James Osgood was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murder of Tracy Brown
According to court documents James Osgood and his girlfriend Tonya van Dyke would beat, sexually assault and murder Tracy Brown.
James Osgood would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
James Osgood was executed on April 24 2025
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Where is James Osgood Now
James Osgood is incarcerated at Holman Prison
James Osgood Case
The evidence presented at trial revealed that on October 13, 2010, Tracy Brown was found dead in her home. Brown’s landlord made the discovery after being contacted by Brown’s employer when the employer became concerned because Brown had failed to show up for work. Officer David Moses of the Chilton County Sheriff’s Department testified that he and his partner were the first to arrive on the scene. Officer Moses testified that he went into Brown’s bedroom and saw Brown lying on the floor next to her bed. According to Moses, Brown was naked and had stab wounds to her back as well as a gruesome wound to her neck causing him to believe that she had been murdered. Moses stated that he then left the room, secured the scene, and called other officers for assistance.
Lieutenant Shane Lockhart, a detective with the Chilton County Sheriff’s Department, testified that he was the lead investigator on the case. After eliminating one potential suspect, Lockhart learned that Brown had last been seen in the company of Osgood and Osgood’s girlfriend, Tonya Vandyke. Lockhart eventually interviewed Osgood early the next morning after Osgood voluntarily agreed to come to the sheriff’s office to speak with Lockhart. During that interview, Osgood told Lockhart that he and Vandyke had been with Brown the previous day. Osgood stated that the three of them had gone to Brown’s place of employment to pick up her paycheck and then ran various errands, including cashing the check, paying Brown’s electric bill, and driving to a nearby town in order to look at a vehicle that Brown was considering purchasing. Further testimony from various witnesses corroborated Osgood’s story regarding their activities that morning.
Lockhart testified that he then asked Osgood whether he had ever had sex with Brown. Osgood initially denied any type of sexual relationship with Brown. However, after further questioning, Osgood admitted to Lockhart that he and Vandyke had engaged in a “threesome” with Brown on the day she was murdered. (R. 760.) Osgood explained to Lockhart that Brown first performed oral sex on him. Osgood told Lockhart that Brown then got on her hands and knees on her bed and performed oral sex on Vandyke while Osgood had both vaginal and anal sex with Brown from behind. Osgood stated to Lockhart that he and Vandyke had agreed to lie about the sexual encounter because Vandyke and Brown were cousins and Vandyke was ashamed of their behavior.
Lockhart also testified that a handgun was found at the crime scene. When asked about the gun, Osgood admitted that he and Vandyke brought the gun to Brown’s home. According to Osgood, they gave the gun to Brown for protection because Brown had previously told them that a man in her trailer park was harassing her. Lockhart further testified that, during the interview, he observed a cut on the small finger of Osgood’s right hand. According to Lockhart, people often get that type of wound when they stab another person “because of the slickness of the knife once blood gets on it.” (R. 764.) Lockhart stated that he had seen similar wounds on suspects in previous investigations in which a victim had been stabbed. Although Osgood steadfastly denied killing Brown, Lockhart placed him under arrest for Brown’s murder. Lockhart testified that he then obtained search warrants for Osgood’s residence and vehicle and began the process of collecting additional physical evidence.
Approximately one month later, on November 16, 2010, Osgood, who was incarcerated in the Chilton County jail, asked the jail staff about the location of his vehicle and cellular telephone. Lockhart learned about his request and went to the jail along with Captain Erick Smitherman to talk with Osgood. Prior to this encounter, Lockhart had obtained a written statement from a woman named Tiffany Matthews, who was incarcerated with Vandyke. According to Matthews’s statement, Vandyke admitted that she and Osgood were involved in Brown’s murder and gave Matthews and another prisoner a detailed description of the killing. (C. 573-76.) Lockhart brought a copy of that statement to the jail on November 16 and read portions of it to Osgood. However, Lockhart changed the pronouns in the statement in order to make it seem like the statement was written by Vandyke. Lockhart stated that Osgood asked him to read the statement a second time, after which Osgood “put his head down, and appeared to be in deep thought.” (R. 787.) After a short time, Osgood “looked up and said, you might want to get a pen and a piece of paper.” (R. 788.)
