it was him. I'm Sarah 27, myself and 443. Police found him outside ten minutes later. You have school here? Yeah.

What's your name? Now in running clothes. And arrested him for trespassing. You know you're not supposed to be up there. Bryant posted bond and was released within hours. Although Caitlin had already blocked him on her phone, email, and social media, he created a new email address and wrote to her later that same day. Here I am, heartbroken and with a criminal record for bringing the girl I love flowers.

That's when it became really serious for me. If an actual physical arrest doesn't stop the behavior, then you're, you know, something is wrong. Captain Polk helped Caitlin get an emergency protective order. And because Brian had kept trying to reach her after his arrest... How you doing, Charles? Yep. Do you have your ID with you. Polk had his officers go to Brian's house the next day

and charge him yet again, this time for stalking. This was his third arrest in 14 days. I told him if he continued to communicate with Caitlin, I would use every email, I would use every text message, I would use every phone call as a reason to have him rearrested. Two days later, Bryant posted a $5,000 bond and got out of jail. He was telling his roommate that I was the crazy one in this relationship. So all of his friends were kind of coming at me, and they were like,

you need to drop these charges against him. By September 13th, Bryant was back in Denton, just a half mile from Caitlin's dorm, in an area she had told him about back when they were still dating. I was talking about going up to Fry Street and meeting new people. Bryant went to Fry Street Public House that night at about 7 p.m.

An hour later, Jackie Vandegrift walked in, asked about a job, and ended up in a conversation with the bartender and Charles Bryant. About 45 minutes later, Jackie posted a message on her Twitter. I'm glad I decided to get off Tinder and walk to a bar. Jackie's friend, Jackie Tan. Jackie was a very social person. Whenever she went out, she would make friends with everybody. And it wasn't even flirty. It wasn't anything.

You know, she was talking to the bartender, talking to other people. At about 9 o'clock, Jackie left with Bryant and the bartender. She and Bryant went to another bar nearby and started talking to a group of women. By 9.45, it was raining and everyone was headed out. Jackie left with Charles Bryant. I feel like she felt comfortable enough with him that night because she had been hanging out with him for so long that she was like, hey, well, whatever.

He's just going to drop me off. It's not that far, and I'll be good. Once in his car, Bryant stopped at a convenience store. This was the last time Jackie Vandegrift was seen alive. The day after she was found dead, there was a new post on her Twitter. Never knew I could feel like this. It was just really bizarre. Police suspected it was a message from her killer.

They knew they had to move quickly to ID the man Jackie had been with. They had some luck when they tracked down the women Jackie met that night. One of the friends that was with her had gotten a business card from this person because he was a fitness instructor. Now that Grapevine Police had Charles Bryant's name, they learned about that restraining order. So in my eyes, that played into him as being a good suspect. Grapevine Police called Captain Polk, who was in the middle of a road race.

The first thing he told me was Charles Bryant was their main suspect in Jackie's murder and I immediately just sat down on a park bench in the middle of the race. It floored me. Bryant was emerging as a strong suspect but Grapevine police did not have physical evidence connecting him to Jackie's death. So for now Bryant was free and Polk was worried about what he might do next. I called Caitlin and I just asked, where are you? I was like, does this have to do with the murder that happened in Grapevine? And he's like, I can't specify that to you, Caitlin. But are you safe right now?

And what did you say? I said, I think so. She might have been wrong. In the days after Jackie's murder, Charles Bryant sent Caitlin several emails, including this picture, writing on it, first kiss under this tree once upon a time. That photo was taken at Grapevine Lake. He might have taken that picture that same day that Jackie was killed. It was September 2016, and Caitlin Mathis, Charles Bryant's ex-girlfriend, was very worried he might have been involved in the brutal murder at Grapevine Lake just days before. I was waiting for more news to come out, because at that point they hadn't even arrested him yet. Were you worried he was going to come after you?

I was. I thought that's exactly worried he was going to come after you? I was. I thought that's exactly what he was going to do. The emails and picture Bryant had recently sent Caitlin were proof that he was still thinking about her in the days after Jackie was killed. But they were also proof of something else. It was prohibited for Charles to communicate with her in any manner. And if he did, he would have been violating that order. Captain Polk thought they could use those violations to help the Grapevine police, who didn't have enough to make an arrest yet. So I told the detective, we can get a warrant signed on some evidence we just got and at least, you know, get him off the street.

You go by Charles, you go by Dean. Charles. Okay. Charles Bryant was arrested on September 18th for violating Caitlin's restraining order. Grapevine detectives were hoping they'd soon find more evidence connecting him to Jackie's death. He's brought to the Grapevine Police Department for an interview,

and right away he's beginning to distance himself from having any, almost any interaction with Jackie. Recognize who she is? He's serving a bar. And at the same time, we begin serving a search warrant for his residence. What can you tell me about her? That's about it, I guess. It had been four days since Jackie's body was found, plenty of time to dispose of any possible evidence.

