Seeking counsel, accused Brinklow murderers back in court January 8

The two local men accused of killing 20-year-old Tristen Brinklow in September, then concealing and transporting his body from an in-town scene of the crime to a remote wooded area in a refrigerator will be back in court Wednesday, January 8. It will be Richard Matthew Crouch and George Lee Good’s third court appearance since three charges against each man related to the Brinklow death were announced by the Warren County Sheriff’s Office on December 31.

Richard Matthew Crouch, 35 years old from Front Royal

George Lee Good, 28 years old from Front Royal

Crouch, 35, and Good, 28, were both already incarcerated on other unrelated, though also violent criminal charges, when the announcement of the Brinklow charges came down. Crouch was being held without bond in Rappahannock-Shenandoah-Warren (RSW) Regional Jail in northern Warren County and Good, also without bond, at the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center (NRADC) in Frederick County.

In an initial appearance by remote video in Warren County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court – the first court in session after they were charged – on Thursday, January 2, it was determined the men qualified for court appointed attorneys. When they appeared in Warren County General District the following day, January 3, counsel had yet to be secured for either man, leading to the continuance to 11:30 a.m. on the General District Court docket Wednesday, January 8.

Crouch and Good were each charged with First Degree Murder, Abduction by Force, and Concealment of a Dead Body related to Brinklow’s death. The dates of these charges against Good and Crouch on the jail websites date Brinklow’s murder to September 28-29. A decomposing body was discovered at Digs Landing in the Rivermont area of southwestern Warren County on December 2. The body was identified as Tristen Brinklow on December 16.

In the criminal complaints against the men it is stated that after being informed of his Miranda Right not to self-incriminate, Crouch gave law enforcement officials a description of the circumstance of Brinklow’s death.

“Mathew (sic) Crouch stated that he and George Good physically assaulted and bound Tristan (sic) Brinklow in a residence, within Front Royal. He stated this assault led to the death of Brinklow.
Crouch stated they placed Brinklow into a refrigerator and attempted to conceal the refrigerator at Digs Landing by placing vegetation on and around the refrigerator,” the criminal complaints state, adding, “Crouch provided information against his penal interests, while under Miranda Advisement, and provided information not known to the general public but was confirmed by evidence at the crime scene.”

As previously reported in our charges filed story, Good was arrested in Frederick County at a DUI check point on December 7. At the time he was wanted in connection with a non-fatal November 27 shooting on the 200 block of Cloud Street in a residential area adjacent to Front Royal’s Downtown Business District.

In that case Good was charged with Malicious Shooting/Wounding, Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, with Front Royal Police noting that further charges were likely forthcoming regarding “other involved individuals”. Other charges against Good include Possession of Schedule 1 or 2 drugs and Probation Violation.

Previous charges listed against Crouch on the RSW website include Possession with Intent to Distribute Schedule 1 or 2 drugs, six remaining strangulation charges of nine he was originally charged with, and Malicious Wounding: Stab or Cut with Malicious Intent.

Two Front Royal men charged with murder in Tristen Brinklow death