Murder of Gregory Glen Biggs

Death of Gregory Glenn Biggs
Location Abduction: Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Date October 26, 2001 (2001-10-26)
Victim Gregory Glenn Biggs
Perpetrators Chante Jawan Mallard
Gregory Glenn Biggs
Born 1964
Died (2001-10-26)October 26, 2001 (aged 37)
Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Nationality American
Chante Jawan Mallard
Born (1976-06-22) June 22, 1976
Occupation Former Nurse's Aide
Criminal charge Murder
Criminal status Sentenced to 50 years in prison

On October 26, 2001, 25-year-old Chante Jawan Mallard, struck 37-year-old Gregory Glenn Biggs, a homeless man, with her automobile. The force of the crash lodged Biggs into the windshield. Mallard then drove home and left the man lodged in her windshield, where he died a day or two later.[1] Mallard was convicted and sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment for her role in his death.

Victim

Gregory Glenn Biggs, born August 16 1964, was homeless having suffered from mental illness previously. He was married with one son and worked in construction as a mason.[2]

History

Chante Jawan Mallard (born June 22, 1976[3] is a woman from Fort Worth, Texas. On October 26, 2001 Mallard's Chevrolet Cavalier[4] struck the homeless pedestrian Gregory Glen Biggs; at the time Mallard was believed to have been driving while intoxicated by a combination of marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol.[5] The force of the impact sent Biggs flying through the windshield, lodging him there.

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 former nurse's aide.[6] Instead, she went inside and had sex with her boyfriend. [7] Occasionally, she would return to the garage to check on his status. When Biggs died a day or two later[8], still in the windshield of her car in her garage, she called a male friend, Clete Jackson, for assistance. 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 each convicted on charges of tampering with evidence for this action.[9]

Mallard became a suspect after she was reported talking and laughing about the incident at a party some four months after the events.[10] "I hit this white man," Mallard allegedly told acquaintance Maranda Daniel, laughing.[11]

Trial

Mallard's trial commenced on June 23, 2003.[12] 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' life," testified Capt. Jim Sowder.[9] 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.[3]

Aftermath

A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Brandon Biggs was settled out of court.[13] He later chose to forgive Ms. 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 Mr. Biggs, who at the time was a soft-voiced, 20-year-old pastoral ministry sophomore at Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie, Texas.[14] Since finishing his sentence Clete Denel Jackson, who got time for helping move Biggs’ 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] Some puzzling aspects to the case remain. Although the arrest warrant affidavit says Mallard originally implicated men named Vaughn and Terrance, it was Jackson and Cleveland who confessed to moving Biggs’ body. Police have not said whether they have identified anyone named Vaughn or Terrance. 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 say they had never heard of Mallard.[13]

Media adaptations

Mallard's case was later adapted as an episode of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ("Anatomy of a Lye", aired May 2, 2002) and also as an episode of Law & Order ("Darwinian", aired January 7, 2004[16] – though the driver is allowed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice after an autopsy reveals that the accident was not the cause of the fatal head injury). The TV adaptation is noteworthy for the show's decision to reverse the races of the victim and the murderer.

The story also 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]

Films inspired by the events include Stuck (2007, with Mena Suvari and Stephen Rea), Hit and Run (2009, with Laura Breckenridge), and Accident on Hill Road (2009, with Celina Jaitley and Farooque Shaikh.)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Fort Worth's windshield murder case and how it 'redefined inhumanity'". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 22 June 2003.
  2. ↑ "Homeless man's mother: 'We wanted people to know he was loved'". 30 March 2002.
  3. 1 2 "Mallard, Chante Jawan, Offender Information Details". tdcj.texas.gov. Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  4. ↑ Yardley, Jim. "Details Disputed in Death of Man Lodged in Windshield".
  5. ↑ "Windshield Killer Takes Stand in Sentencing Hearing". Fox News. 2001-10-26. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  6. ↑ CNN.com - Motorist given 50 year-sentence in windshield murder trial - Jun. 28, 2003 Archived December 14, 2010, at WebCite
  7. ↑ "Fort Worth's windshield murder case and how it 'redefined inhumanity'". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 22 June 2003.
  8. ↑ "Fort Worth's windshield murder case and how it 'redefined inhumanity'". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 22 June 2003.
  9. 1 2 Ex-boyfriend of driver describes disposing of accident victim's body Archived 2007-07-11 at the Wayback Machine., by Rochelle Steinhaus, CourtTV.com, June 25, 2003 . Retrieved October 20, 2006.
  10. ↑ Woman panicked after touching man in windshield, CNN.com, June 27, 2003 . Retrieved October 20, 2006. Archived February 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ "Woman faced murder trial after leaving accident victim on her car - Courttv.com - Trials". Courttv.com. Archived from the original on 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  12. ↑ "Timeline of Events in the Chante Mallard Windshield Death Case". Fox News. Associated Press. 27 June 2003. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  13. 1 2 Boyd, Deanna; McDonald, Melody. "Fort Worth's windshield murder case and how it 'redefined inhumanity'". Fort Worth Star-Telegram (26 October 2017). Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  14. ↑ Blumenthol, Ralph (23 October 2003). "Victim's Son Is Given Award for Forgiving Father's Murderer". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  15. ↑ Zahir, Sorayah (26 October 2017). "Windshield murder remembered: Victim's son says 'I live it every day'". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  16. ↑ Gruesome stories: Bar and grill . Retrieved October 20, 2006. Archived December 14, 2010, at WebCite
  17. ↑ Tobias, Scott (October 12, 2015). "'Fargo' Season 2 Premiere Recap: 'Waiting for Dutch'". The New York Times. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  • Smoking Gun Arrest Warrant Affidavit of Detective D.E. Owings.
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