48 Hours - Storm of Suspicion - Encore

Episode Date: August 2, 2020

"48 Hours" goes behind the scenes with investigators as they search for a mother of two who vanished just before Hurricane Harvey hit. Correspondent Maureen Maher investigates.See Privacy Pol...icy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:01:39 ConstantContact.ca Crystal always had a great spirit about her. She knew what she wanted. She went for it. Jumping out of a plane. She could take care of herself. I did it. Punk out like a sissy girl. She was obviously very beautiful,
Starting point is 00:02:08 very attractive, but there was something about her. She radiated light. I worked with Crystal as a flight attendant. She was definitely a goofball and she would even describe herself as a dork. She kind of has like a gypsy soul,
Starting point is 00:02:27 like she was a flight attendant, you know, she just likes traveling. I've been dating Crystal McDowell for a few weeks now. We'd both been divorced and we knew exactly what we wanted. You know, when you first meet somebody and you're kind of on cloud nine, that's kind of how we were.
Starting point is 00:02:41 Tropical storm Harvey is expected to strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall in Texas. Hurricane warnings in place along most of the Texas coast. Friday morning, August 25th, is when she left the house. She was actually living with her ex-husband. She was living in the master bedroom downstairs, and he had moved into a bedroom upstairs.
Starting point is 00:03:02 He had such a passion of love for her. It was almost like an obsessive, controlling love. She sent me a few text messages, and I replied back, but I never got a reply after that. So I thought maybe she was just preoccupied with getting ready for the storm. Across southern Texas, grocery store shelves are bare. People are rushing to stock up on last minute supplies. At that point in time, I just started trying to find relatives
Starting point is 00:03:31 or friends to reach out to them to see if they knew where she was. And that's when I reached out to Jeff Walters. He's her uncle. I get messages from her every morning. I get messages all throughout the day. She's one of the most responsible people that I know. She never loses contact with us. The Chambers County Sheriff's Office. It's my niece. Okay, your niece.
Starting point is 00:03:59 No one can get a hold of her. No one has heard from her. I'm really concerned. It's a serious storm. It's going to last four or five days, and quite frankly, this is day one. This morning, police are searching for a Texas mother who mysteriously disappeared before Harvey hit. We are hampered by some of the flood issues, but we are as aggressive as ever trying to locate Crystal McDowell. I knew she wouldn't run away.
Starting point is 00:04:29 She would never be that type of person, so that was... Would she have ever left her kids? No. Happy birthday to you! Automatically, as a sheriff, I know that mothers don't leave their children, and there's obviously never a good time for anybody to become missing. But the timing was terrible. Was there a part of you that just went, it can't get any worse? On more than one occasion.
Starting point is 00:04:57 My gut tells me there's something catastrophically wrong with this scenario. By the time floodwaters receded, authorities believed one of three men knew where Crystal was. Got the boyfriend, got the ex-husband. Well, then the uncle was making such noise about everything. I started thinking about him. 21 months later, one would be on trial for Murder. We've got to get a boat out here. Watch the water, man. Watch the baby. Baytown has picked up 32.9 inches. The house is totaled while my furniture is totaled.
Starting point is 00:06:13 Can you get to the top of your vehicle? It was horrible. The rain wouldn't stop. It just would not stop. District Attorney Cheryl Leak says despite the horrific flooding from Hurricane Harvey in Baytown, Texas, a suburb of Houston, investigators were determined to find Crystal McDowell. We had deputies that were flooded out of their homes. One of our investigators lost his entire house. Our local Texas ranger and his wife were flooded out of theirs. And yet they showed up for work. Yep. Every day.
Starting point is 00:06:46 Yep. Everybody. All day looking for this woman. Everybody. But weather was not their only challenge. If Crystal had met with foul play, the sheriff says there was a growing list of people to question. She was extremely social. She had lots of friends. She had been a flight attendant for 10 years and then had become a real estate agent. On the top of the list,
Starting point is 00:07:13 Crystal's Uncle Jeff, who cared for Crystal after her parents died when she was 11 years old. And our main objective is just to get Crystal back home. He was the person that was extremely emotional and reported her missing, but then he kept getting in the way of the investigation. Getting in the way by going through Crystal's townhouse with other family members, potentially tainting important evidence. This is not a game to us. This is not a hobby. This is what we do. Crystal's family even hired a private investigator.
