The Murder of Brittany McGlone (with Case Update)

Who Was Brittany?

Brittany Danielle McGlone was born on November 9, 1987 to Ron McGlone and Patricia Bumpous Tice in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Ron and Patricia wanted to have a child and were especially excited to have a girl. When Brittany was young, the family moved to Winnsboro, a small town with a population of less than 4,000, located in northwestern Texas. Not long after their move, Ron and Patricia divorced. Despite the difficult situation, Brittany continued to flourish. Her father married Dana, who became Brittany’s stepmother. Brittany had several half-siblings, including six brothers and one sister. Though Brittany grew up in East Texas, across the state from her half-sister, Hope, the two were still very close. Hope and Brittany shared the same father and often visited one another, sometimes spending summers and holidays together. It was like an extended slumber party with your best friend: staying up late, talking, laughing, and playing video games. Hope said that the summers she spent in East Texas with Brittany were some of the best days of her life.

People described Brittany as a bright, silly girl. She was positive and could always find the silver lining to things. Her sense of humor was described as goofy and she made it impossible to have a bad day when you were around her. 

Hope said that her sister had a wonderful personality. “You couldn’t help but feel happy around her. With her positive outlook on life, she would just radiate good energy. I don’t think she ever had a bad day. We should all strive to live like she did.”

On the Facebook page seeking justice for Brittany, Hope went into more detail about Brittany, calling her a country girl who loved being outside. She graduated from Winnsboro High School in 2006 and was taking a gap year in between graduation and college. She took honors class at school and was someone who never gave into peer pressure. She worked two jobs, one at an Alco Discount store and one at a Lowes’ distribution center. Her plan was to save up money so she could attend nursing school at Baylor College. She even helped take care of her younger brothers and her blind grandmother. She was dedicated to God, her family, and her country. “She liked horses, blue jeans, boots, her truck, yellow mustangs, sleeping, dogs, anything tiny, music, money, shopping, tank tops, t-shirts, harmony, Jaeger, Jack Daniels, cinnamon schnapps, Happy Bunny, Tinkerbell, and many other things…She disliked feet, drugs, cigarettes, lies, gossip, violence, and anything or anyone that hurt her family.” 

Hope said that her favorite thing about Brittany was her sense of humor and how deeply she cared for her family. The girls and their siblings had tons of inside jokes and were constantly quoting movies and being goofy in public to make each other laugh. She spoke of a time that they went to Six Flags Theme Park. Hope dared Brittany to do an Irish kick in front of a stage where a band was playing. Brittany, being the silly girl that she was, did it, making her sister laugh so hard that she peed her pants!

In 2006, Brittany was able to visit Hope in West Texas for her 16th birthday party. As usual, the girls had a great time with each other. They were even already planning their plans for the next summer. Unfortunately, those plans never came. Brittany was murdered before she was able to see her little sister again.

Leading up to the Murder

On Friday, May 4th, 2007, 19-year-old Brittany got off her shift early that morning. She had told her mother that after her night shift, she was going to go straight to her boyfriend’s house and sleep. Patricia said this was out of character for her daughter, as she usually came home after a night shift, took a shower, got some sleep, and ate something before going over to her boyfriend’s house. 

Her boyfriend, Jeff Stogner, was her first love. Brittany had never had a relationship or been on a date. Unfortunately, her family was more than concerned about her relationship with Jeff. He wasn’t who they imagined their Brittany being with. Brittany hated cigarettes and drugs, but Jeff smoked regularly and had experience with drugs. Her family knew that the couple fought a lot, and there was psychological and verbal abuse involved. No one knew for sure if there was ever any physical abuse. 

In April of 2007, Jeff and Brittany broke up. Her family hated seeing Brittany heartbroken, but they also felt that she was better off not being around Jeff. Despite their break-up, Brittany and Jeff continued to communicate and it wasn’t long before they were back together.

That Friday, Brittany arrived at Jeff’s house before 8AM. His family was there, including his parents, and siblings, as well as his sister’s boyfriend, Chad Carr. Not long after she arrived, Jeff’s mom left for work, his siblings left for school, along with Chad, and Jeff and his step-father headed to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to pick up a grandparent. This left Brittany at the house alone.