But Captain Luna at Grapevine PD says they found a lot at Bryant's home, including a large military-style knife. You know what? Her purse was found in there, too. Bryant had no way to answer for any of it, including two more items police found while he was in custody. Video of him buying a shovel the night Jackie disappeared,

and a kiddie pool missing from his backyard that matched the one Jackie's body was found in. We have video of you with this girl. You're at the bar. You're walking around Walmart at 4 o'clock in the morning buying a shovel. She's found dead in a pool that came from your backyard. He even got to the point at the end of his interview with our detective where he said, well, I must have done it. I don't remember doing anything. Everything points to me. It's like I had to have done it.

An open and shut case? Not even close. Although there was overwhelming evidence that Bryant had disposed of Jackie's body, there was no evidence yet that confirmed how Jackie had died, or that Bryant had killed her. And that's when they reached out to me and asked if I could come in and spend some time with him and interview him and see what I could get. Because you have an expertise in dealing with this kind of personality.

Right. This is kind of my calling. Jim Holland is the senior member of an elite team of Texas Rangers, a select division of the Texas State Police. He specializes in interviewing some of the country's most prolific killers and analyzing their thoughts. Hey, how you doing? Good to see you, sir. And Charles Bryant seemed to fit the bill.

Jackie's body had been dismembered before being set on fire. How do you begin to understand a mind that would do that? A lot of these people actually want to tell you. They want to tell someone. At first, Bryant kept to his claim that he didn't remember a thing. Yeah, it's crazy. I really don't remember meaning this quote. The idea that he doesn't remember doing it,

oh, no, it's absolute nonsense. So you knew Charles Bryant remembered exactly what had happened. Oh, yes, absolutely. And your job was just to pull that out of him. Right. You know, you're not a violent dude. You haven't really been in trouble.

Holland says his strategy was to try to make friends with Bryant and get him talking. You obviously work out. I mean, you're a stud, right? You don't want him to look at you as a law enforcement officer. You want him to think of you as a friend, a compadre, a drinking buddy. You know, you kind of go back to what two boys would talk about in a high school locker room, you know, about the girl they kissed on Friday night.

You don't have any issues with girls. No, I'm not going to need it. They're just blowing my f***ing mind. And Holland suggested possible scenarios to see if Bryant would take it from there. Okay, so something happens. Bam, there's a snap. And we need to figure out what that is. And maybe, you know, she got mad. Maybe she's giving you all the signals and then cut you off. I mean, there could be all kinds of different things going on here, right? I mean, chicks, right? You know chicks?

As we're going through the interview, I'm watching him. I'm, I guess in a way, a human lie detector. I'm reading him and I'm throwing things at him in which I know the answer and I'm looking for his responses, whether they're false or true. Under the pretense of helping Bryant remember what happened, Holland suggested they do a memory exercise. What we're going to do is these mind exercises, which means we're going to move back in time. Bryant, who first claimed he didn't know who Jackie was,

then seemed to remember her. He said he could see her coming into the bar. I think she was looking for a job. That's what it was. And offering her a ride. It makes sense, Adrian. I probably would offer to ride home. There's tons of things in this that I can tell you, right? Over a pizza, as Holland tried to steer Bryant to confess, he probed about a possible motive. But what does everyone want to know?

And yeah, why? And who's the only one who can tell us that holland eventually cut to the chase and asked if what happened with jackie was really all about caitlyn was there a time that you pictured her as this girlfriend that did you wrong or did anything like that come into play? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. The level of nonsense that came out of his mouth at different points about that was just astonishing. Do you think Charles Bryant looks around the bar and sees Jacqueline Vandegrift, ah, she looks like Caitlin?

It wouldn't surprise me if he actually mistook her at first. You know, that saw her from behind and thought, man, you know, my ex is here. I think in his mind that whole night, I think that's what he pictured. After the murder, right after the murder, he took Jackie's phone and used it to add me on Facebook. Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing The Best Idea Yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy

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When Texas Ranger Jim Holland was brought in to interrogate Charles Bryant, the nature of the crime made him wonder if Bryant's brain was wired like the serial killers he'd encountered. In what way is the mind of a serial killer different from a common criminal? You know, generally people like that tend to be sociopathic or psychopathic mindsets, and it's just a different game. Psychopath would be someone who's basically

born with a scar on their brain. And a sociopathic mindset is something that society has brought on. Something happened to them that changed their psyche. Something maybe had happened in his childhood. Christy Dixon got a glimpse of Charles Bryant's psyche firsthand. She met him on a dating app the year before Jackie Vandegrift's death. He seemed pretty quiet and reserved, almost like he was shy. By the second or third time that we were hanging out, I noticed he was getting pretty attached pretty quickly, and I just was not there.

