Former Deputy Documents Alleged Roy Alan Stuart Confessions in Secret Prison Journals
By Tammy Rose | Investigative Reporter
For nearly two years inside a Texas prison, former Harris County deputy Kent McGowen says he got to know convicted serial killer Roy Alan Stuart. What began as casual conversations became something McGowen says he could not ignore.
McGowen says Stuart described murders, body disposal sites and victims who had never been publicly connected to him. McGowen feared he would forget the details, so he secretly documented the conversations in composition notebooks, handwritten journals and investigative timelines.
The former Harris County deputy shared those journals, notebooks and supporting documents publicly for the first time.
Over the past several weeks, I interviewed McGowen, reviewed hundreds of pages of handwritten prison journals, examined supporting documents and sought comment from Brazoria County District Attorney Tom Selleck, retired Brazoria County Criminal District Attorney’s Office investigator John Blankenship and retired investigator Matt Wingo. None responded before publication.
This article documents what McGowen says he recorded while incarcerated with Stuart. I have not independently verified every allegation contained in the journals. Whenever possible, I include supporting documents, public records and responses from people connected to the case.
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Why McGowen Started Writing Everything Down
McGowen served about 19 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice after a jury convicted him in the 1992 murder of Susan White.
McGowen says he spent nearly two years housed in what he described as a converted shipping container with more than a dozen other inmates, including Stuart.
According to McGowen, most inmates avoided Stuart because of his reputation.
“If you think what a serial killer looks like, that’s the picture that pops into your mind,” McGowen told me.
Eventually, the two men started talking.
According to McGowen, those conversations changed everything.
He says Stuart described crimes, victims, locations and methods in extraordinary detail. McGowen believed much of the information had never become public.
Instead of relying on memory, McGowen quietly wrote down what Stuart told him. He used composition notebooks, handwritten journals and investigative timelines whenever he had the opportunity.
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Secret Prison Journals
McGowen says he often wrote the notes late at night after speaking with Stuart. Poor lighting and the need for secrecy made many pages difficult to read decades later.
He never intended to publish the journals.
Instead, McGowen says he created a personal record of conversations he hoped investigators would eventually review.
As time passed, he expanded the project. He created typed investigative summaries, organized his notes and added details as additional memories surfaced.
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Original Notebook Pages
Additional Documents
During our interview, McGowen said the journals document conversations and allegations involving convicted serial killer Roy Alan Stuart while the two men were incarcerated together.
I am publishing the journals as source material for transparency. I have not independently verified every allegation they contain. Readers should not interpret their publication as confirmation that every claim is true.
I published the notebook pages as McGowen provided them, except for minor adjustments that improve readability.
Readers can compare the original handwritten journals with McGowen’s later typed investigative summaries to better understand the chronology he documented.
What Stuart Told McGowen
According to McGowen, Roy Alan Stuart eventually grew comfortable talking about his past. McGowen says Stuart began describing crimes he claimed to have committed.
The conversations continued for nearly two years while both men served time in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. McGowen worried he would forget important details, so he recorded the conversations in handwritten prison journals. Later, he organized the information into typed investigative summaries and timelines.
McGowen’s notes include allegations involving additional victims whom public records have never linked to Stuart.
One entry identifies Linda Kay (White) Simmons. McGowen says Stuart claimed responsibility for killing her in 1971 after prison officials released him following the killing of another victim also named Kay.
Another entry describes a woman McGowen says Stuart claimed was thrown from a bridge into Austin Bayou. McGowen writes that Stuart described the location during one of their conversations.
McGowen also documented allegations involving a constable he says Stuart claimed to have killed. In his notes, McGowen identified the person as a law enforcement officer who later used a wheelchair.
McGowen says he shared the information with retired veteran investigator Matt Wingo, who served for decades in Brazoria County, and referenced additional details involving Austin Bayou in his prison notes.
Additional Allegations Documented in McGowen’s Notes
According to McGowen’s handwritten notes and his 2023 correspondence with retired investigator Matt Wingo, Stuart allegedly described numerous additional crimes during nearly two years of conversations in prison. They include:
McGowen’s notes state that Stuart claimed his first killing occurred when he was about 10 years old. According to the notes, Stuart alleged his father restrained Stuart’s paternal uncle and ordered him to beat the man to death with a baseball bat.
