1 00:00:01,240 --> 00:00:06,639 In twenty seventeen, Gone Cold, Texas True crime began with the story of 2 00:00:06,719 --> 00:00:13,160 Carla Walker, and a community came together and demanded justice. Almost forty seven 3 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:19,760 years after her murder, Carla's case is solved. Since then, Gone Cold 4 00:00:19,879 --> 00:00:25,280 has told the stories of hundreds of other cold cases, concentrating on lesser known 5 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:31,199 cases that the media has long left behind. Cases like the brazen two thousand 6 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:35,479 murder of Les Barrazza, who was shot to death in what appears to be 7 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:41,000 a targeted killing while setting up a garage cell, and the mysterious nineteen eighty 8 00:00:41,079 --> 00:00:46,439 nine disappearance of thirteen year old Elisa Robertson, who disappeared while she was walking 9 00:00:46,439 --> 00:00:51,280 a few blocks from home to meet a friend. On Gone Cold, you'll 10 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:57,200 also occasionally hear high profile cases, such as a comprehensive series on the nineteen 11 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:02,719 ninety six abduction and murder of nine year old Amber Hagerman The Little Girl Behind 12 00:01:02,759 --> 00:01:07,280 the Amber. Alert. You're about to hear a clip from Gone Cold series 13 00:01:07,359 --> 00:01:11,159 on nineteen year old Brittany McLoone. As you're listening, join Gone Cold's mission 14 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:17,200 to bring these forgotten cases back into the public's awareness by subscribing to Gone Cold 15 00:01:17,239 --> 00:01:23,400 podcast Texas True Crime wherever you listen to podcasts, Gone Cold isn't simply a 16 00:01:23,519 --> 00:01:34,400 murder podcast, It's a pursuit for justice. On Friday May fourth, two 17 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:40,439 thousand and seven, Brittany mcloone's boyfriend, Jeff Stagner, and his stepfather left 18 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:45,120 their home on the two hundred block of Country Road forty eight thirty seven to 19 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:49,840 travel to the Cleeburn area to pick up Jeff's maternal grandmother. The time was 20 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:57,760 just after eight thirty am. Cleeburn is located about thirty two miles due south 21 00:01:57,879 --> 00:02:02,319 of Fort Worth. One hundred and forty five mile drive there from the Stagner 22 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:07,400 home in Wood County takes about two hours and forty minutes in non rush hour 23 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:13,680 traffic. Jeff's mother was at work at the local Alco store, and his 24 00:02:13,759 --> 00:02:19,159 brother and sister in school. Brittany, who had just finished her shift early 25 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:23,719 that morning, went straight to Jeff's after and stayed there while everyone was gone 26 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:30,680 getting some rest. Early that afternoon, Jeff Stagner phoned Patricia, Britney's mother 27 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:37,599 from his cell phone and asked if Brittany was home. Brittany was not home, 28 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:42,039 and since she had told her mother that she'd probably go straight to Jeff's 29 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:46,919 after work. Patricia figured her daughter had gone to sleep while Jeff and his 30 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:53,159 parents were away. She'd be heading home soon enough, Patricia thought. Almost 31 00:02:53,199 --> 00:02:58,560 an hour later, however, at about two twenty pm, Brittany still hadn't 32 00:02:58,599 --> 00:03:04,240 made it home. Patricia called Britney's cell phone. It went straight to voicemail. 33 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:09,599 Patricia was already passively worried, but at this point a feeling of dread 34 00:03:09,759 --> 00:03:15,840 was bubbling to the surface. It wasn't like Brittany to leave her mother hanging 35 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:21,919 as far as her whereabouts or movements were concerned, and anyway, the nineteen 36 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,639 year old's cell phone was, as her mother put it, like an extension 37 00:03:25,759 --> 00:03:31,960 of her arm. She always had it nearby and always answered it never went 38 00:03:32,039 --> 00:03:38,879 straight to voicemail. Brittany going to her boyfriend's right after work, too, 39 00:03:38,919 --> 00:03:44,039 factored into Patricia's worry. She knew that was her daughter's plans that day, 40 00:03:44,479 --> 00:03:49,759 but she hadn't known her daughter to do that before. Generally, as her 41 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:53,719 regular routine, Brittany came home, took a shower, and slept for a 42 00:03:53,759 --> 00:04:00,000 bit before going to Jeff's. His calls to Brittany As he, his dad 43 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:05,439 and grandmother made their way back to Wood County, he later said had also 44 00:04:05,599 --> 00:04:12,919 gone straight to voicemail. Patricia called Jeff back and asked him if he'd found 45 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:16,319 