Murder of Avanell Cowgill by Daniel Brooks investigated on See No Evil

See No Evil is examining the brutal robbery and murder of Avanell Cowgill by thug Daniel Brooks at her home in East Texas in 2013.

On the afternoon of March 7, 2013, Brooks and his friend, David Herron, decided they needed money to buy heroin. Brooks concluded the easiest way to do this would be to rob someone’s home, and despite Herron’s reluctance, Brooks decided to go through with it, albeit alone.

A short time later, Brooks returned saying he had successfully robbed and frightened an elderly woman and stolen her credit card, cash, and jewelry. The pair then attempted to sell the items Brooks had stolen and used the card to buy items and withdraw cash.

Brooks successfully bought an iPad with the stolen card and then sold it to someone else. This was this transaction that would later prove to be his downfall.

Meanwhile, two days after the murder, Avanell Cowgill’s daughter asked the Dallas police to check in on her 79-year-old mother, who she had been unable to contact. The police then made the horrible discovery that the grandmother had been beaten and strangled to death.

Police quickly closed in on killer Daniel Brooks

Fortunately, the detectives were soon put on the trail of Brooks and Herron after Cowgill’s credit card company notified the investigators of several suspicious transactions. Once the cops knew where the card had been used, they were able to check surveillance footage and get an image of the killer.

The police were also able to track down the electronics store where Brooks bought the iPad, and the store employees were easily able to identify Brooks and even gave the cops a name.

Brooks and Herron were arrested at a motel a couple of weeks after the murder. Herron eventually agreed to help with the investigation and testified against the killer.

Brooks was charged with capital murder but insisted he was innocent. A trial in June 2014 ended with a Dallas County jury in deadlock and a mistrial. However, a second trial led to a guilty verdict, and Brooks was incarcerated for the rest of his life without the possibility of parole.

More from See No Evil

Follow the links to read about more murders profiled on See No Evil.

Damoni Hall flew into a jealous rage while arguing with his girlfriend, Tequila Suter, which resulted in him stabbing the young woman a shocking 39 times. The sick killer tried to claim it was all an accident.

Ivanice “Ivy” Harris was a Las Vegas-based prostitute vacationing in Hawaii when she ran into Nathaniel Cosby, a serving member of the Marine Corps. Cosby strangled her to death in a hotel room and then dumped her body in the long grass up on the coast from Honolulu.

See No Evil airs at 10/9c on Investigation Discovery.