Starting point is 00:07:58 But you don't bring on some amateur super sleuth wannabe when you're in the middle of a missing person's investigation. Also on the list, the men romantically linked to Crystal. Also on the list, the men romantically linked to Crystal. There was Steve McDowell, Crystal's ex-husband, a shipping manager. In June 2017, the couple went through what many described as an amicable divorce after 10 years of marriage and two children, a boy, Madden, and a girl, Maui. And what was his story for Friday morning? That she never showed up, that she was supposed to show up and she just never did. That morning at 7.01 on August 25th, Steve, who had the kids, says he received a text message from Crystal. It read,
Starting point is 00:08:39 on my way, do you have water? Looks like I may stay here with the kids. It seems just like rain. But Uncle Jeff Walters says that Steve showed him another text that Crystal allegedly sent around 9.30 that morning, saying she had changed her mind and she planned to stop by, pick up the kids, and take them to Dallas. They just said it just didn't sound like her, and that nobody knew where she was, nobody had heard her voice, and they just knew that something wasn't right. What did he tell authorities about their marriage, their relationship?
Starting point is 00:09:14 He told them that they were fine, he didn't mind the divorce, and everything was just hunky-dory. In fact, Crystal was living with Steve and the kids in a house she helped him buy while her townhouse was being renovated. He had such a passion of love for her that it was almost unhealthy. Cindy Searate is Crystal's aunt. Like if she wanted her feet rubbed, he would rub her feet. If she wanted a hairbrush, he would brush her hair.
Starting point is 00:09:40 Is it fair to say that she wore the pants in the family? Yes, most definitely. But over time, they grew apart. He didn't challenge her, was the word. She wanted to be the best she could possibly be, and Steve was okay with just stepping back, being, you know, the house person. He was the dad. She was more of the provider.
Starting point is 00:10:03 Krista McDowell, Steve's daughter from a previous relationship, was at Texas A&M University. When she heard the news, Crystal was missing. He loved being around the kids. They're his life. She was his life, and they were his life. To the sheriff, it certainly didn't seem like Crystal's ex-husband knew anything about her disappearance. But he was very cooperative of us, very, very kind, very friendly. And he immediately says that he wants to help. It was Crystal's new boyfriend, Paul Hargrave, who the sheriff really wanted to speak with.
Starting point is 00:10:38 Paul owned a local jewelry store and had been dating Crystal for a few weeks. The last place that we have her is in the Baytown area leaving Paul's house. She seemed in love with him. They seemed perfect together. She was happy. So happy that Crystal had posted on Facebook just two days before she disappeared. I've never been happier in my whole life than I am right now. God is so good. We had talked about going to Europe and she got a ticket to go with me to Belgium next month. Investigators would learn Crystal had also invited Paul to go on a family cruise. The only caveat, Steve, her ex-husband, was going too. And I told her, well, gosh, I'd love to go, but I think it's going to be awkward for me to be there with the ex-husband.
Starting point is 00:11:28 So she had asked him to refrain from going, and I know that that didn't go well. She had stressed to me that he was pretty upset about that. Which is why, Paul said, he was deeply concerned when Crystal disappeared after she left his home in her black Mercedes, which was also missing. I hope and pray that, you know, she's okay and she's going to come back to us. So he went on national TV and spoke with CBS This Morning's Michelle Miller. What do you think happened to her?
Starting point is 00:12:02 I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I don't know. But we're just trying to focus on finding her and assisting the Blues with whatever we can assist them with. But Sheriff Hawthorne says he became suspicious after Paul failed to tell authorities about security footage from his home, showing the last time Crystal was seen alive. She actually walked right through this living room at 7.09. One of my cameras picked that up.
Starting point is 00:12:37 I think she was seen leaving the driveway at 7.10. Paul shared the tapes, not with investigators, but with the media. So immediately we're like, well, why would he be turning it over to the media? But yet my investigators don't have that, those videos. Intentional or oversight on his part? I don't know, because it took us a few days to get it. So obviously every hour that ticked off, he became the sheriff's person of interest, that's for sure. Surrounded by the chaos of both a natural disaster and suspicious characters, the case stalled. Mostly, says the sheriff, because investigators couldn't agree on which direction to go in. Some of the investigators that were involved in this would say,
Starting point is 00:13:27 you know, I think it's Steve. And some would say, I still can't get over Jeff. And I'm still looking at Paul. See this black car right here? This Mercedes. But then, finally, a break in the case. Crystal's Mercedes was spotted by a friend. I will give the family credit for finding that vehicle.
