On March 12, 1992, in the Rivercrest area of Fort Worth, Texas, intruders attacked Jack Koslow and Caren Courtney Koslow, a husband and wife, in their house. Caren Koslow's throat was slashed, killing her, while Jack escaped the house and survived. [1]
Authorities initially suspected Jack Koslow. [1] They ultimately found that two people, Jeffrey Dillingham and Brian Dennis Salter, [2] had attacked the Koslows, with Dillingham beating them and Salter slashing their throats. [3] After the attack they stole a wristwatch worth $1,600 and $200 in cash from a wallet.
Kristi Anne Koslow, [4] the daughter of Jack Koslow and stepdaughter of Caren Koslow, had conspired with Dillingham and Salter in order to get inheritance money. [3] Kristi had provided them with the alarm codes so they could sneak into the Koslow residence. Kristi Koslow had promised them $1 million if they carried out the attack. [5]
At the time of the murder, Jack Koslow, a helicopter pilot, was 48. Caren Koslow, a member of a family of petroleum businesspeople, was 40, and Kristi Koslow was 17. Mike Cochran of the Associated Press stated that the Koslows were at the "periphery" of the "social whirl" of Fort Worth. [1]
Dillingham, born March 6, 1973, was an employee at a video store. [5] Salter was born on April 30, 1972. [6] Dillingham and Salter were both 19. [3] Salter was the boyfriend of Kristi Koslow. [3]
Salter received a life sentence as part of a plea agreement. In 1994 Kristi Koslow was convicted of murder. [3] She also received a life sentence. Dillingham refused a plea agreement, was convicted, and received the death penalty. [7]
Dillingham, Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) #999071, was received by the prison system on August 31, 1993, at age 20. [2] Dillingham was initially located in the Ellis Unit, but was transferred to the Allan B. Polunsky Unit (formerly the Terrell Unit) in 1999. The site of his execution was the Huntsville Unit. [8] Dillingham was executed at age 27, [7] by lethal injection, on November 1, 2000. [9]
As of 2018 [update] Kristi Koslow, TDCJ #00677795, is located at the Hobby Unit. [10] Salter, TDCJ #00678090, is located at the Alfred Hughes Unit. [11]
The Fort Worth Library maintains a collection of newspaper clippings related to this case under "Koslow, Kristi". [12] Due to the prominence of the case, in 2015 Tarrant County authorities chose to keep the paper court documents of the case as historical documents even though they have been digitized. [13] Jack Koslow died on October 31, 2023 (https://WWW.star-telegram.com/obituaries Sunday November 5, 2023).
The case was documented in "Family Plot," Episode 6 of Season 7 of Power, Privilege & Justice and “Please Kill For Me,” Episode 12 of Season 3 of Killer Kids and in the Season 15 episode 8 of “Snapped: Killer Couples”.
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Charles Brooks Jr., also known as Shareef Ahmad Abdul-Rahim, was a convicted murderer who was the first person to be executed using lethal injection. He was the first prisoner executed in Texas since 1964, and the first African-American to be executed anywhere in the United States in the post-Gregg era.
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Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Texas for murder, and participation in a felony resulting in death if committed by an individual who has attained or is over the age of 18.
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Allan B. Polunsky Unit is a prison in West Livingston, unincorporated Polk County, Texas, United States, located approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) southwest of Livingston along Farm to Market Road 350. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the facility. The unit houses the State of Texas death row for men, and it has a maximum capacity of 2,900. Livingston Municipal Airport is located on the other side of FM 350. The unit, along the Big Thicket, is 60 miles (97 km) east of Huntsville.
O. B. Ellis Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison located in unincorporated Walker County, Texas, 12 miles (19 km) north of Huntsville. The unit, with about 11,427 acres (4,624 ha) of space, now houses up to 2,400 male prisoners. Ellis is situated in a wooded area shared with the Estelle Unit, which is located 3 miles (4.8 km) away from Ellis. From 1965 to 1999 it was the location of the State of Texas men's death row.
