Going West: True Crime - Crystal McDowell // 327

Episode Date: August 1, 2023

In August of 2017, a 37-year-old realtor and mother went missing the day before Hurricane Harvey hit Texas. In the wake of the disaster, as the state tried to pick up the pieces, police discovered that someone in this woman’s inner circle had used the storm to cover up their crimes. This is the murder of Crystal McDowell. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-west-true-crime/id1448151398 Patreon: patreon.com/goingwestpodcast CASE SOURCES 1. In Memory of Crystal Seratte-McDowell: https://www.facebook.com/InMemoryofCrystalSeratteMcDowell/ 2. Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/183205591/crystal-ann-mcdowell 3. Obituary: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/baytown-tx/crystal-mcdowell-7552481 4. Oxygen: https://www.oxygen.com/dateline-secrets-uncovered/crime-news/crystal-mcdowell-disappears-days-before-hurricane-harvey#:~:text=Crystal%20had%20once%20had%20a,coop%20and%20sexually%20assaulted%20her. 5. ABC: https://abc13.com/hurricane-harvey-baytown-realtor-crystal-mcdowell-chambers-county/5345919/#:~:text=Crystal%20was%20originally%20reported%20missing,Needlepoint%20Road%20in%20Chambers%20County. 6. Investigation Discovery: https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/murder/ex-husband-of-realtor-who-went-missing-before-hurricane-harvey-charged-with-murder 7. 48 Hours: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-goes-inside-the-search-for-mom-who-vanished-ahead-of-hurricane-harvey/ 8. Law & Crime: https://lawandcrime.com/crazy/ex-husband-charged-after-womans-body-discovered-in-wake-of-hurricane-harvey/ 9. Heavy: https://heavy.com/news/2017/08/crystal-mcdowell-houston-real-estate-agent-missing-husband/ 10. NBC: https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/missing-in-america/body-missing-texas-realtor-crystal-seratte-mcdowell-found-ex-husband-n800061 11. Anthony's Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/184762095/anthony-paul-walters 12. Pamela's Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/163340495/pamela-sue-walters 13. National Weather Service: https://www.weather.gov/hgx/hurricaneharvey 14. CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/27/us/harvey-impact-by-the-numbers-trnd/index.html 15. Outsmart: https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2019/08/baytown-womans-murder-case-is-solved/ 16. ABC: https://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-texas-real-estate-agents-body-found-husband/story?id=49740114 17. Neal Davis Law: https://www.nealdavislaw.com/criminal-defense-guides/sudden-passion-crimes-texas.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on true crime fans? I'm your host Tee. And I'm your host Daphne. And you're listening to Going West. Hello everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in and thank you to Melissa for recommending today's case. This is a crazy one that takes place during a hurricane which just makes everything so much more complicated so the road to justice was a rocky one. Yes it absolutely was but if you're

all caught up on going west and you want some more Going West content. We have a bonus series called Real Crime and you can find that on Patreon. If you head on over to patreon.com slash Going West Podcast or you can subscribe on Apple. It just makes it so much easier if you're an Apple user. So go check it out. Yes, we just released a brand new episode on a Haley Dodge. She is a 17 year old girl who went missing in Australia back in 1999. And this case is crazy. It involves like a terrifying anonymous phone call.

So if you want to listen to that in over 90 other full length ad free bonus episodes, that take place both in and out of the United States. We do a lot of international Canadian Australian. Do what he said. Alright guys, well this is episode 327 of Going West. So let's get into it. In August of 2017, a 37-year-old realtor and mother went missing the day before Hurricane Harvey hit Texas. In the wake of the disaster as the state tried to cover up their crimes. This is the story of Crystal McDowell. Crystal and Sarat was born on October 26, 1979 in Baytown, Texas, which is a suburb of Houston.

But sadly, Crystal did have a bit of a rough start as a child. Her mom Pamela had Crystal when she was 17 and she struggled with drug addiction for much of her life. Now it's unclear if Pamela later married Crystal's biological father or if this man I'm about to talk about was her stepfather but at some point in Crystal's young life Pamela married a guy named Anthony Walters who reportedly also struggled with addiction. And terrifyingly, when Crystal was 13 years old, she was kidnapped by a man and held captive in a chicken coop, and she was also sexually assaulted. She did manage to escape, but unfortunately,

things were only going to get more complicated for her because tragedy struck her family again when just four days after Crystal's 14th birthday, her mom suddenly passed away. And this came just a month after Crystal lost her grandfather. And then only five months after her mom passed, her dad passed away as well. But I just want to add that a lot of publications have printed that she was 11 when this happened, but according to the dates on their obituary, she was actually 14.