Around 2:20PM, Jeff called Patricia and asked her if Brittany was at her house. She was surprised to get this call and shouted at Jeff that she was supposed to be with him. Patricia hung up and called Brittany’s cell phone, but she got her voicemail. She called back a few more times and it continued to ring, then go to Brittany’s voicemail. This was very strange, considering that Brittanys cell phone was basically an extension of her arm. She typically always answered it. She then called Jeff back who told her that yes, Brittany was at his house, sleeping hard. Relieved, Patricia told him to tell Brittany that she loved her and to call her when she woke up.

Later that afternoon, two Wood County Sheriff Deputies showed up on Patricia’s doorstep. Her mother and son answered the door and Patricia heard them ask for a Brenda or Debbie. There was no one in the house by that name, so she figured it was a mistake and walked away. After the deputies left, her mother told that the deputies had mentioned the name “McGlone.” Concerned for her daughter, Patricia called the sheriff to ask why deputies had been to her home. The sheriff told her not to head to Jeff’s, where she was planning on going, to stay where she was and he’d send them back out again. When the deputies arrived back at Patricia’s, they asked to speak to her in private. They told her that Brittany was dead, but wouldn’t tell her anything about what happened. They said that her body was already at the funeral home, then they left. Patricia said that her first reaction was “that son of a bitch killed her.” The director of the funeral home where Brittany’s body was transported to was the first one to tell Patricia that not only was her daughter dead, she’d been brutally murdered.

Ugh.

Patricia found out that Jeff had told police that he’d been on the phone with Patricia when he arrived home. He said that he saw Brittany’s truck in the driveway and assumed that she was sleeping, so that’s why he told Patricia that she was sleeping. When he walked into his room, he found a horrific scene. 19-year-old Brittany McGlone was nude and covered in blood. He called 911, but unfortunately, Brittany was already dead from obvious trauma. Jeff later told Patricia that the reason he hadn’t called her when he found Brittany dead was because officers had stopped him from doing so.

Brittany’s family was obviously devastated about her death. They couldn’t understand who would want to hurt her or why. Hope said that police told them that based on their initial investigation, there was no forced entry; either the attacker knew that Brittany was alone or they knew that the family often left their back door unlocked. They also said that they believe that Brittany had been asleep when she was assaulted, that she never came to or realized what was happening. Brittany’s autopsy revealed that she had some major wounds to her forehead and back of her head. There were smaller wounds to the temples and sides of her head. It was determined that Brittany had been bludgeoned to death, ultimately succumbing to massive head trauma. They also told the family that there was no evidence of defense wounds. Hope said that there was bruising on her left hand and, since Brittany was left-handed, Hope thought that she may have been awake and fighting. The assault appeared to be confined to the area where she was laying. Her work clothes were folded neatly beside the bed. The clothes that she’d been sleeping in have never been located. Patricia said that she’s been told conflicting information about the possibility of sexual assault, but many reports indicate that she was.

Investigators said that they believed Brittany’s death to have occurred sometime between 8AM and 3PM. It’s unknown what this conclusion was based on, but it seems to be simply from the fact that she was last seen alive at 8AM, then found dead around 3PM.

Jeff’s DNA was obviously on scene and he was the last person to see her, but this wasn’t the only reason that he was the first suspect. Two deputies returned to Patricia’s home that night to interview and get more information on Jeff and his relationship with Brittany. Soon after, they arrested Jeff and took him to jail on charges from an outstanding warrant, but weren’t able to charge him with anything involving Brittany’s death.

Investigators collected DNA from the bed, the wall, carpet, and clothing. They swabbed multiple individuals at the time, but didn’t seem to find anything that pushed them towards a suspect. The DNA evidence was not substantial. An investigator even said that it seemed like the perpetrator had entered the home, tortured her, possibly sexually assaulted her, then killed her, all while wrapped in plastic wrap. They left very little to no physical evidence. They determined that the murder weapon had been T or cross-shaped, similar to a tire iron. Strangely, police did not drag Lake Winnsboro, which was behind Jeff’s house. It was just 150 feet behind the home and could’ve been an easy disposal for a weapon. Years later, on a social media thread, Wood County Sheriff Tom Castloo admitted that officers who weren’t familiar with proper crime scene investigation protocols had contaminated the scene. The sheriff’s office had also allowed Jeff’s family back into the house just hours after Brittany had been found.

Suspects

On Tuesday, May 8th, 2007, Brittany was laid to rest at Lee Cemetery. The family was forced to have a closed casket ceremony due to her injuries. Brittany’s brother said that they had politely asked Jeff and his family to stay away from the funeral home that day. Despite Jeff having passed a polygraph test, Patricia and the rest of her family believed he was involved in her death. SURPRISE. Jeff and his family showed up anyways, yelling and cursing at Brittany’s family when they wouldn’t allow them in for the service. This fueled suspicions even further. 

