Chante Jawan Mallard

Chante Jawan Mallard
Born Chante Jawan Mallard
June 22, 1976
Fort Worth, Texas
Criminal penalty
 60 years in prison
Criminal status Incarcerated
Conviction(s) Murder in the death of Gregory Glen Biggs

Chante Jawan Mallard (born June 22, 1976[1]) is a woman from Fort Worth, Texas, who was convicted and sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment for her role in the death of a 37-year-old homeless man, Gregory Glen Biggs.

History

The incident occurred on October 26, 2001 when Mallard's car 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.[2] 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.[3] When Biggs died an unknown number of hours 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.[4]

Mallard became a suspect after she was reported talking and laughing about the incident at a party some four months after the events.[5] "I hit this white man," Mallard allegedly told acquaintance Maranda Daniel, laughing.[6] 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.[7] 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.[1]

In popular culture

Mallard's case would later be 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[8] - 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 case is referenced briefly in the Drawn Together episode "Captain Hero's Marriage Pact" and in a parody song on the Russ Martin Show. A sub-plot in the My Name is Earl "Gospel" episode is also inspired by the case.

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. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://offender.tdcj.state.tx.us/POSdb2/offenderDetail.action?sid=06849879
  2. ↑ "Windshield Killer Takes Stand in Sentencing Hearing". Fox News. 2001-10-26. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  3. ↑ CNN.com - Motorist given 50 year-sentence in windshield murder trial - Jun. 28, 2003 Archived 14 December 2010 at WebCite
  4. ↑ Ex-boyfriend of driver describes disposing of accident victim's body, by Rochelle Steinhaus, CourtTV.com, June 25, 2003 . Retrieved October 20, 2006.
  5. ↑ Woman panicked after touching man in windshield, CNN.com, June 27, 2003 . Retrieved October 20, 2006. Archived February 27, 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "Woman faced murder trial after leaving accident victim on her car - Courttv.com - Trials". Courttv.com. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
  7. ↑ 2nd Jackson ref
  8. ↑ Gruesome stories: Bar and grill . Retrieved October 20, 2006. Archived 14 December 2010 at WebCite

External links