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A man who got into an accident after leaving a bar early Sunday morning drove several miles to his home and went to bed, his pickup truck parked in his driveway with the decapitated body of his friend partly hanging out the passenger side window, Cobb County police said. Police said John Kemper Hutcherson, 21, of Marietta drove off a road soon after leaving a bar about midnight and hit a support wire to a telephone pole. The guide wire severed the head of his friend, Francis Daniel Brohm, 23, of Marietta. Hutcherson then drove 12 miles to his home...

Driver kept going with body on hood, Phoenix police say10:45 PM CST on Thursday, December 25, 2003From Staff and Wire Reports PHOENIX – Three people were in custody Thursday night in connection with a bizarre hit-and-run early Christmas Day, authorities said. A pedestrian was fatally struck near 24th Street and Broadway Road in south-central Phoenix about 5 a.m. Thursday, and the driver kept going with the body still on the car, Phoenix police said. Armando Chacon was on his way to work when he saw the accident. He told KPNX-TV in Phoenix that he saw the car hit the man,...

Student Whose Father Died in Winshield Killing Gets Scholarship From Death-Row Inmate DALLAS Oct. 23 — A college student whose father was hit by a car and left to die in the windshield then forgave the woman who did it was awarded a $10,000 scholarship raised by death-row inmates. The money for Brandon Biggs, 20, was raised through donations and subscriptions to "Compassion," a bimonthly newsletter written by the nation's death-row inmates and a project of the Roman Catholic church's peace and justice committee. "We want to debunk the myth that death-row inmates are subhuman monsters needing to be killed,"...

Mallard found guilty in windshield death case06/26/2003By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News FORT WORTH – A Tarrant County jury took less than a hour Thursday to find nurse's aide Chante Mallard guilty of murder in the death of Gregory Biggs, the homeless man she struck with her car and left to die in her shattered windshield. There was no audible reaction in the courtroom as the guilty verdict was returned. Ms. Mallard, 27, stood between her two defense lawyers, Jeffrey Kearney and Reagan Wynn, before being led into a holding room. The sentencing phase of her trial will...

Mallard pleads not guilty to murder06/23/2003From Staff and Wire Reports FORT WORTH, Texas - A former nurse's aide smoked pot, took ecstasy and drank heavily in the hours before she hit a homeless man and drove home while he was lodged in her windshield, prosecutors and defense attorneys told jurors as her murder trial began Monday. Chante Jawan Mallard, 27, faces life in prison if convicted. She pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, tampering with evidence, before attorneys began their opening statements on the murder charge. Although she had taken drugs, Mallard could have stopped at a nearby fire or...

Fire captain: It wasn't too late for man in windshieldProsecutors say victim would have survived with medical aid06/25/2003By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News FORT WORTH – Given up to an hour to respond, any Fort Worth firefighter – including Chante Mallard's brother, a lieutenant in the department – could have saved the life of a man Ms. Mallard is accused of murdering, a Fire Department captain testified Tuesday in court. "There's not a member of the Fort Worth Fire Department that could not have saved [Gregory] Biggs' life with basic life support," Capt. James Sowder, a 24-year department...

Forensic scientist takes stand in windshield death case06/24/2003By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News FORT WORTH - Fort Worth forensic scientist Max Courtney said Gregory Biggs, the man who Chante Mallard is accused of striking and killing with her car, likely spit blood while hanging inside her vehicle, suggesting he was alive after initial impact. Mr. Biggs' hand also gripped a map holder within Ms. Mallard's car door, Mr. Courtney testified Tuesday in Ms. Mallard's murder trial in Fort Worth district court. Ms. Mallard is accused of hitting Mr. Biggs with her car in October 2001, driving home...

LIVE streaming video of the Chante Mallard Trial Tuesday 06-24-2003 Gregory Biggs Chante Mallard Chante Mallard (left) is accused of strikingGregory Biggs with her car and leaving himto die in the windshield. Here is the link. It requires RealPlayer I believe: http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=5882

Posted on Sat, Jun. 21, 2003 Windshield case: Was it murder?By Deanna Boyd and Melody McDonaldStar-Telegram staff writersFORT WORTH - A mile and a half. The curved stretch of dimly-lit highway and one exit were all that lay between Chante Jawan Mallard and her house in Fort Worth. Mallard trialChante Mallard's trial in the death of Gregory Biggs is expected to begin Monday in the 371st state District Court in Fort Worth. Court TV is scheduled to televise the proceedings. State District Judge James Wilson has placed a gag order on the lawyers and on others involved in the...

Windshield case attracts spotlightMallard trial will focus national media, legal eye on FW courts again06/18/2003By LAURIE FOX and DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News FORT WORTH – When it comes to trying highly publicized court cases, Tarrant County jurors get plenty of practice. Sensational murder defendants such as Cullen Davis, Diane Zamora and Robert Neville have stood trial in Fort Worth, greeted by a crush of TV cameras and curious courtroom spectators. Legal observers expect the glare of national media – and the challenges that come with it – to return this week as the "windshield case" begins in...

Jury Selection Begins For Accused In Windshield Death Frank Heinz, Convergence Editor POSTED: 7:13 a.m. CDT June 10, 2003 UPDATED: 7:26 a.m. CDT June 10, 2003 FORT WORTH, Texas -- Jury selection is under way for Chante Mallard, the Fort Worth woman accused of hitting a man with her car and leaving him stuck in her windshield to die. Potential jurors began filling out questionnaires on Monday. Police say after Mallard hit Gregory Biggs, 37, with her car, she left the car parked in her garage, with Biggs stuck in the windshield. Jurors will be back in court next...

In Texas, three white men were tried and convicted of murder for the dragging death of a black man, James Byrd, Jr. in June of 1998. Two of the men, Bill King, 25, and Russell Brewer Jr., 32, who were the ones who actually killed Byrd, were sentenced to death. The third man, Shawn Berry, who owned the truck involved, had picked up James Byrd, walking 10 miles home from his job, as he often did for both white and black pedestrians. His action angered King, who sported racist tattoos. The indictment clearly showed that Berry was threatened with...