Patricia made it clear that she felt like Jeff wasn’t honest with her about the day of her death. She didn’t understand why he’d told her that Brittany was asleep in his bed, despite not having been in the house. She also didn’t believe that law enforcement prevented him from calling her and telling her that Brittany was dead. Law enforcement had supposedly cleared Jeff after his polygraph, as well as the fact that his alibi was verified by witnesses, video surveillance, and cell phone records. 

Jeff wasn’t the only person that Brittany’s family was suspicious of. Another man became the primary person of interest, and he had a big connection to Jeff. Chad Carr was dating Jeff’s sister, Velva, at the time of Brittany’s death. He was actually at Jeff’s house that morning before everyone left. Hope said that when she asked Jeff to tell her about that morning at his house, he told her that Chad had asked him if Brittany was going with them or if she was going to be at the house alone. There were also rumors circulating that Chad had come back to the scene later than afternoon/evening freshly showered and with new clothes on. Chad would also know that the family often left their back door unlocked. Chad’s connection to Jeff and knowledge of the house weren’t the only reasons that he was under suspicion. He also had a past of unprovoked violence against women.

In 2000, Chad was first arrested and given three years of probation after burglarizing a building. His next run-in with the law was a much stranger situation. In December of 2001, Chad and his wife were at a video store. They knew the young woman working the counter, who had recently separated from her husband. She told them that she was staying in a trailer house on her parent’s property. That night, the young woman picked up her daughter and arrived home to the trailer house around 11PM. Just after 5AM, her dogs started barking and woke her up. She heard the crunch of leaves outside being stepped on, followed by a knock on the door. The door had a glass window and she could see Chad’s face through it. She opened the door and Chad told her that he’d been picking up a friend nearby, who ended up not being home. As he was getting ready to leave, he said that he saw someone snooping around the woman’s trailer. When he approached, he said that he saw a vehicle speeding away. The woman was clearly frightened by what Chad had said. She asked him to wait on the porch while she grabbed her daughter and a few belongings. When she walked back, Chad was in the living room. She knelt down to grab something and Chad asked if she was sure no one else was in the home. He then struck her hard in the back of the head with an object. When she stood up, she saw Chad drop something red with a rubber handle. He immediately apologized and said that he thought he saw someone, that he didn’t mean to hit her. The woman walked back into her room to grab her daughter and felt blood running down the back of her neck. She had the suspect take her to the emergency department. (This is all very strange) He was arrested in January and sentenced to four years in prison for assault.

While Chad was in prison, his wife gave birth to their child and quickly divorced him. When he was released in 2006, his ex-wife brought his children to Chad’s aunt’s house so he could see them. His aunt was not home. When the baby began to cry, Chad told her to ignore it. He tried to get her to come with him into another room, but she resisted. Chad proceeded to physically remove the baby from her arms and put it in a carrier on the floor. He then began to make strong sexual advances towards his ex-wife, which she, again, refused. Chad was 6 foot 2 in tall and weighed 200 pounds. He picked his ex-wife up from the floor and carried her into a bedroom where he raped her. Almost a year later, his ex-wife, after having significant counseling, heard about Brittany’s murder. She also heard about the suspicions surrounding her ex-husband. She then proceeded to press charges against him for rape. He was charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.

The Fucking Sheriff’s Department

Throughout the investigation into Brittany’s death, the Wood County Sheriff’s Department has not been very forthcoming or helpful to the family. They’ve struggled to make Brittany’s case a priority for police. They’d even been told by deputies that they had other things to do. In 2017, the sheriff was indicted on unknown charges and a deputy was charged with tampering with physical evidence and perjury. This caused the family to lose all trust in the department investigating Brittany’s murder. Fortunately, in December of 2021, a new sheriff was elected to the Wood County Sheriff Department. Sheriff Kelly Cole, who was a criminal investigator when Brittany died, hopes that he can bring her case into the light. He said that his team has multiple persons of interest and that during their investigation, they’ve discovered evidence that leads them to believe that two individuals were involved in Brittany’s murder. 

“At this point in time, the way we look at it, we’re not ruling anyone out…It’s not just finding someone to arrest,” Sheriff Kelly said. “We want to make sure we’ve got everything like it needs to be, because we may only get one shot at prosecuting this. And we want to make sure that that counts.”