So in case anybody knows the story and thinks that she was 11. So after her parents passed, Crystal moved in with her uncle, Jeff Walters, and thankfully was able to maintain some semblance of normalcy for the remainder of her teenage years. After graduating from Robert, E Lee High School in Baytown, Crystal attended school to become a flight attendant, and she began working for ExpressJet Airlines. She worked her way up within the company and spent 15 years there, and then became a training instructor for new flight attendants. She was also a contributor for the Pilot Magazine Aero Crew News, and personality wise, Crystal is described by her friends as warm, open, and kind to everyone that she crossed

paths with. Bubbly and social with dozens of friends, she was a free spirit and she relished the traveling that she got to do for work as a flight attendant. Crystal's aunt Cindy said, quote, she loved people, she didn't care about your money, she didn't care about your status, she just loved people and wanted to be a blessing. Then she met Steve McDowell, and her Aunt Cindy recalls quote, I remember the day that she had met him, and she was very smitten. I really thought that she had met the man of her dreams.

So in 2007, she married Steve, and the two purchased a beautiful home in Baytown, super excited to put down some roots together. The couple had two children, a son named Madden, and a daughter named Maui. Steve also had a daughter named Christa from a previous relationship, and while she primarily lived with her mom, she did move in with Crystal and Steve for a while before she went off to college. But with Crystal continuing to travel so much for work, it just really put a strain on her relationship with Steve, who was described as quote, a homebody.

Craving more stability, Crystal departed her career as a flight attendant and trained to be a real estate agent. And this was the third generation of women and her family to do this. stability, Crystal departed her career as a flight attendant and trained to be a real estate agent. This was the third generation of women and her family to do this, so although realtors have incredibly hectic schedules, at least she could now be working locally, and also she could see her family more. She started working with the business her family owned, which was called Virginia Malone and Associates. Now according to one neighbor, the family was close and loving.

She recalled that Steve was, quote, a great father. He had the kids all the time. According to Crystal's friends and family, as Crystal's financial and professional success sword, Steve was kind of stagnant. Crystal's aunt Cindy described Steve as, quote, a big kid.

Crystal told her friends that she was looking for something more exciting and challenging, that she wanted to better herself and grow. But Steve was just kind of happy hanging at home, working the same job and living the same life. And even worse, Crystal's friends were calling him being controlling and even obsessive over Crystal. So in February of 2017, after a decade of marriage, they finally filed for divorce. And from the outside, this divorce seemed to be amicable.

Crystal's career was thriving and she purchased a townhouse for herself and her kids to live in when they weren't staying with Steve. And at only 37 and craving a fresh start, she was really excited to start dating again. Yeah, I mean 37, she's still so young. So after their divorce was finalized in June of 2017, Crystal remained at the house that she shared with Steve and the kids as the final renovations

were made on her townhouse. So, you know, that's kind of uncomfortable, but she did stay in their old bedroom and Steve slept in the guest room. So, they were under the same roof just in different bedrooms at the time. It was still probably really weird though. Yeah, and it appeared that, again,

it appeared that everything was amicable and that there wasn't any hard feelings at that point. That's true. I guess I'm saying that in that tone because of what's to come. Oh, sure. But yeah, I mean, it did seem to be that way and they're both understanding, okay,

I'm just gonna live here and then I'm gonna move and we're gonna be split up. But obviously, that's still gonna be uncomfortable because you're sharing the same spaces, the living room, the bathrooms, and stuff like that, so. Totally. And like you said, she was really eager to just put the divorce behind her and start dating again.

So even when she was living in that house, she was dating, as she should be able to, and she met someone pretty quickly. So in early August of 2017, Crystal met Paul Hargrave. And he was a local jewelry store owner who was very well known in the area. Paul was divorced as well, and his charm and kindness really won Crystal over instantly, especially since he was pretty much exactly what she had been looking for. He was classy, he was worldly, and he was challenging, not like challenging, like he's a challenging person, but like he challenged her.