Britney yet, and as they pulled up at the Stagner home, Jeff replied 46 00:04:16,319 --> 00:04:20,480 that he had. She was at his house sleeping, he presumed, because 47 00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:26,279 as they returned home at about three pm, Britney's truck was still in the 48 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:31,759 driveway. When Patricia asked him why Brittany didn't answer her call, Jeff told 49 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:35,879 her that she must be sleeping hard and must not have heard the ring. 50 00:04:38,079 --> 00:04:43,879 That certainly did not explain why Patricia's calls went straight to voicemail, But knowing 51 00:04:43,959 --> 00:04:49,680 that her daughter worked hard and a lot, that answer satisfied Patricia. She 52 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:54,759 asked Jeff that he'd tell Brittany she loved her and to give her a call 53 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:59,480 when she woke up. Jeff told Patricia he would, and as he ended 54 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:03,800 the call with his girlfriend's mother, Jeff walked into his room where he thought 55 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:11,480 Brittany was sleeping. However, she was not. When he entered, Brittany 56 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:15,639 was there, but she was battered and bloodied. She'd been badly beaten, 57 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:26,000 brutally murdered, Britney's face and head bludgeoned with an object. The Wood County 58 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,439 Sheriff's office was certainly used to crime, but not a crime like the savage 59 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:38,160 attack against nineteen year old Britney McGlone. They had no witnesses, and one 60 00:05:38,199 --> 00:05:43,959 state Attorney General's Office investigator told the family that it was as if the perpetrator 61 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:49,240 had entered the home, possibly sexually assaulted and killed Brittany while covered in plastic 62 00:05:49,319 --> 00:05:57,040 wrap, an analogy meaning that he left no physical evidence. However, years 63 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:01,000 later, on a social media thread of all places, Wood County Sheriff Tom 64 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:06,439 Castleu, who was not sheriff at the time of Britney's murder, admitted that 65 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:14,839 officers who were unfamiliar with proper investigative techniques had contaminated the crime scene. Wood 66 00:06:14,879 --> 00:06:19,639 County Sheriff's Office deputies too, let the family back into the house the crime 67 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:27,480 scene the same evening. Britney was found slain there just hours later. This 68 00:06:27,639 --> 00:06:34,639 almost certainly resulted in further contamination. Even still, an affidaphit years later states 69 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:42,519 that numerous items of evidence were collected there. A later Wood County Sheriff revealed 70 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:47,800 that there were multiple sources of DNA bagged for evidence items taken from Jeff's bedroom 71 00:06:47,959 --> 00:06:53,319 in areas such as the bed, the wall, the carpet, and from 72 00:06:53,439 --> 00:07:00,560 clothing. Britney's boyfriend, Jeff was scrutinized for obvious reasons. He was the 73 00:07:00,639 --> 00:07:04,920 last known person to see Britney alive, he found her body, and the 74 00:07:04,959 --> 00:07:11,879 two had recently gotten back together after a pretty intense breakup. Jeff's DNA was 75 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:15,160 all over the scene. Of course, it was his room, so it 76 00:07:15,279 --> 00:07:20,000 meant little in terms of evidence that he was involved in Britney's murder in any 77 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:28,560 way. The families and likely Wood County Sheriff's Office investigator's first reaction was that 78 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:34,519 Jeff was involved in Britney's death when Sheriff's deputies told Patricia that Brittany was deceased. 79 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:41,720 In fact, it was her first reaction, But there was someone connected 80 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:46,800 to Jeff or Jeff's sister, more specifically, who eventually became the Wood County 81 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:53,680 Sheriff's Office prime suspect. In fact, this person, chatter O Carr, 82 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:59,480 had become a person of interest within an hour of the discovery of Britney's body. 83 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:05,680 It wasn't simply because the man was visibly nervous when Deputy Mark Miller spoke 84 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:09,759 with him at the scene that made him look suspicious. Rather, it was 85 00:08:09,839 --> 00:08:16,399 the combination of that, a criminal record that included violent offenses that mirrored Britney's 86 00:08:16,439 --> 00:08:24,120 slang lies he told regarding his alibi, and strong, circumstantial and physical evidence 87 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:28,920 that pointed to him collected not long after the heinous crime was committed.