Man accused of killing TWU student willingly provided DNA

Prosecutors say a man on trial for killing a TWU student used a knife in the murder.

Charles Dean Bryant is accused of murdering 24-year-old Jaqueline Vandagriff in 2016 and then setting her dismembered body on fire.

Bryant appeared attentive in court on Thursday as detectives detailed the state's evidence, including video from a Denton surveillance camera that prosecutors say captured Bryant and Vandagriff walking out of a bar and getting into his car.

Bryant faces up to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder. Prosecutors allege Bryant met the TWU student at the bar before he killed her and dismembered her body and set it on fire in a wooded area in Grapevine.

Detectives say Bryant willingly gave them a sample of his DNA early on in the investigation. They indicate that evidence will assist in proving Bryant is guilty.

The defense has said Vandagriff died during consensual sex and said he panicked and tried to dispose of her body.

The state also called experts from the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, one of whom detailed the gruesome state in which Vandagriff's body was found.

Testimony will resume on Friday.