Weldon Powell Charged With Killing Wife Brittany Powell in Quitman
Arrest documents reveal the suspect shot his wife in the head and kept her body in a freezer for days before a landlord found her.
By Natalie Cooper ·
Weldon Powell faces a murder charge for the death of his wife, Brittany Powell, in Quitman, Texas.
Wood County deputies arrested Powell on Wednesday. A probable cause affidavit filed by the sheriff's office details the timeline of events leading to her discovery. The documents state that Powell shot Brittany in the temple and left her body in the bathroom for several days.
The sequence began three days before the arrest. Brittany's sister and brother-in-law received a text message from her. She described a physical altercation with her husband. When her sister asked if she was safe, Brittany replied that she was not good. She promised to call them soon but never did.
By Wednesday, the couple had not heard from Brittany in three days. Her brother-in-law noted that neither Brittany nor Weldon had shown up for work, which he said was unusual. He checked the Life360 app on his phone. The last recorded location for Brittany was Lake Quitman. He drove to the lake around noon to look for her but did not find her.
At 2:30 p.m., the brother-in-law called the Powells. Weldon answered the phone and said he was running errands while his wife stayed home. The brother-in-law drove past the store Weldon mentioned but did not see him or his truck. He then went to the couple's house. Weldon was not there. The brother-in-law knocked and called out for Brittany but received no answer.
He called Weldon again. Weldon repeated that his wife was at the house. The brother-in-law told Weldon he was calling the police. Weldon appeared indifferent to the news. He did not answer any further calls. Around 6 p.m., dispatchers pinged the couple's phones. Brittany's phone signal came from Lake Quitman.
Approximately 45 minutes later, the couple's landlord called dispatch. He had stopped by the house to check on pets he believed were left alone. He went inside and found Brittany's body in the bathroom. The landlord said Weldon pulled up to the home shortly after. He saw the landlord and sped away at high speed. He told deputies he saw Weldon head toward the front gate of Holiday Villages. Officers found him there and took him into custody.
Blood marks on the floor led from an outside back door into the bathroom. Deputies said the marks indicated she was dragged inside after being shot elsewhere. The affidavit alleges Powell surrounded the body with ice. He is currently held in the Wood County Jail on a bond of $1,000,000.
