Appeals court upholds man’s life sentence for strangulation murder of Longview woman

UPSHUR COUNTY, Texas ( KETK ) – After being sentenced to life in prison in 2023, an appeals court upheld the conviction on Friday of a man who murdered and burned the body of a Longview woman.

According to the Upshur County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, 43-year-old Carlton Grant will spend life in prison without parole after a Texarkana appeals court upheld his sentence for the murder of Rachel Rhoads.

The release said Rhoads’ roommate was mutual friends with Grant and his girlfriend. In March 2018, Grant strangled Rhoads with a homemade garrote and a zip tie in her vehicle after she agreed to drive him and his girlfriend home. Afterwards, he and his girlfriend would dispose of Rhoads’ body by dumping it in a utility right-of-way and burning it.

“When the crime scene was surveyed, Grant’s sock was found near Rhoads’ body, the black zip tie was still around the victim’s neck, part of a vinegar bottle was found, along with the zebra-print blanket that Grant covered the victim with,” the DA’s office said.

Rhoads’ official cause of death was strangulation , according to his warrant.

The DA’s office said Grant and his girlfriend were arrested in April 2018, where she was cooperative meanwhile Grant denied all allegations.

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