It was very casual to me. After she broke things off, he continued to pursue her. Brian even told her that he loved her. Christy says they'd never even shared a kiss. It was a little too much too soon, too fast. I work with abused children and that to me kind of stuck out. Christy says that's when she asked Brian about his childhood. He told her he had been molested, a claim that 48 Hours could not independently verify. I remember thinking that makes sense. I'm not a psychologist or anything, but his behavior sort of came off to me as maybe an abused child or someone who is just needing that extra love that most people probably aren't seeking. Still, Christy thought he was harmless and stayed in touch.

I thought he was just a really nice guy and felt sorry for him. I'm not an angry guy. I'm not aggressive. As Ranger Holland continued his interrogation, he wanted to see if Bryant would answer the key question. How did Jackie Vandegrift die? Her autopsy didn't provide many answers. There was a lot we didn't know. We didn't know where it occurred. We didn't know exactly how it broke down.

And so that's what my goal was. Holland wondered if the crime had a sexual element. But initially, Bryant denied anything sexual took place. You don't normally ever call having sex? You don't? sexual element. But initially, Bryant denied anything sexual took place. You don't normally recall having sex? You don't? No, normally I recall having sex. After three more hours of interrogation, Bryant said they did have sex. Kinky sex.

According to Bryant, Jackie wanted to be choked with an oversized zip tie that just happened to be in his car. She didn't fight you in any way when you were putting it on? The consensual sex aspect of it was one of those things that, no, I felt strongly that he was lying about. And Bryant also claimed that neither he nor Jackie had tightened the zip tie intentionally. Okay. So you think it just tightened up on its own, basically? It seems to have, like, had a snag on something or... Okay. So you think it just tightened up on its own, basically?

It had a snag on something or... Okay. Then what happened? I turned her over. She's not responsive. She agreed. We left her. Are you just thinking this is a complete and total lie?

Yeah, it's total fabrication. Did he kill her? Yes, absolutely. When you deal with these people, it's so rare that you would sit down with them and they would just tell you, A to Z, this is what occurred. And they're always going to leave out things that make them look really bad. In other words, there's an excuse.

I'm not a bad person. I didn't mean for this to happen. It was an accident. Although Bryant was evasive about how Jackie died, as Holland led him through the memory exercise, Bryant went into gruesome detail about how he disposed of her body. Karen, what do you see in the pool? I heard what George does. All right, now tell me exactly what you see occurring after that.

I go down that trail. And what happens next? It's a credit on fire. The fire. Why do you burn the body? Screwed up, I guess. Even if he couldn't admit to murder, Bryant seemed to waver between denial and acceptance,

at one point conceding that the evidence showed he had to have done it. I can't fight it. It's obvious to me. After an intense six-hour interrogation and with mounting evidence, Charles Bryant was finally charged with Jackie Vandegrift's murder. Christy Dixon could not believe the news. That night, I actually was scared to go to sleep. I had nightmares. He had never threatened me before, but just the fact that

someone that I felt that I knew had murdered someone potentially, I was terrified. For Caitlin Mathis, her worst fears were confirmed. And when she tried to learn more about the woman Bryant killed, she made a shocking discovery on Facebook. I looked up Jackie Vandegrift and I realized, oh my God, I'm already friends with her. Caitlin says that digital friendship began after Jackie's death. You got a friend request from Jackie Vandegrift? Yes. Caitlin believes that Facebook friend request could only have come from one person, Charles Bryant. That really sounds diabolical.

It was. Bryant pleaded not guilty to Jackie's murder. His defense was the same story he told Ranger Holland. These two young people met. They consumed a lot of alcohol. Our position is they had sex, kinky sex albeit, and she died. Bryant's court-appointed defense attorney, Glynnis McGinty, says Jackie Vandegrift's death was a tragic accident. Are you telling me there's no evidence that Charles Bryant killed Jackie Vandegrift? Not direct evidence. Prosecutors Lucas Allen and Anna Hernandez believed the evidence they did have would be enough, but they

also knew that most jurors want a motive, and they weren't sure they'd be able to tell this jury why they thought Jackie was targeted. You have to wonder what is driving this person to do something like that. In your minds, there is no doubt that the murder of Jackie Vandegrift is connected to the stalking of Caitlin Mathis. Yes, I think we believe that, definitely. She might have just been victim number one with Caitlin being victim number two. To help prove this, the prosecution was hoping the judge would allow Caitlin to testify against her ex-boyfriend turned stalker in open court. I felt sick. What do you think was the most telling part of Charles Bryant's interview?