Starting point is 00:13:50 So now they knew where the car was, but who put it there? And what would they find inside? Weather and time deteriorate evidence, physical evidence. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military,
Starting point is 00:14:26 and when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal.
Starting point is 00:14:58 There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reach the age of 10 that would still a virgin. It just happens to all of us. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse
Starting point is 00:15:25 and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. line. The cops were here busting in doors to find out where this lady is. How are you, Brian Hawthorne? Sheriff Hawthorne could not believe what he found when he arrived at Crystal's Mercedes in the Motel 6 parking lot. Well, you could get in the car because it was unlocked and the keys were sitting on the console. Did that strike you as odd?
Starting point is 00:16:12 Oh, very odd. My criminal investigation captain told me, said, I feel like it's been staged. Set up for someone to take it? Correct. But whoever had left the car there to be taken did not anticipate the massive flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. The water had risen. You couldn't get it out of the parking lot. And that was finally a break in your direction. Correct.
Starting point is 00:16:37 Crystal's Mercedes was finally towed from the motel and processed. But floodwaters in Houston made it impossible to get results back from the crime scene lab. A lot of their majors and captains and sergeants and investigators' homes were going underwater. It was chaos for everybody. There are just a lot of moving parts at this point. We're just going to get this thing started, y'all. 48 hours was granted unprecedented access inside the sheriff's war room. You know, in interviewing Stephen, he was telling us he was making calls from certain locations. He didn't make those, he was actually mobile.
Starting point is 00:17:19 He is denying knowing Paul existed until two days ago. I don't believe that. The investigation had taken a toll on D.A. Leak, who had lost all hope. I know she's dead. There has been no activity on any of her credit cards, debit cards, nothing, you know, and she doesn't have a cell phone. Nobody leaves anymore without a cell phone. Sheriff Hawthorne, deputies, and Texas Rangers expanded their focus from finding Crystal to finding her killer.
Starting point is 00:17:53 We've got a handful of folks that need to be interviewed. What else do you guys see that's up on this board that we need to get done? Because this stuff's going to start drying up on us if we don't jump on it. Paul is just soaking up to all the attention on us if we don't jump on it paul is just soaking up to all the attention yeah he is and he loves it and he's best buddies with uncle jeff too that's what i don't understand it's getting more and more interesting about uncle jeff isn't it as of about midnight last night the net has widened and its husband, boyfriend, uncle. Early in the investigation, the top persons of interest had been brought in for questioning.
Starting point is 00:18:38 In his police interview, Paul pointed the finger at Steve. Did you have anything to do with the disappearance of the person? Absolutely not. Paul pointed the finger at Steve. Jeff Walters was no fan of Crystal's new boyfriend, Paul. And Steve stuck with his story, that Crystal never showed up at his house. We polygraphed two of them. Steve and Paul? Steve and Paul, that is correct. And how did they do? Steve failed, and I'll let Paul tell you how he did. He insinuated he didn't use those terms, but he called me a liar. But security cameras don't lie. Focusing on the location of the car, deputies began gathering video from nearby businesses. A camera at a shell gas station next door to the motel
Starting point is 00:19:41 appears to have captured one of their three persons of interest. It looks like he's getting out and he's putting something in the trash can and he's stuffing it all the way down like to his elbow. Like a bag? Yeah, it looked like clothing is what it looked like. Deputies say it is Steve McDowell and it's what McDowell keeps glancing at that makes the investigators sit up and take notice. The Motel 6. You can see that he's looking over
Starting point is 00:20:10 and he's looking to see if the car is still there. And it was. We recovered the trash can. And the problem is all the contents had floated out of it. Because of the hurricane. Because of the hurricane. Because of the storm. Then investigators received different security video showing Steve in action right in the Motel 6 parking lot. You just see somebody park the car and someone that resembles her ex-husband getting out of it. And what does that say to you? It says that my purse of interest has changed.
