James Cosby
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James Larry Cosby, Jr. is an American man responsible for the 2014 murders of his daughter Britney Cosby and her girlfriend Crystal Jackson. The motive for the crime is unknown, although detectives believe it was either jealousy that she had a better life than him or homophobia, as acquaintances reported that Cosby had a problem with his daughter being a lesbian.
Biography edit
Cosby was convicted of aggravated sexual assault in 1994. After his release from prison he was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender and received an additional two years imprisonment. After his release, he moved into the home of his daughter Britney, her girlfriend Crystal Jackson and their daughter Zaniah in Houston, Texas. He worked as a labourer and got the bus to work each day, as he did not own a car.
On 6 March 2014, Britney and Crystal were last seen alive by Crystal's parents driving off in their silver SUV. The following day, Crystal failed to answer any of her parent's calls and Zaniah did not turn up for school. Zaniah was still alive and at home, but the girls were nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, several miles away in Port Bolivar a delivery driver came across the dead bodies of two teenage girls. The bodies were identified as Britney and Crystal. Britney had been battered to death with a blunt instrument and Crystal had been shot in the head. Britney also had a bedsheet wrapped around her head, possibly so the killer wouldn't have to look at her face. CCTV footage established that the victim's SUV was being driven by an African-American man on the night of the disappearance. The killer had briefly been pulled over while on the way to dump the bodies, but had been allowed to go on without further hindrance.
Cosby was interviewed twice in order to clarify Britney and Crystal's movements, but was not initially considered a suspect. However, six days after the murder a single fingerprint was found on a piece of paper stuck to a window shutter that had been found with the bodies. It was matched to fingerprints taken after Cosby's previous arrest for sexual assault. Police went round to arrest him, but he was not at home, as he was speaking at a vigil for Britney and Crystal. They took the opportunity to search the house, finding that Cosby's room had a missing window shutter and one that was still in place was identical to the one found at the scene. Blood spots were found just outside his door, and massive amounts of blood were found all over the room. A box of bullets of the same calibre as the one used to kill Crystal was also found. The bedsheet found wrapped around Britney's head was identified as one of James Cosby's bedsheets by Britney's grandmother, who was also staying with her.
Officers went to the vigil and arrested Cosby. It was theorized that before going to work on 7 March, Cosby had argued with Britney about something (possibly her homosexuality) and beat her to death. Crystal walked in on it and Cosby shot her. He then loaded both their bodies into the car and drove them to Port Bolivar, where he dumped them. Cosby denied he was guilty, but was unable to explain any of the evidence against him. While Cosby was in custody, Britney and Crystal's SUV was found with their blood in it. The officer who had pulled the SUV over identified Cosby as the driver. Cosby was charged with two counts of murder and sentenced to life without parole. A 2017 appeal against his conviction was rejected.