Murder of Gregory Glenn Biggs
| Murder of Gregory Glenn Biggs | |
|---|---|
| Location | Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Date | October 26, 2001 |
Attack type | Murder by vehicle, kidnapping |
| Victim | Gregory Glenn Biggs, aged 37 |
| Perpetrator | Chante Jawan Mallard |
| Motive | Mallard's fear that she would be arrested for driving while intoxicated |
| Convicted |
|
| Verdict | Mallard: Guilty on both counts Jackson and Cleveland: Pleaded guilty |
| Convictions | Mallard: Murder Mallard, Jackson, Cleveland: Tampering with evidence |
| Sentence | Mallard: 50 years in prison with the possibility of parole in 2027 Jackson: 10 years in prison Cleveland: 9 years in prison[1] |
| Litigation | Wrongful death lawsuit against Mallard by Biggs's son settled out of court for undisclosed amount |
On October 26, 2001, twenty-five-year-old nursing assistant Chante Jawan Mallard murdered 37-year-old Gregory Glenn Biggs, a homeless man, with her automobile, in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The force of the crash lodged Biggs into the windshield. Mallard then drove home and left the man lodged in the windshield of her car, parked in her garage. He died two to three days later, according to police.[2][3] Mallard was convicted and sentenced to 50 years imprisonment for murder, but will be eligible for parole in 2027.[4]
Victim
[edit]Gregory Glenn Biggs, born August 16, 1964. Although he lived with mental health problems all his adult life, he took care of his son and held a job in construction as a mason. At the moment of the events, Biggs was living in a state of homelessness, but was "on an upswing," according to his mother.[5]
Murder
[edit]Chante Jawan Mallard (born June 22, 1976)[6] is a woman from Fort Worth, Texas. On October 26, 2001, Mallard's Chevrolet Cavalier[7] struck Biggs, a pedestrian. At the time, Mallard was believed to have been driving while intoxicated by a combination of marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol.[8]
Mallard then drove home, leaving the injured Biggs stuck in her windshield, and parked her car in her garage. After the accident, Mallard did not notify the police nor did she get Biggs any medical attention, even though she was a nursing assistant at the time.[9] Occasionally, she would return to the garage to check on his status. Biggs died two to three days later. Afterwards, Mallard called a male friend, Clete Jackson, for assistance.[2] Mallard, Jackson, and Jackson's cousin Herbert Tyrone Cleveland took the body to a park and left it there, even going so far as to set fire to part of the car in an attempt to disguise the evidence. The three were later each convicted on charges of tampering with evidence for this action.[10]
Mallard became a suspect after she was reported talking and laughing about the incident at a party some four months after the events.[11] "I hit this white man," Mallard allegedly told acquaintance Maranda Daniel, while laughing.[12]
Trial
[edit]Mallard's trial commenced on June 23, 2003.[13] During the trial, Tarrant County medical examiner Nizam Peerwani testified that, had Mallard taken Biggs to a hospital, he would have recovered from his injuries. Other experts testified that they agreed that Biggs would have survived. "There's not a member of the Fort Worth Fire Department that could not have saved Mr. Biggs's life," testified fire captain Jim Sowder.[10] Mallard was convicted of murder in June 2003, with the 50-year murder sentence and 10-year tampering sentence to run concurrently. She will be eligible for parole in 2027.[4]
Aftermath
[edit]A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Biggs's son, Brandon, was settled out of court.[2] He later chose to forgive Mallard and the others involved in his father's murder. "I want to extend my forgiveness to Chante Mallard and let her know that the Mallard family is in my prayers," he said in 2003. In response, convicted murderers from around the country raised $10,000 as a college scholarship and had it presented at a ceremony to Brandon, who at the time was a 20-year-old pastoral ministry sophomore at Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, Texas.[14]
Since finishing his sentence, Clete Denel Jackson, who was imprisoned for helping move Biggs's body, has been in and out of prison on firearms- and drug-related charges. He was set to be released again in late November 2017.[15] Mallard's relationship with Jackson and Cleveland remains unclear. Jackson's lawyer described his client and Mallard as linked romantically, yet relatives of Jackson and Cleveland claim they had never heard of Mallard.[2]
Media adaptations
[edit]- Stuck, a 2007 black comedy thriller film directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Mena Suvari and Stephen Rea.
- An episode of Law & Order ("Darwinian", aired January 7, 2004)[16]
- The story inspired events in the second season of Fargo, in which Peggy Blumquist (Kirsten Dunst) hits Rye Gerhardt (Kieran Culkin) and drives back home with him stuck through the windshield.[17]
- This story also inspired a scene in the third season of the Fox procedural drama 9-1-1 when Stella (Stephanie Lemelin) hits a homeless man after crashing into him with her car. The man is also lodged in the windshield of her car by the impact. Stella suffers a head injury in the crash and drives around town with the man still stuck in her windshield for nearly two days before firefighter Evan Buckley (Oliver Stark) stops her. Unlike the real-life incident, the man on the show survives his injuries after being rushed to the hospital.[18]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Fort Worth man pleads guilty to dumping body after car death". Midland Reporter-Telegram. January 7, 2003. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Boyd, Deanna and McDonald, Melody (June 22, 2003). "Fort Worth's windshield murder case and how it 'redefined inhumanity'". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. ISSN 0889-0013. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
- ^ "Defense rests in 'windshield death' trial". Contributed by Ed Lavandera. CNN. June 25, 2003. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b Mallard profile, inmate.tdcj.texas.gov. Accessed December 23, 2022.
- ^ "Homeless man's mother: 'We wanted people to know he was loved'". Plainview Daily Herald. March 30, 2002. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
- ^ "Mallard, Chante Jawan, Offender Information Details". Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ^ Yardley, Jim (March 9, 2002). "Details Disputed in Death of Man Lodged in Windshield". The New York Times. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
- ^ "Windshield Killer Takes Stand in Sentencing Hearing". Plainview Daily Herald. Associated Press. June 26, 2003. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ "Motorist given 50 year-sentence in windshield murder trial". CNN. June 28, 2003. Archived from the original on April 6, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
- ^ a b Steinhaus, Rochelle (June 25, 2003). "Ex-boyfriend of driver describes disposing of accident victim's body". CourtTV.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2007. Retrieved October 20, 2006.
- ^ "Woman panicked after touching man in windshield". CNN. June 27, 2003. Archived from the original on February 27, 2006. Retrieved October 20, 2006.
- ^ "Woman faced murder trial after leaving accident victim on her car". CourtTV.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2009. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
- ^ "Timeline of Events in the Chante Mallard Windshield Death Case". Fox News. Associated Press. June 27, 2003. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
- ^ Blumenthol, Ralph (October 23, 2003). "Victim's Son Is Given Award for Forgiving Father's Murderer". The New York Times. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ^ Zahir, Sorayah (October 26, 2017). "Windshield murder remembered: Victim's son says 'I live it every day'". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ^ Mikkelson, David (March 11, 2001). "Gruesome stories: Bar and grill". Snopes. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2006.
- ^ Tobias, Scott (October 12, 2015). "'Fargo' Season 2 Premiere Recap: 'Waiting for Dutch'". The New York Times. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
- ^ "Ep6, S3 in 9-1-1". tv.apple.com. October 27, 2019.
External links
[edit]- Smoking Gun Arrest Warrant Affidavit of Detective D.E. Owings.