Murder of Caren Koslow

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]

The Ellis Unit housed the State of Texas death row for men until mid-1999.
Allan B. Polunsky Unit houses the State of Texas death row for men.
Huntsville Unit, where Jeffrey Dillingham was put to death

Crime

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]

Background

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 Kristi Koslow, TDCJ #00677795, is located at the Hobby Unit.[10] Salter, TDCJ #00678090, is located at the Alfred Hughes Unit.[11]

Aftermath

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]

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.

References
  1. Cochran, Mike. "Murder in Ritzy Neighborhood Plays Like Classic Mystery Novel : Crime: Circumstantial evidence indicated that Jack Koslow killed his wife. Then Ft. Worth police got a telephone call.." Associated Press at the Los Angeles Times. April 19, 1992. Retrieved on July 17, 2016.
  2. "Jeffrey Dillingham." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 17, 2016.
  3. "Woman Convicted of Plot to Kill Rich Parents." Associated Press at The New York Times. July 1, 1994. Retrieved on July 17, 2016.
  4. Chalmers, Phil. Inside the Mind of a Teen Killer. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2009. ISBN 1595551522, 9781595551528. p. 214.
  5. Crawford, Bill (editor). Texas Death Row. Penguin Books, January 29, 2008. ISBN 1440635609, 9781440635601. "233 Jefferey Dillingham." Google Books PT19.
  6. "TDCJ".
  7. "State executes killer in Fort Worth murder-for-hire scheme." Associated Press at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Thursday November 2, 2000. Retrieved on July 17, 2016.
  8. "Death Row Facts." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on February 4, 2016.
  9. "Last Statement Jeffery Dillingham #999071." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 17, 2016.
  10. "00677795." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 17, 2016.
  11. "00678090." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 17, 2016.
  12. "Biography Vertical Files." Fort Worth Library. Retrieved on July 18, 2016.
  13. Tinsley, Anna M. (2015-03-23). "Tarrant County's 'famous' case file won't be destroyed". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
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