Take a look at the evidence in the case against Bryant on Facebook at 48 hours. Jackie was the most special person. I know I'll never meet someone like her again. In April 2018, a year and a half after Jackie Vandegrift's untimely death, Charles Bryant was standing trial for her murder. Her friend Jackie Tan could not bring herself to be there. I wanted to go, but I'm going to be honest. I couldn't look at him.

Charles Bryant would have to answer for a long list of items the prosecution had collected, including that giant zip tie, the shovel he purchased the night Jackie died, and that large knife which police believe he used to cut up her body, all found at his house. This is something that you pray every night does not happen to your child when they go off to school. Investigators had also found a stun gun in his car with Jackie's DNA on it. But it appears Jackie was spared at least one horror. Prosecutors Anna Hernandez and Lucas Allen said the medical examiner was able to run tests on Jackie's remains and found no evidence of sexual assault. There was zero evidence to support that they found no evidence of sexual assault. There was zero evidence to support that they had any type of sexual encounter. Prosecutors say this undermines Bryant's story

that this was kinky sex gone wrong. His attorney, Glynnis McGinty. How could they have had sex if there's no evidence? No evidence to the degree of no sperm found in her. That doesn't mean they didn't have some type of consensual sexual encounter. Prosecutors chose not to play that interrogation tape for the jury, which meant Bryant would have to take the stand if he wanted jurors to hear his version of events. He elected not to. Shouldn't he be explaining to the jury why he's not at fault for her death? And then that flies in the face of our

constitutional rights. But the defense knows it has an uphill battle to convince a jury that Brian is not guilty of murder while admitting he disposed of Jackie's body. If he says it was just an accident, why didn't he call for help? Sure. Fair question. Intoxicated, panicked. And his mind would not process all of that to make a rational decision that you or I would have made, call the police. But Bryant went further than simply discarding Jackie's body. Much, much further. And prosecutors wanted the jury to hear their theory.

A huge piece of that story was the stalking. But before the jury could hear from Caitlin, the judge would have to rule on whether or not to allow this evidence. How is he his boyfriend? Local TV cameras were there when, without the jury present, Caitlin took the stand and faced her ex. I was disgusted just to see his face. Did he look at you? Did you meet eyes? At one point we had to, when they made me describe to the court what he

was wearing and he just had this smirk on his face. There's nothing really that can prepare you for that, is there? No. The second I walked out those doors, I started bawling. In the end, the judge ruled against Caitlin being able to tell her story to the jury. It was definitely a real blow to us. That was the right decision. Why? He had not been convicted of anything with Caitlin. As the jury went out to deliberate, the defense

was hopeful. I don't believe that they could prove that he murdered her. I don't think that they proved that. But would the jury agree? They were out for a little over two hours, and even without hearing Caitlin's story... We, the jury, find the defendant, Charles Dean Bryant Jr.,

guilty of the offense of murder. Charles Bryant was found guilty of Jackie Vandegrift's murder and dismemberment. To your way of thinking, was justice done? Yes. I knew she was up there and said, thank you. Because prosecutors had no evidence Bryant committed another crime at the same time as Jackie's murder, like rape or kidnapping,

he was not eligible for the death penalty. He was sentenced to life. As terrible as it is to say, but I wanted the death penalty. Under Texas law, Bryant could be eligible for parole after 30 years. Caitlin says she feels like she's still looking over her shoulder and always will be. I fear that when he gets out, he'll come and find me and do something to either me or someone that I love. That's my biggest fear.

Ever since this happened, Caitlin and her mother have been thinking about Jackie and her family. This whole time I wanted to reach out, but I didn't know how they felt. Nearly two years after Jackie died, they finally met. Her grandmother, bless her heart, she immediately came up to us and to Caitlin and hugged her and said,

I've been so worried about you these past two years. Wow. Karen, why is this the part that gets you? He took away their little girl. And the pain I saw in their eyes. I could feel their pain. And yet the grandmother was telling Caitlin she was worried about Caitlin. Yes. You sound like very special people.

They are. Caitlin says she struggled with the fact that she survived, and Jackie did not. This so easily could have been you. And some days I wish it was. It's just the guilt that eats me up sometimes. I would have easily had taken her place if I had the chance. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld,

and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify,

and listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. A young mother murdered. There was only one suspect in this case. Who else would want this sweet young lady murdered? Decades later, the prime suspect arrested, but a witness changes everything. I kept the secret for 30 years. 48 Hours, Saturday at 10, 9 central on CBS.