The case of Chanadliea Lowder is coming to the crime documentary Snapped tonight. Anyone who knew Chandaliea Lowder knew that her daughters were the most important to her. She’d do anything to protect them. Authorities say she went one step too far by killing Thomas Vogt Jr., the teen she believed had harmed her daughter in Enochville, North Carolina, eleven years ago. To avenge her wronged daughter, she enlisted the help of two men, Michael McDowell and Jason Sullivan, Oxygen’s Snapped’s will relate.
The case, which began as an attempted murder case, was escalated to murder when the victim died three years later. Oxygen’s Snapped will recount the entire story on their show tonight, using Enochville, North Carolina, residents, who will give some background on the town and the community’s reaction to the shooting. Also appearing on Snapped , the detectives of the Rowan County Sheriff’s Department and people who knew Chandaliea Lowder personally.
Snapped : “Chandaliea Lowder”
- A recounting of the tragic story of a woman who gunned down a man she believed had acted inappropriately with her daughter. Does this loving mother deserve to be imprisoned for the vigilante death? Or did she do what any mother would have done?
Did Chandaliea do what any mother would do, or did she go too far? Find out on an ALL NEW #Snapped Sunday at 9/8c: https://t.co/Mzuq5iOv6v pic.twitter.com/XRM7ZsjBQz
— Martinis & Murder Podcast (@Martinis_Murder) November 4, 2016
Snapped’s story begins in September 2005, when Thomas Vogt Jr., was found in the woods, near Russell Farm Road in Enochville, North Carolina. The man who found him was the property owner, who had heard gunshots in the woods behind his home.
Believing that the gunfire was most likely the work of local teens joyriding in the woods, the neighbor went to investigate. When he arrived, he found three people in a vehicle: a woman and two men. He immediately told them to leave since they were on private property, according to a report by the Salisbury Post .
Still feeling as if something was wrong, Snapped will show that the property owner decided to backtrack by following the vehicle’s previous trail. He was shocked when he found the body of Thomas Vogt Jr., under a pile of branches. The wounded victim was paralyzed but still clinging to life.
Investigators learned that the people in the vehicle were Chandaliea Wayne Lowder, 27, Jason Ray Sullivan, 18, and Michael Joseph McDowell, 33.
By all accounts, Chandaliea was a good mother to her daughter. But she suddenly snapped when she became convinced that Thomas Vogt had sexually abused her child.
A brutal death reveals a disturbing family secret & pits mother against daughter. Stream the latest #Snapped now: https://t.co/7r42aEPmmS pic.twitter.com/CDHJghOKWU
— Martinis & Murder Podcast (@Martinis_Murder) October 31, 2016
To get revenge, Chandaliea invited Vogt on a four-wheeling trip in the woods. The trip turned deadly when Chandaliea suddenly got out and shot Thomas Vogt twice.
According to the coverage on Snapped , Thomas Vogt initially survived the shooting, and all three suspects were arrested and charged with attempted murder. However, that charge was changed to second-degree murder in May 2008, when Thomas Vogt Jr. died in Phoenix, Arizona. The doctor told police that Vogt’s death was directly related to injuries that he sustained in the shooting.
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Family members of Thomas Vogt wanted the death penalty for Chandaliea. But prosecutors decided not to seek it. The victim’s father believes the death penalty is the least they could do to make up for the last three years of misery his son endured, according to The Salisbury Post.
“They might not have killed him at the time, but they took his life. For three years, he suffered. He was paralyzed after the attack, but able to talk. He was depressed and had permanent health problems. He didn’t want to do nothing. He had breathing problems. He had a (tracheotomy) tube. He was in constant pain, and no pain reliever was ever strong enough. He eventually died from a respiratory and blood infection.”
Today, Chandaliea Lowder is still serving time in prison, which will run concurrently to her other charges. To find out more details in the case, tune into Snapped at 9/8 p.m. Central on the Oxygen Channel.
[Featured Image by Oxygen Media]