Starting point is 00:20:49 Remember, I'm the one that's still looking at Paul. The videos are purely circumstantial evidence, but... That's where I'm going with this. For the first time, investigators are all heading in the same direction. Confront Steve about where is she. But Steve was still insisting he had nothing to do with Crystal's disappearance. This is what I carry. So they turned to someone else in the family's inner circle for help. Crystal's aunt, Cindy Searate. I said, Cindy, I need you to stay
Starting point is 00:21:26 close to Steve. I said, we need communication, and he may not communicate with us, and he may communicate with you. Every day, I was just praying every day that I went that he would say something. Investigators were becoming increasingly frustrated. When you have no body, that's a huge hindrance. frustrated. When you have no body, that's a huge hindrance. The way someone's killed, where they're found, that generally can give you an idea of who killed them. Hi, guys and gals. We've been asked by Chambers County to go ahead and search for Crystal. Deputies called upon an experienced volunteer search and rescue organization, Texas EquiSearch, to help find Crystal.
Starting point is 00:22:13 Let's remember that this place flooded real bad. So if she was dumped in this area, let's hope that she got washed up in maybe some tree lines and stuff, did not end up in the water. Paul joined the searchers and Uncle Jeff Walters pitched in. He's offered a $10,000 reward, and I offered a $5,000 reward. The more investigators dug in, the more things didn't quite add up. This is a case about lots of secrets, double lives on many people's parts.
Starting point is 00:22:51 It's one of those cases. I think I've seen it all. I've never seen anything like this before. Listen to the interrogations. Are there clues to find Crystal? Go to Facebook at 48 Hours. What are you doing today? About to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Jumping out of a plane. Whose idea was this? Steve. Steve, your idea?
Starting point is 00:23:20 Five years before her disappearance, it seemed like Crystal and Steve McDowell were on top of the world. How high are we right now? What does that say? 6,000 feet. The jump had been a 33rd birthday gift from Steve. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Hey, high five. And look, your husband lived too. What a bonus.
Starting point is 00:23:51 Nell Crystal's ex-husband was the main person of interest in her disappearance. There were those security tapes. And DA Cheryl Leak says they had discovered Steve had lied about their so-called friendly divorce. What did you find out as the investigation went along? That he didn't want the divorce. What we were getting from the family is that he was distraught, had always been distraught every time she tried to leave him. It was early on when things started not going well.
Starting point is 00:24:22 LJ Adams, a bail bondsman and Crystal's good friend, says the relationship was troubled right from the start. Judging from the things that she said, Steve McDowell is a very, very self-centered, selfish, manipulative person. He just got to where he wanted things his way, and he wanted it that way and right now. And if it didn't work out or she couldn't do it at that moment, it would be a temper tantrum. In 2008, just one year after they married, Crystal filed for divorce. But LJ says she didn't go through with it back then because Steve had made threats. It was always like, well, if you leave me, you know, I'm just going to kill myself.
Starting point is 00:25:02 Emotional blackmail. Yeah, kind of, sort of. But he knew what to say and what to do. Xer. Come on. But Krista McDowell says her father is not that man. She knows him as a loving father with a playful side. He's a really goofy guy. Like, that's the best way I could describe him.
Starting point is 00:25:24 Fun guy? goofy guy. Like, that's the best way I could describe him. Fun guy? Fun guy. And even though her father was in and out of her life for most of her childhood, there was a brief period of time when she lived with Steve and Crystal. I was in high school, so it was like eighth grade to sophomore year. I guess I was 14 to about 16. She admits the relationship between Crystal and her father was turbulent, but says he was not the only one at fault. Both weren't perfect, and they both had their issues.
Starting point is 00:25:54 I just think that they were very toxic for each other, and they made each other crazy. Whenever they were together, it was never a happy ending. She was hopeful things would get better once they finally got divorced. But after Crystal officially filed the paperwork in February 2017, Krista says her father began acting strangely. So in March, I noticed that my dad had like been acting weird on Facebook. Then he also changed his profile pictures to like, it was a grave. And then it was a Grim Reaper, like, profile picture. And then he made it a picture of him and Crystal.
