Man found guilty in death, dismemberment

FORT WORTH, Texas — A 31-year-old man has been convicted of murder in the death of a Texas college student who died when they were having sex and whose body was found dismembered and burned.

A jury in Fort Worth deliberated for less than three hours Monday before convicting Charles Dean Bryant in the death of 24-year-old Jacqueline Vandagriff, a Texas Woman’s University student. Bryant also was found guilty of tampering with evidence. Defence attorney Glynis McGinty argued that Vandagriff died accidentally during consensual sex with Bryant. She says a plastic tie was placed around Vandagriff’s neck, causing asphyxiation. Mcginty says Bryant committed a crime by panicking and disposing of the woman’s body in September 2016, but he did not commit murder. Vandagriff’s remains were found near a lake.