The Memorial Unit (DA), known as the Darrington Unit until 2023, is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) men's prison located in Brazoria County, Texas, with a Rosharon, Texas postal address; it is not inside the Rosharon census-designated place. Most of the unit is in an unincorporated area, while a portion is in the city limits of Sandy Point.
The Christina Melton Crain Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison for females in Gatesville, Texas. The prison is along Texas State Highway 36, 3 miles (4.8 km) north of central Gatesville. The unit, with about 1,317 acres (533 ha) of space, is co-located with the Hilltop Unit, the Dr. Lane Murray Unit, and the Linda Woodman Unit. Nearby also is the Mountain View Unit, which houses all Texas female inmates on death row. Crain Unit's regular program houses around 1,500 women, and it is one of Texas's main prisons for women. Female prison offenders of the TDCJ are released from this unit. With a capacity of 2,013 inmates, Crain is the TDCJ's largest female prison.
The Louie C. Powledge Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) prison for men located in unincorporated Anderson County, Texas. The approximately 20,518-acre (8,303 ha) unit, co-located with the Beto, Coffield, and Michael prison units and the Gurney Unit transfer facility, is along Farm to Market Road 3452. The facility is located off of Farm to Market Road 645, 7 miles (11 km) west of Palestine.
Dr. Lane Murray Unit is a women's prison of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice located in Gatesville, Texas. The prison is located on Texas State Highway 36, between Farm to Market Road 215 and Farm to Market Road 929. The 1,317 acres (533 ha) unit, which opened in November 1995, is co-located with the Christina Crain Unit, the Hilltop Unit, the Mountain View Unit, and the Woodman Unit. The unit is named after Lane Murray, who was the first superintendent of the Windham School District.
The James "Jay" H. Byrd Jr. Unit (DU) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison for men located in Huntsville, Texas. The 93 acres (38 ha) diagnostic unit, established in May 1964, is 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Downtown Huntsville on Farm to Market Road 247. The prison was named after James H. Byrd, a former prison warden.
Alfred D. Hughes Unit is a prison for men of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice located in Gatesville, Texas. The prison is named after Al Hughes who served as a chairperson on the Texas Board of Corrections from 1985 to 1989.
The William P. "Bill" Clements Unit (BC) is a state prison of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) located in unincorporated Potter County, Texas, United States, east of Downtown Amarillo. It is located on Spur 591 off of Loop 335.
Suzanne Margaret "Sue" Basso was an American woman who was one of six co-defendants convicted in the August 1998 torture and murder of 59 year-old Louis "Buddy" Musso, a mentally disabled man who was killed for his life insurance money. She was sentenced to death in October 1999. Basso was executed by lethal injection on February 5, 2014. Prior to her execution, Basso had been held at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas, where all of the state's female death row inmates are incarcerated. At the time of the crime, Basso lived in Jacinto City, Texas, a Houston suburb.
The Barry B. Telford Unit (TO) a.k.a. Telford Unit is a Texas state prison located in unincorporated Bowie County, Texas. The facility, along Texas State Highway 98, is 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Interstate 30. It has a "New Boston, Texas" mailing address, and is in proximity to Texarkana. The Telford Unit is operated by Texas Department of Criminal Justice Correctional Institutions Division, administered within Region II.
William G. McConnell Unit (ML) is a Texas state prison located in unincorporated Bee County, Texas, along Texas State Highway 181, 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the city limits of Beeville. It is a part of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ).
The William P. Hobby Unit (HB) is a prison for women in unincorporated Falls County, Texas, United States. Named after William P. Hobby, Lieutenant Governor of Texas, it is a part of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). It is located on Texas Farm to Market Road 712, off Texas Business Highway 6 and 6 miles (9.7 km) southwest of Marlin.
Johnny Frank Garrett was a death row prisoner executed by the State of Texas.