Starting point is 00:26:28 And then he took that off, and then he made it, say, no profile picture. In a short period of time? This was all in, like, a matter of, like, two, three days. Sheriff Hawthorne would learn that shortly after Crystal filed for divorce, she had called 911 and told police that Steve had disappeared with their kids. She had given Steve the kids, and he essentially did not bring the kids back. For a few days? For a few days.
Starting point is 00:27:11 And did he threaten to hurt himself and the kids? He'd kind of put out an allegation and a threat that he would harm himself and Crystal and the kids. Steve eventually returned the children unharmed and no charges were filed. He later explained to his daughter that he had become upset after discovering that Crystal had numerous affairs while they were married. But he said he was still in love with her? Yes. And he said, like, I love her with all my heart, but I just can't let her keep tearing me down like this. So he was okay with getting a divorce at that point? He was accepting of it. He thought it was for the best. He thought maybe he could, like, get his life in order then. But Crystal's Aunt Cindy says Steve was just not ready to let go. Remember that cruise they were supposed to go on? Cindy says Steve actually planned to propose to Crystal again, even though
Starting point is 00:28:00 they had just been divorced. He literally bought some clothes for both of them, a white dress and a white suit, and literally he was going to propose. But Krista says her father told her this was all his ex-wife's idea. My dad told me just the other day that she had mentioned, how would you feel about getting remarried on the cruise? It's like a fresh start. Do you think that's true, that she said that to him? Yeah. I don't believe Crystal would ever lead him to believe that. I really don't. This was a fantasy in his head?
Starting point is 00:28:31 I believe that. In early August, it seemed Crystal had moved on and was dating Paul Hargrave. Cindy Searate says, at first, Crystal tried to keep it a secret from Steve, even though she was still living with him. And she said, Aunt Cindy, I have to keep this quiet. He will kill me. But by August 23rd, just two days before she disappeared, Crystal made that Facebook post and had disinvited Steve from the cruise. DA Leak thinks this might have been the start of Steve's final unraveling.
Starting point is 00:29:09 Steve was probably more upset about not going on the cruise because he thought they were going to rekindle their romance. And there was more. She was a financial meal ticket to him. LJ Adams says Crystal had recently decided to cut Steve off financially. Because he was just spending money, just spending money, just ridiculously just spending money. And at that point, she just said, I can't do this anymore, Steve. Was it just losing her, Cheryl, or was it he was losing his whole life?
Starting point is 00:29:36 Someone else was sliding into his position. His whole life, his whole lifestyle. As cleanup from Hurricane Harvey was underway, investigators had cleared Paul Hargrave and Crystal's Uncle Jeff. They were now convinced Steve McDowell had the motive to murder his ex-wife and that he had dumped her car at the Motel 6. But how did he get home? This security video from a nearby Walmart would provide that answer. We spot a bicycle on the service road, Interstate 10 service road. Investigators were convinced it was Steve McDowell. For you, the surveillance footage is the turning point in the case. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Starting point is 00:30:22 Authorities were closing in on Steve McDowell, and the stakes were only getting higher because he still had the children. We could potentially be minutes or hours away from somebody losing control. Again. Again. It's almost life or death for these kids.
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Starting point is 00:31:56 murder? Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. He kept coming in and talking. He'd come in every day and sit there five hours or so and just, nope, nope, wasn't me, wasn't me. District Attorney Cheryl League knew Steve McDowell had killed Crystal.
Starting point is 00:32:32 But knowing it and proving it were two different things. We didn't have enough to arrest him. And she says McDowell seemed to understand that. Was he arrogant, helpful, cooperative? Arrogant and aloof. It was a game. He's just gaming us, he thinks. At this point, we have no direct evidence. We just have circumstantial evidence.
Starting point is 00:32:54 Circumstantial evidence has as much weight in a court as direct evidence. But you just need more of it. Lick says the evidence that finally brought the case home for her was that security video from this Walmart, showing how McDowell probably got home after ditching Crystal's car. We had him buying the bike and riding it out. What happens next? We bring him back in.
Starting point is 00:33:21 Day after day, investigators were telling McDowell they were successfully gathering more and more evidence, a ploy to wear him down. He was just, like, melting. You know, you could see that it was getting to him. You could tell he wasn't eating, he wasn't sleeping. His face had sunken in. There's no telling what Steve may be trying to tell the kids. Sheriff Brian Hawthorne says investigators were under pressure too.
