Chante Jawan Mallard

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Chante Jawan Mallard is an African American woman from Texas who was convicted and sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment for her role in the death of a homeless male, Gregory Biggs.

The incident occurred on October 26, 2001 when Mallard's car struck him; at the time Mallard was believed to have been driving while intoxicated by drugs and alcohol. 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. She then went inside, had sex with her boyfriend, and over the next day or so checked on the man still stuck in her windshield. After the accident Mallard did not notify the police or get Biggs any medical attention. When Biggs died two hours later (erroneously reported as up to two days later), 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.^[1]

Mallard became a suspect after she was reported talking about the incident at a party some four months after the events.^[2] "I hit this white man," Mallard allegedly told Daniel, laughing.^[3] During the trial, Tarrant County Medical Examiner Peerwani testified that, had Mallard taken Biggs to a hospital, he would have recovered from his injuries. Other experts testifying that day 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.^[1] Mallard was convicted for 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 2028.

Mallard's case would later be adapted as an episode of the CBS drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation titled "Anatomy of a Lye" and also in an episode of NBC's drama Law & Order ("Darwinian," aired January 7, 2004^[4]). The case is referenced briefly in the Drawn Together episode "Captain Hero's Marriage Pact" and in a parody song on the Russ Martin Show. In 2007, a film inspired by the events titled Stuck also appeared starring Mena Suvari and Stephen Rea.