Brian Salter was born on April 30, 1972. He grew up in Texas and, by his late teens, was known to be living a relatively unremarkable life. At age 19, he began dating Kristi Koslow, who was 17 and the daughter of Jack Koslow and stepdaughter of Caren Koslow. Kristi reportedly grew resentful of her family’s wealth and restrictions and began plotting to kill her parents in order to inherit money. Salter became part of this plan along with Jeffrey Dillingham, Kristi’s other close friend.

Driven by Kristi’s promise of a $1 million share, Salter agreed to participate in the home invasion. Investigators later described him as the one who actually wielded the knife that ended Caren Koslow’s life.

In the early morning hours of March 12, 1992, Brian Salter and Jeffrey Dillingham broke into the Koslow home in the Rivercrest area of Fort Worth, Texas. Kristi had supplied them with the alarm codes. Once inside, Salter and Dillingham attacked Jack and Caren Koslow as they slept.

Dillingham beat both victims, while Salter slashed their throats. Jack Koslow managed to escape from the house with his throat cut and survived the attack, but Caren Koslow died from her wounds. After the assault, Salter and Dillingham stole $200 cash and a wristwatch valued at $1,600.

Within days, investigators pieced together the conspiracy after questioning Kristi and connecting her to Salter and Dillingham. Salter eventually accepted a plea deal to avoid the death penalty: life in prison with parole eligibility after 35 years, in exchange for testifying against the others.