Starting point is 00:33:46 You know we can't wait. And deeply concerned about just how much might be too much for McDowell. At the time when all this is taking place, he has got custody of his children. I kept thinking he's going to kill those kids. He's going to kill those kids. Once again, Steve voluntarily came in for questioning. But Cheryl Leak wasn't taking any more chances. She'd been in touch with Family and Protective Services and convinced the agency to remove the McDowell kids from his home that evening and place them with their Aunt Cindy. We knew psychologically that that would be the final straw for him,
Starting point is 00:34:27 his kids being gone. He would have nothing left. Right. And what was his response? He just about collapsed. Exhausted, McDowell said he wanted to go home, but promised he would return in the morning ready to talk. He said, I'll tell you everything. Without enough evidence to arrest him and knowing a full confession was their only real chance of finding Crystal's body, the sheriff allowed his prime suspect to walk out the door. That was a big risk that he wouldn't run or kill himself. It was a risk. I've been a crime reporter for 25 years. I have never heard of a department saying, go home and get your affairs in order.
Starting point is 00:35:13 I mean, that's the part I go, really? Like, they let him go home? But see, this is the thing. We had the kids. And taking them is a moment Sheriff Hawthorne will never forget. We knew that these kids were probably never going to see their mother again. Taking them is a moment Sheriff Hawthorne will never forget. We knew that these kids were probably never going to see their mother again. Or their father as a free man. Or their father as a free man.
Starting point is 00:35:38 Can I give you a minute? Yes. both of the children came out and gave every one of us bear hugs. And that's when you realize the totality and the impact that family violence has on children. family violence has on children. A few hours after Steve McDowell's youngest children were taken from him, he summoned his older daughter Krista to come home from college immediately. I was at work and I work at a bar, so I work pretty late.
Starting point is 00:36:29 Krista McDowell says she was confused when her father texted her in the middle of the night. He said, your little brother and sister are going to go live somewhere else for a while. She was already planning to head home later that day. And he was like, is there any way you can be here sooner? You probably won't see me for a while unless you come see me in person before then. And so I got in my car, 3.30 in the morning, drove all the way to Baytown. Two hours later, it was the beginning of the end of Krista's life as she knew it. It was dark still. I knocked on his door, and he let me in. He told me that at 10 a.m. the rangers were going to come pick him up.
Starting point is 00:37:07 She says at first her father seemed more annoyed than anything. Did you think he had anything to do with it at that point? No, not at all. Not a single, like, hint that he had anything to do with it. Did you ask him if he had anything to do with it? Yes, I'd asked him multiple times, like, are you guilty? And he was just like, no, I just don't understand why I'm getting blamed. And the entire time he pleaded to me his innocence.
Starting point is 00:37:36 Krista says, though clearly anxious, it mostly seemed like her father was just trying to take care of business. Giving her photo albums, financial statements, even the keys to his beloved Mustang, until the conversation took an abrupt turn. He looks at me and he says, the rangers told me that if I tell them where the body is, that they'll lessen my punishment. And I said, well well you don't know where the body is like how would you know and he was like what if it's true and I asked him you know where the body is and he just like looked away from me and just like bawled his eyes out and at that point I knew like he knew where it was what did you think at that point? I don't know. What do you think?
Starting point is 00:38:29 If someone that you love and you've sat here and defended the whole time tells you they're guilty, what do you think? Did you think he had actually confessed to you at that point? Even though he never said the actual words? Because I asked him what he did over and over. I begged him to tell me. And he was just like, I just, I can't tell you what I did. And then all of a sudden, like we heard a noise and he stood up and he was like, they're here. And then all of a sudden he's, he's gone. Yeah. I literally dropped to my knees and just cried. Police brought Steve McDowell back to the station to deliver his much-anticipated confession.
Starting point is 00:39:19 But the man who had kept them guessing about so much for so long was about to make them guess again. He's like yanking your chain. Yeah, he is. Back and forth, back and forth. And I'd had it. At this point, I'd had it. Saturday, September 9th. I didn't sleep much.