According to Lockhart, James Osgood then began to give him a detailed description of Brown’s killing and what led up to it. A video recording of the November 16, 2010, interview was admitted into evidence as State’s exhibit 36 and was played for the jury. (R. 825.) In the video, Osgood told Lockhart that he had seen an episode of the television program “CSI” in which two brothers kidnapped a person, held them in a cage, and tortured them. (R. 788-89.) Osgood told Lockhart that “for a long time he had watched stuff like that and could see himself doing something like that for pretty much as long as he could remember.” (R. 789.) Osgood told Lockhart that he discussed his fantasies with Vandyke and learned that she had similar fantasies as well. Osgood and Vandyke then began to form a plan in which they would find “a bad person, like somebody who had molested a child” to be their victim or “maybe going to Wal-Mart and snatching someone at random.” (R. 789.) However, they eventually decided that Brown would be their victim.
James Osgood then began to give Lockhart details about Brown’s murder. Osgood stated that after he, Brown, and Vandyke finished running errands, the three returned to Brown’s trailer and engaged in conversation. A short time later, Brown and Vandyke went into the hallway near the bathroom, at which point Vandyke slapped Brown in the face. According to Osgood, the slap was a pre-planned signal for him and Vandyke to set their plan in motion.
James Osgood stated that he approached Brown from behind and put her in a choke hold until she was almost unconscious. Osgood and Vandyke then took Brown into the bedroom where Osgood forced Brown to perform oral sex on him while Vandyke pointed a gun at her. Osgood stated that he told Vandyke to shoot Brown if Brown bit his penis. Brown then asked if she could use the bathroom at which point Osgood followed her into the bathroom while she defecated. When the two returned to the bedroom, Vandyke undressed and sat at the head of the bed and told Brown to perform oral sex on her. Osgood explained that he was having both vaginal and anal sex with Brown while she was performing oral sex on Vandyke.
According to James Osgood, Brown asked to use the bathroom again. Osgood stated that he again accompanied Brown to the bathroom and made her perform oral sex on him while she was defecating. Osgood told the detectives that, after Brown finished using the bathroom, she attempted to escape by running out of the back door of the trailer. Osgood stated that he prevented the escape by grabbing Brown’s hair and dragging her back into the bedroom.
James Osgood then told detectives that he then resumed having sex with Brown until he and Vandyke looked at each other and shook their heads. At that point, Osgood stated that he took his knife out of his sock and cut Brown on the side of her neck in an attempt to cut her jugular vein. Osgood told detectives that he began to get scared because Brown was not dying fast enough. James Osgood admitted that he then stabbed Brown in the back and continued to cut her throat. According to Osgood, he apologized to Brown, told her that it “was nothing against her,” and that she just “needed to quit fighting and just let go.” (State’s Exhibit 36.) Osgood stated that after Brown was dead, he went into Brown’s bathroom and took a shower. Afterwards, he and Vandyke left the trailer, went to Vandyke’s house, and had sex with each other.
James Osgood raises several issues in his brief to this Court, some of which were not raised at trial and are consequently not preserved for appellate review. However, because James Osgood was sentenced to death, his failure to object at trial does not preclude this Court from reviewing those issues for plain error. Rule 45A, Ala. R. App. P., provides:
“In all cases in which the death penalty has been imposed, the Court of Criminal Appeals shall notice any plain error or defect in the proceedings under review, whether or not brought to the attention of the trial court, and take appropriate appellate action by reason thereof, whenever such error has or probably has adversely affected the substantial right of the appellant.”
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1751731.html
James Osgood Execution
James Osgood, 55, was executed by lethal injection on April 24, at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. He was pronounced dead at 6:35 p.m.