Both Patricia and Hope said that this is the first sheriff that they’ve trusted to do everything in his power to help solve Brittany’s murder. He communicates with them and keeps them updated on what’s going on with her case. For the first time in a long time, Brittany’s family has hope. Sheriff Kelly is hoping that advances in DNA testing will help give them the answers they’re looking for. Reportedly, Jeff has not been completely ruled out of being involved in Brittany’s death, but he has been cooperating with the new investigation. 

Chad Carr was released from prison in November 2020 and was not placed on parole or required to register as a sex offender. He never passed a polygraph test. Jeff Stogner is believed to be in Hopkins County, just about 45 minutes from Wood County. 

Hope believes that her sister could’ve been murdered with the intention of sexual assault. There is no clear motive. She said that Brittany was a good person and wasn’t into things she shouldn’t have been. She also says that she thinks that whoever killed Brittany knew that she was going to be alone for some time.

Both Hope and Patricia, as well as the rest of Brittany’s family, continue to advocate for her and, despite it being difficult to find hope in their situation, look forward to the day when those who were responsible for Brittany’s death are brought to justice. Please visit the Facebook Group titled “Who Killed Brittany McGlone” for more information.

Updated Info

According to the Wood County Texas Sheriff’s Office, an arrest has been made in the case.  “On August 31st, 2022 a warrant was obtained by the Wood County Sheriff’s Office for the arrest of Chad Earl Carr for capital murder. On September 1, 2022 Captain Mike Chilson and Ranger John Vance traveled to the DFW area and located Chad Carr at 2525 Stemmons Freeway in Dallas, Texas. Chad Earl Carr was arrested for the 2007 murder of Brittany McGlone. Chad Carr was then magistrated and transported back to the Wood County Jail where he was booked in for capital murder. Carr’s bond is set at one million dollars. Sheriff Cole and the Wood County Sheriff’s Office have worked diligently over the last year and a half to help bring closure to the family of Brittany McGlone.”

As we mentioned in the episode, Chad was suspected by the family EARLY on in the case. He has even had some interactions online with Brittany’s family over the years. Here is a comment he left on one of the posts in the Who Killed Brittany McGlone FB Page. 

“Patricia Tice Let me start off by saying that it’s a terrible thing that happened to your daughter. No mother should have to go through what you have for all these years. I’m posting on this page today to clear something up that either your not letting people know or maybe you don’t even know yourself. When I was arrested after Brittany’s murder my DNA was taken by the attorney general’s office and tested against DNA evidence found at the scene. I was told by the detectives that there were two separate DNA samples found inside Brittany and other DNA samples found in the room she was in. Those DNA samples were tested against my DNA and came back negative. There was no DNA match. That’s when the secret hearing was done and I was released. I’ve cooperated with the police and answered their questions. I even talked with them again at your request many years ago if you remember. This page for Brittany is full of half truths and even some lies all because people would rather gossip than truly seek answers. Every person who has commented or posted on this page has had the opportunity to message me and ask any question they wanted concerning this case but nobody ever did. The people who are in my life both male and female, old and new, all know about my past and have talked with me about this page and all that it claims. I’m not hiding anything from anyone. There is so much that is discussed on this page that nobody who is talking about it really knows the truth behind. We as people are so quick to accept and pass on everything we hear that we no longer really search for the truth on our own anymore and that doesn’t bring justice to Brittany! So everyone on here can talk about me all they want to and believe whatever they want to, but by doing so no real progress is made for Brittany, you or your family.”

Bold move, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off! 

Chad was arrested for the Capital Murder of Brittany McGlone on September 1, 2022. Brittany’s sister Hope has mixed emotions about the arrest. According to KLTV News, ““It feels like there’s a little bit of celebrating to do, but it’s also kind of bittersweet. And we know it’s going to be a difficult road….He doesn’t deserve to see the light of day again. He doesn’t deserve to be out among society. He’s already done damage to previous families, previous women. So I think it’s time for him to be put away.”

According to an article on NBC News, “It is unclear at this time what led to Thursday’s arrest, but when Dateline featured Brittany’s case in 2021, the newly-elected sheriff, Kelly Cole, felt confident they could solve Brittany’s case. Sheriff Cole told Dateline at the time that there was plenty of evidence from the scene, like blood stains and DNA, that they planned to test.”