Introducing Gone Cold – Texas True Crime

Texas is known for being tough on crime and those who commit it. Or at least the ones who get caught. There are tens of thousands of unsolved homicides in Texas and nearly as many open missing persons cases. Every week, Gone Cold Podcast—Texas true crime—presents in-depth accounts of unsolved murders and missing persons cases throughout the lone star state, concentrating on lesser-known cases that the media has long left behind. 

Cases like the recently solved 1974 abduction and murder of Fort Worth High School student Carla Walker, the brazen 2019 murder of Liz Barraza, and the mysterious 1989 disappearance of 13-year-old Elisa Roberson, who seemingly vanished into thin air while she was walking a few blocks from home to meet a friend. On Gone Cold, you’ll also occasionally hear high-profile cases, such as an 8-episode series on the 1996 abduction and murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, the little girl behind the Amber Alert.

This is a preview of Gone Cold’s coverage of the 2007 case of 19-year-old Brittany Danielle McGlone,
who was viciously attacked and savagely slain in her boyfriend’s bed while the rest of the home’s
inhabitants were away.

As you’re listening, join Gone Cold’s mission to bring these forgotten cases back into the public’s
awareness by subscribing to Gone Cold Podcast—Texas true crime wherever you listen to podcasts.

https://www.GoneCold.com

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
In twenty seventeen, Gone Cold,Texas True crime began with the story of
Carla Walker, and a community cametogether and demanded justice. Almost forty seven
years after her murder, Carla's caseis solved. Since then, Gone Cold
has told the stories of hundreds ofother cold cases, concentrating on lesser known

(00:25):
cases that the media has long leftbehind. Cases like the brazen two thousand
murder of Les Barrazza, who wasshot to death in what appears to be
a targeted killing while setting up agarage cell, and the mysterious nineteen eighty
nine disappearance of thirteen year old ElisaRobertson, who disappeared while she was walking

(00:46):
a few blocks from home to meeta friend. On Gone Cold, you'll
also occasionally hear high profile cases,such as a comprehensive series on the nineteen
ninety six abduction and murder of nineyear old Amber Hagerman The Little Girl Behind
the Amber. Alert. You're aboutto hear a clip from Gone Cold series

(01:07):
on nineteen year old Brittany McLoone.As you're listening, join Gone Cold's mission
to bring these forgotten cases back intothe public's awareness by subscribing to Gone Cold
podcast Texas True Crime wherever you listento podcasts, Gone Cold isn't simply a
murder podcast, It's a pursuit forjustice. On Friday May fourth, two

(01:34):
thousand and seven, Brittany mcloone's boyfriend, Jeff Stagner, and his stepfather left
their home on the two hundred blockof Country Road forty eight thirty seven to
travel to the Cleeburn area to pickup Jeff's maternal grandmother. The time was
just after eight thirty am. Cleeburnis located about thirty two miles due south

(01:57):
of Fort Worth. One hundred andforty five mile drive there from the Stagner
home in Wood County takes about twohours and forty minutes in non rush hour
traffic. Jeff's mother was at workat the local Alco store, and his
brother and sister in school. Brittany, who had just finished her shift early

(02:19):
that morning, went straight to Jeff'safter and stayed there while everyone was gone
getting some rest. Early that afternoon, Jeff Stagner phoned Patricia, Britney's mother
from his cell phone and asked ifBrittany was home. Brittany was not home,
and since she had told her motherthat she'd probably go straight to Jeff's

(02:42):
after work. Patricia figured her daughterhad gone to sleep while Jeff and his
parents were away. She'd be headinghome soon enough, Patricia thought. Almost
an hour later, however, atabout two twenty pm, Brittany still hadn't
made it home. Patricia called Britney'scell phone. It went straight to voicemail.

(03:05):
Patricia was already passively worried, butat this point a feeling of dread
was bubbling to the surface. Itwasn't like Brittany to leave her mother hanging
as far as her whereabouts or movementswere concerned, and anyway, the nineteen
year old's cell phone was, asher mother put it, like an extension

(03:25):
of her arm. She always hadit nearby and always answered it never went
straight to voicemail. Brittany going toher boyfriend's right after work, too,
factored into Patricia's worry. She knewthat was her daughter's plans that day,
but she hadn't known her daughter todo that before. Generally, as her

(03:49):
regular routine, Brittany came home,took a shower, and slept for a
bit before going to Jeff's. Hiscalls to Brittany As he, his dad
and grandmother made their way back toWood County, he later said had also
gone straight to voicemail. Patricia calledJeff back and asked him if he'd found

(04:12):
Britney yet, and as they pulledup at the Stagner home, Jeff replied
that he had. She was athis house sleeping, he presumed, because
as they returned home at about threepm, Britney's truck was still in the
driveway. When Patricia asked him whyBrittany didn't answer her call, Jeff told
her that she must be sleeping hardand must not have heard the ring.

(04:38):
That certainly did not explain why Patricia'scalls went straight to voicemail, But knowing
that her daughter worked hard and alot, that answer satisfied Patricia. She
asked Jeff that he'd tell Brittany sheloved her and to give her a call
when she woke up. Jeff toldPatricia he would, and as he ended

(04:59):
the call with his girlfriend's mother,Jeff walked into his room where he thought
Brittany was sleeping. However, shewas not. When he entered, Brittany
was there, but she was batteredand bloodied. She'd been badly beaten,
brutally murdered, Britney's face and headbludgeoned with an object. The Wood County

(05:26):
Sheriff's office was certainly used to crime, but not a crime like the savage
attack against nineteen year old Britney McGlone. They had no witnesses, and one
state Attorney General's Office investigator told thefamily that it was as if the perpetrator
had entered the home, possibly sexuallyassaulted and killed Brittany while covered in plastic

(05:49):
wrap, an analogy meaning that heleft no physical evidence. However, years
later, on a social media threadof all places, Wood County Sheriff Tom
Castleu, who was not sheriff atthe time of Britney's murder, admitted that
officers who were unfamiliar with proper investigativetechniques had contaminated the crime scene. Wood

(06:14):
County Sheriff's Office deputies too, letthe family back into the house the crime
scene the same evening. Britney wasfound slain there just hours later. This
almost certainly resulted in further contamination.Even still, an affidaphit years later states
that numerous items of evidence were collectedthere. A later Wood County Sheriff revealed

(06:42):
that there were multiple sources of DNAbagged for evidence items taken from Jeff's bedroom
in areas such as the bed,the wall, the carpet, and from
clothing. Britney's boyfriend, Jeff wasscrutinized for obvious reasons. He was the
last known person to see Britney alive, he found her body, and the

(07:04):
two had recently gotten back together aftera pretty intense breakup. Jeff's DNA was
all over the scene. Of course, it was his room, so it
meant little in terms of evidence thathe was involved in Britney's murder in any
way. The families and likely WoodCounty Sheriff's Office investigator's first reaction was that

(07:28):
Jeff was involved in Britney's death whenSheriff's deputies told Patricia that Brittany was deceased.
In fact, it was her firstreaction, But there was someone connected
to Jeff or Jeff's sister, morespecifically, who eventually became the Wood County
Sheriff's Office prime suspect. In fact, this person, chatter O Carr,

(07:54):
had become a person of interest withinan hour of the discovery of Britney's body.
It wasn't simply because the man wasvisibly nervous when Deputy Mark Miller spoke
with him at the scene that madehim look suspicious. Rather, it was
the combination of that, a criminalrecord that included violent offenses that mirrored Britney's

(08:16):
slang lies he told regarding his alibi, and strong, circumstantial and physical evidence
that pointed to him collected not longafter the heinous crime was committed.