Prosecution alleges carpet removed to conceal blood stains in trial of man accused of murdering Longview woman

GILMER, Texas (KLTV) – The lead investigator from Upshur County testified this morning in the trial of Carlton Grant, who is accused of murdering Rachel Rhoads of Longview in 2018.

Tim Hall, who led the investigation for Upshur County, was on the stand when the jury viewed the burnt body of Rhoads, which was found off a road in Upshur County on April 3, 2018. Prosecutors alleged that Carlton Lamar Grant, 42, of Arlington, burned the body of Rhoads after strangling her to death in her own car.

Yesterday, a potential co-defendant of Grant’s, Lindsey McFadden, testified and told the court that Grant killed Rhoads. She said she witnessed Grant strangle Rhoads using a zip tie from the back seat of her own car while she sat in the front.

The attendant at a Diana gas station who was present when the duo stole the lighter used to allegedly burn Rhoads also testified. She said McFadden came in and asked to use a lighter and never gave it back.

Texas Ranger Chris Baggot, who assisted with the investigation, also testified. He was present in the initial jail interview with Carlton, which investigator Hall participated in. He testified that Carlton implicated himself when he mentioned the color of the lighter used, which was unknown to investigators at the time.

“I don’t know anything about a white lighter,” Carlton could be seen saying on camera. The investigators wrapped up the interview shortly after.

The gas station worker displayed her new blue lighter to the jury, citing a reason for the change.

“Because of what they did to that girl with my lighter,” she said.

Bedford Police Officer Tim Davis also took the stand. He encountered Grant and McFadden just hours after they allegedly dumped Rhoades’ body. Davis encountered the duo at a gas station in Bedford, where they were found in Rhoads’ car, which had been stripped of its plates. At the time, he was unable to learn any further information from Longview police, other than Rhoads was missing and the two were allowed to leave.

Prosecutors noted that the car in Davis’ bodycam footage has carpeting, whereas photos taken of the car in custody show it without carpet. Prosecutors suggested that the carpeting was removed to dispose of blood stains when Grant supposedly punched Rhoads. Testing by Ranger Baggot revealed blood in the back of the car.

In the afternoon, the trial continued with testimony from a DNA expert from DPS, who handled the case. Amber Moss conducted the DNA testing on multiple samples from the crime scene.

A single DNA sample, belonging to Rhoads, was found in the back seat of her car, where prosecutors said Grant punched her after first strangling her from his position in the back seat, while she sat in the front.

The murder weapon, according to prosecutors, was a zip-tie-like object that was used to strangle Rhoads. Such an object was found burnt at the scene with her body, and Moss testified that fire can degrade DNA. A partial DNA sample of Carlton’s was found at the end of the zip tie.

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