The notes also describe an allegation that Stuart murdered a nun in Potter County and concealed her body beneath a cattle water trough.
Another allegation in McGowen’s notes is that Stuart claimed he kidnapped a woman in Tomball.
The notes also reference additional alleged homicide victims, body disposal locations, and other crimes Stuart reportedly described during nearly two years of conversations in prison.
The allegations above have not been independently verified by me. They are published because they appear in McGowen’s contemporaneous notes and correspondence, which investigators previously acknowledged reviewing.
Could Terri Denise McDaniels Be One of the Cases?
McGowen’s notes include an allegation that Roy Alan Stuart claimed he murdered a young girl in Brazoria County after allegedly being paid approximately $3,000 by the victim’s mother for life insurance proceeds.
At this time, I have not identified any public records linking Roy Alan Stuart to McDaniels’ homicide, and no official connection has been established.
While researching the case, I found online discussions in which some members of the public have speculated that Stuart could have been responsible for McDaniels’ unsolved killing. Those online discussions are not evidence and do not establish a connection.
Because McDaniels’ homicide remains unsolved and McGowen’s notes describe an alleged unidentified victim in Brazoria County, I am continuing to examine whether any records or witnesses support—or refute—a possible connection.
Investigators Acknowledged Receiving the Information
Additional notebook entries reference unidentified victims, possible body disposal sites and locations McGowen believed investigators should review.
No public records confirm Stuart’s involvement in these additional cases.
I included the material because it appears throughout McGowen’s handwritten journals, investigative summaries and supporting documents.
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Efforts to Alert Investigators
McGowen says he never intended for the prison journals to remain hidden.
After leaving prison, he organized his handwritten notes into typed investigative summaries. He says he shared portions of that material with investigators in hopes they would examine the information further.
The emails, text messages and documents included in this article show McGowen’s efforts to preserve the information and seek additional review. They do not independently verify the allegations themselves.
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State Records Confirm Roy Alan Stuart Died in Prison
Official Record: The Texas Attorney General Custodial Death Report below confirms Roy Alan Stuart died on May 10, 2019, while in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The report lists his manner of death as natural and identifies lung cancer as the medical cause of death.
While reviewing McGowen’s records, I also obtained an official Texas Attorney General Custodial Death Report confirming Roy Alan Stuart died on May 10, 2019, while in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
The report states Stuart was 71 years old. He died while receiving hospice care at the Michael Unit in Anderson County. It lists lung cancer as the medical cause of death and classifies the manner of death as natural.
McGowen told me Stuart appeared to disappear from the public TDCJ inmate roster after he began providing information to investigators in 2019. According to McGowen, Stuart later appeared under a different unit assignment before state records ultimately confirmed his death.
What Remains Unverified
Many of the allegations contained in McGowen’s journals and investigative summaries have never been independently verified.
Some involve crimes for which Stuart was never charged, while others identify alleged victims, disposal sites or additional homicides that are not reflected in publicly available court records.
Throughout this investigation, I have distinguished between information supported by public records and allegations McGowen attributes to Stuart during their time incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Readers should not interpret publication of these documents as confirmation that every allegation is true. Instead, the records are being published so readers can examine the original material alongside the reporting as this investigation continues.
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Investigation Continues
Over the coming weeks, I will continue reviewing prison journals, handwritten notes, investigative timelines and correspondence provided by McGowen.
Public records requests remain pending. I also continue seeking comment from current and former law enforcement officials mentioned throughout this investigation.
The records are being published so readers can examine the original material.
McGowen believes the journals preserve years of conversations investigators should examine. Time will determine whether those allegations lead to new evidence or simply become part of the historical record.
Do You Have Information?
Do you have information related to Roy Alan Stuart or any case discussed in this investigation?
Send documentation, photographs, court records or firsthand information that could help verify or refute claims in McGowen’s journals.
Email Investigative Reporter Tammy Rose at chopperrose@msn.com
Editor’s Note: This article contains allegations documented in Kent McGowen’s prison journals, handwritten notes and correspondence. Unless otherwise noted, these allegations have not been independently verified by me and should not be interpreted as established fact. Before publication, I sought comment from retired Brazoria County Criminal District Attorney’s Office investigators Matt Wingo and John Blankenship, as well as Brazoria County District Attorney Tom Selleck. As of publication, I had not received a response from any of them. I will continue updating this story as additional records, interviews or responses become available.
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