Starting point is 00:39:48 Literally, I could not wait for daylight to come up. Steve McDowell agreed to meet with Sheriff Hawthorne and the investigation team one more time and finally provide an answer to the question, what happened to Crystal? My understanding from our communication was that you were kind of ready to be honest about some things. We needed a confession. We needed somebody to take us to her body. Sheriff Hawthorne watched in a nearby room as McDowell shared the details of the morning Crystal came home after a night with her boyfriend. Peter, I love her. I would do anything in my life for her. I think they got into an argument when she got home,
Starting point is 00:40:36 and I think he was mad that she had stayed out all night. Is that when she told you that she didn't want to be with you anymore? Yeah. When she told you she didn't want to be with you and have anything to do with you? And it seems that was enough for Steve McDowell to make a terrible choice. He describes and essentially shows that he strangled her from behind. So she had no idea he was coming? Yes. Okay. Like a chokehold or something? Yes. And then McDowell says early the following morning,
Starting point is 00:41:40 he drove off to dispose of Crystal's body, leaving their two children home alone. The body was found right in here. McDowell leads investigators here, a densely wooded area off an access road not far from his house. Steve drives the detectives and investigators out here. Our cameras were the only ones allowed at the crime scene as the investigators began their arduous work. The terrain was pretty tough because it was a lot of work just trying to clear the trees and the limbs so that we could bring the body out. clear the trees and the limbs so that we could bring the body out. At the end of a long search, the sheriff and DA share a moment. It was just relief.
Starting point is 00:42:44 Today at 2.45 p.m., Crystal's body was discovered, and Stephen Wayne McDowell, 44, has been arrested, charged with murder. If he had not told you exactly where the body was, would she have ever been found? No. Once Steve McDowell showed investigators where the body was, he was brought here to the Chambers County Jail. Now, even though he confessed to strangling Crystal, that may not be the end of it. In Texas, a defendant can claim they killed someone out of sudden passion, which could mean as little as two years in prison. Which is exactly what Steve McDowell did in June 2019 during his trial for murder. McDowell testified that Crystal's death
Starting point is 00:43:26 was a result of a spontaneous hug that got out of control. But D.A. Lee gave the jury a different point of view. Do you think this was premeditated? Yes, without a doubt. And this was not just, he snapped? Well, he can snap and still think about it. I think he just decided, if I can't have her, nobody can. After five days of testimony, evidence, and argument,
Starting point is 00:43:54 it only took three and a half hours for the jury to reach a verdict. Guilty. One day later, the same jury sentenced Steve McDowell to 50 years in prison for the murder of his ex-wife. We've been very fortunate. The jury saw it the same way the law enforcement officers and the district attorney's office did. It feels good. I think they made the right decision. So with 50 years, he will have to serve at least 25 before he's eligible for parole. I hope he never makes it out of there. He deserves whatever he gets.
Starting point is 00:44:28 For the kids, it's just a sad situation all the way around. Both parents are gone now. Basically, those kids are motherless and fatherless, just like Crystal was. Happy birthday to you. Which brings us back to the other victims in this case, the children. It was Aunt Cindy who was tasked with telling an 8-year-old boy and his 5-year-old sister the truth. And I just grabbed their hands and I said, we found your mommy. And she's in heaven. And your daddy's in jail for taking your mother's life. And at that point, Madden looked up and he said,
Starting point is 00:45:18 he said, okay. He said, I can deal with this. And Madden grabbed his sister and they hugged and he said, I love you, Mal. He said, I'll deal with this. And Madden grabbed his sister and they hugged. And he said, I love you, Mal. He said, I will always take care of you. And Krista promises to always be a part of their lives. I thought about my brother and sister, and I was like, they have no one. I need to be the bigger person right now, and I need to be the person they look up to. Krista loved him with every part of her being. She wanted him to have a wonderful life.
Starting point is 00:45:52 You think they'll be okay? I know they will be. Without a shadow of a doubt. The couple's young children are living out of state with a family friend who is in the process of obtaining full legal custody. Steve McDowell will be eligible for parole in 2042. Hotshot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals.
Starting point is 00:46:23 representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list.
Starting point is 00:46:51 She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop. Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informants Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now. A young mother vanishes.
Starting point is 00:47:18 Her fiancé charged with murder. Stunning evidence. His secret girlfriend shows police how she cleaned up the crime scene. There's blood on this chair. There's blood on the table. Justice for Kelsey. 48 hours, next on CBS. If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app.
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