According to the Alabama Department of Corrections, Osgood had 12 visitors and 7 phone calls on April 23, and 11 visitors and 1 phone call on the day of his execution. He ate breakfast and snacks, declined lunch, and requested pizza for his final meal.
Convicted of the 2010 rape and murder of Tracy Lynn Brown in Chilton County, Osgood confessed to the crime and ultimately waived his appeals, requesting the State carry out his sentence.
“Nearly fifteen years ago, James Osgood committed an unspeakable act of violence brutally raping and murdering Tracy Brown,” said Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. “A jury of his peers found him guilty and unanimously recommended the ultimate punishment: death. Tonight, my heart and prayers are with Tracy’s family. No one should have to endure the pain they’ve carried or relive the horror of her tragic and senseless death. I want them to know that the State of Alabama stands with them. We are unwavering in our commitment to seek justice, not only to hold the guilty accountable, but to honor the dignity of every victim and restore peace to the communities they leave behind.”
Governor Kay Ivey also issued a statement:
“The murder of Tracy Wilemon was premeditated, gruesome and disturbing, and tonight, the state carried out the death sentence of James Osgood. Both Mr. Osgood and his accomplice – who will never see the light of day – from the moment they were inspired by a Hollywood torture scene, set out to commit this heinous crime against Ms. Wilemon and are now paying the price. And let’s be clear: At the end of all of this, Mr. Osgood robbed Ms. Wilemon of her life, something that can never be reversed for her or her family. I pray that her loved ones can feel some sense of closure today.”
Osgood, known to those close to him as “Taz” or “Jimmy,” volunteered for execution and expressed remorse for his actions. His attorney, Alison Mollman, Legal Director of the ACLU of Alabama, shared the following:
“When I became an attorney, I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. Inherent in that solemn pledge was my personal commitment to provide effective legal representation to each of my clients, regardless of the severity of the offense or their guilt. I became James Osgood’s appellate attorney because of that oath, but I remained his attorney and close friend for over a decade because of his humanity.
Mr. Osgood was known by his loved ones as ‘Taz,’ and by his beloved sister as his childhood nickname, ‘Jimmy.’ He was short in stature but had a big personality and an even bigger sense of humor. He was self-deprecating and didn’t take himself seriously. He loved to laugh and to make others laugh. He sought to bring joy to those in his orbit and grieved when he caused harm. He made mistakes, terrible ones that he regretted until his dying day, but he didn’t make excuses for his actions. He was accountable and he was sincere. He loved with all sincerity, and the people closest to him felt that love each and every day. I know this, because I was one of those fortunate people.
Those of us who loved Taz will remember him as a man who was more than his worst actions. Like Taz, we will not make excuses for the harm he caused, but we will remember the good we saw in him. We will remember Taz the person, not James Osgood the ‘criminal.’ We will remember that actions may be evil or bad, but people are not. People are redeemable.”
According to state records:
“On October 18, 2010, the body of Tracy Brown was discovered in her Chilton County residence after she failed to report to work. Brown had last been seen on October 17 in the company of James Osgood and his girlfriend, Tonya Vandyke. Law enforcement executed search warrants at Osgood’s home and vehicle. A fellow inmate of Vandyke reported that she had admitted involvement in the murder. Confronted with this information, Osgood voluntarily confessed, providing detailed accounts of the planning and execution of the crime.
Osgood was indicted for two counts of capital murder—murder during the course of rape and sodomy. At trial, the State presented Osgood’s confession and supporting evidence. The jury found him guilty on both counts and unanimously recommended the death penalty, which the court imposed.
Osgood pursued post-conviction appeals for several years before waiving them, admitting guilt, and requesting the State proceed with his execution.”
A brief press conference was held by Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm following the execution. Osgood’s body will undergo a postmortem examination by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Mobile, after being released to the Escambia County Coroner.
This marks Alabama’s second execution of 2025.