murder of Caren Koslow

File:EllisUnitTX.jpg housed the State of Texas death row for men until mid-1999.]]

File:PolunskyUnitWestLivingstonTX.jpg houses the State of Texas death row for men.]]

File:HuntsvilleUnitHuntsvilleTX.jpg, where Jeffrey Dillingham was put to death]]

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.Cochran, Mike. "[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-19-mn-789-story.html 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 July 17, 2016.

Crime

Authorities initially suspected Jack Koslow. They ultimately found that two people, Jeffrey Dillingham and Brian Dennis Salter,"[http://tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_info/dillinghamjeffery.jpg Jeffrey Dillingham] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407160044/https://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_info/dillinghamjeffery.jpg |date=2016-04-07 }}." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved July 17, 2016. had attacked the Koslows, with Dillingham beating them and Salter slashing their throats."[https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/01/us/woman-convicted-of-plot-to-kill-rich-parents.html Woman Convicted of Plot to Kill Rich Parents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305004519/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/01/us/woman-convicted-of-plot-to-kill-rich-parents.html |date=2017-03-05 }}." Associated Press at The New York Times. July 1, 1994. Retrieved on July 17, 2016. After the attack they stole a wristwatch worth $1,600 and $200 in cash from a wallet.

Kristi Anne Koslow,Chalmers, Phil. Inside the Mind of a Teen Killer. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2009. {{ISBN|1595551522}}, 9781595551528. p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=WYDQwDvXz9MC&pg=PA214 214]. the daughter of Jack Koslow and stepdaughter of Caren Koslow, had conspired with Dillingham and Salter in order to get inheritance money. 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.Crawford, Bill (editor). Texas Death Row. Penguin Books, January 29, 2008; {{ISBN|1440635609}}, 9781440635601. "233 Jefferey Dillingham." Google Books [https://books.google.com/books?id=Dh3ypbQ7d1UC&pg=PT19 PT19].

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. 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.

Dillingham, born March 6, 1973, was an employee at a video store. Salter was born on April 30, 1972.{{Cite web|url=https://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=04690371|title=TDCJ|access-date=2016-07-17|archive-date=2016-07-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160717015333/https://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=04690371|url-status=dead}} Dillingham and Salter were both 19 years old at the time of the murder. Salter was the boyfriend of Kristi Koslow.

Legal consequences

Salter and Dillingham were both offered plea agreements for life in prison with parole eligibility after 35 years for capital murder in exchange for testifying against Koslow. Salter accepted the deal, but Dillingham did not. He was later found guilty and sentenced to death."[http://lubbockonline.com/stories/110200/sta_110200085.shtml State executes killer in Fort Worth murder-for-hire scheme] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625070743/http://lubbockonline.com/stories/110200/sta_110200085.shtml |date=2016-06-25 }}." Associated Press at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Thursday November 2, 2000. Retrieved July 17, 2016. In 1994, Kristi Koslow was convicted of capital murder, but received a life sentence after the jury could not agree on a death sentence.{{Cite news |date=1994-07-01 |title=Koslow 33 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram-koslow-33/93633213/ |access-date=2025-05-02 |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |pages=29}}

Dillingham, Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) #999071, was received by the prison system on August 31, 1993, at age 20. 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."[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_facts.html Death Row Facts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104192523/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_facts.html |date=2018-01-04 }}." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved February 4, 2016. Dillingham was executed at age 27, by lethal injection, on November 1, 2000."[http://tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_info/dillinghamjefferylast.html Last Statement Jeffery Dillingham #999071] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407211210/https://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/death_row/dr_info/dillinghamjefferylast.html |date=2016-04-07 }}." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 17, 2016.

{{As of|2018}}, Kristi Koslow, TDCJ #00677795, is located at the Hobby Unit."[https://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=04702187 00677795] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160717014850/https://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=04702187 |date=2016-07-17 }}." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved July 17, 2016. Salter, TDCJ #00678090, is located at the Alfred Hughes Unit."[https://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=04690371 00678090] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160717015333/https://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=04690371 |date=2016-07-17 }}." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved July 17, 2016.

Aftermath

The Fort Worth Library maintains a collection of newspaper clippings related to this case under "Koslow, Kristi"."[http://fortworthtexas.gov/library/local-history/biography-vertical-files.html Biography Vertical Files] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728140118/http://fortworthtexas.gov/library/local-history/biography-vertical-files.html |date=2016-07-28 }}." Fort Worth Library. Retrieved on July 18, 2016. 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.{{cite news|author=Tinsley, Anna M.|url=https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article16098065.html|title=Tarrant County’s ‘famous’ case file won’t be destroyed|newspaper=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|date=2015-03-23|accessdate=2019-01-08|archive-date=2019-01-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190108202206/https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article16098065.html|url-status=live}} Jack Koslow died on October 31, 2023.[https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/dfw/name/john-koslow-obituary?id=53513690], www.legacy.com. November 5, 2023.

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 and in the Season 15 episode 8 of Snapped: Killer Couples.{{cn|date=June 2024}}