He was interesting, you know. So the two planned to start traveling together, and he even booked them tickets to head to Belgium the following month. So things are moving pretty fast. In turn, Crystal invited Paul to come on a cruise that she planned with her kids, so that he could get to know them better and spend quality time with them in a fun place. But the only problem was that the crews had originally been planned by Crystal and Steve. So Steve was set to go with his ex-wife and children despite the divorce. Like he wanted to go anyway. And I'm sure that kind of pissed him off because he's like, wait, we planned this trip together

and now you're just taking your new boyfriend. Exactly. Well, and when she asked Tim, hey, do you mind if you just don't come and I take Paul instead? You know, my new boyfriend who I've been dating for a few weeks. And he just obviously was not happy with this suggestion

and you'll see why even more so later. So Crystal and Paul's relationship just progressed over the next three weeks as they both seemed to know exactly what they wanted. They had even already told each other that they loved each other. So on the morning of Friday, August 25th, 2017, Crystal woke up early at Paul's and she was kind of eager to get back home to her kids, eight-year-old Madden and five-year-old Maui, because she and Paul had a date night the evening prior and then she spent the night at his

while Steve agreed to watch the kids, but she's thinking, oh, I gotta go back home and kinda take that over, right? Yes, she's got obligations. Exactly. So that fateful morning, Crystal could be seen on security cameras at Paul's house, leaving at 7.09 AM.

Paul claimed that she showered, said goodbye, and then headed out to her car. The two texted back and forth a bit later, and Paul concluded the exchange by telling her that he loved her. And when she didn't respond to that text, he texted her again around 1pm saying, quote, hey, just check in on you, please let me know if you need anything at all. Miss you. She also failed to respond to that text, which was pretty rare for Crystal who was normally very responsive and communicative. But there was a lot that could have distracted her that day.

At the same time, Hurricane Harvey was making landfall in Texas. And you know, for those who don't know, it was a catastrophic tropical storm in the late summer of 2017 that caused more than 100 deaths. And it also caused nearly $150 billion worth of damage, and it's actually considered the costliest Atlantic cyclone in history after Hurricane Katrina. So that very morning, which again was Friday, August 25th, 2017, Hurricane Harvey was upgraded to a category 4 hurricane as it hit Port Oranzes, which is a beach town outside of Corpus Christi, Texas, just about 4 hours southwest of Houston.

Yeah, so this is fast approaching, and just by the way, Hurricane Katrina was a category 5, so this is, I don't want to say it wasn't as bad as Katrina, but it's, I mean, it's very, very bad, but this was a four, Katrina was a five, so, but still four is up there. Still. Still. Still very dangerous. Absolutely.

And this is exactly what they were dealing with, as the storm moved quickly and local scramble to get their houses stocked and equipped for the days to come. Whereas many other people left the area altogether, which, you know, doesn't seem like a bad idea if, you know, this massive hurricane is coming. Yeah, who knows how bad it's going to get in your area. So, because this horrific natural disaster was falling upon them, Paul wasn't entirely surprised when he didn't hear back from Crystal right away. But as the time ticked by and the storm got closer, he grew worried and began calling her friends and family to see if anyone had seen or heard from her.

But nobody had, except for her ex-husband Steve. Now Steve claimed that Crystal told him that she and the kids were going to head to Dallas to wait out the hurricane. Paul contacted Crystal's uncle Jeff, who Crystal had moved in with when her parents passed away, and according to Jeff, the two were very close, and they spoke multiple times a day, basically like every day, and he basically thought of her as his daughter. So when Paul reached out, he had already been concerned that he hadn't heard from her, especially with the impending storm.

So Jeff contacted Steve, and in Jeff's words, he said, quote, he showed me a message on his phone where she said that she was going to get the kids and go to Dallas. I have reservations about believing that she sent that message. And basically, Jeff just didn't think that Crystal would have taken off without letting him or her boyfriend know, and he now believes that Steve was the one who wrote that text message himself. Steve claimed that after he received that text message from Crystal, she failed to turn up at the house to retrieve the kids, and neither she nor her car were able to be traced. However, her purse was left at Steve's house, and a load of her laundry was still in the washer.

Right, so if her purse is there, we know obviously she would have had her purse if she went out with Paul the night before, which would lead you to believe that she did return home that morning, and he's saying that she left and then sent this message that she was going to go to Dallas, but then never came back to get the kids and also didn't bring her purse out.

Like, not really clicking. And we know that Steve was home because he was the one that was watching the kids. So, yeah. So, the timing of her disappearance just really couldn't have been worse because Hurricane Harvey just continued to exacerbate and it threatened the entire coastline.

Like over the course of six days, this hurricane dumped 27 trillion gallons of water over Texas and Louisiana, which is the most in US history. Damn, that's a lot of, I mean, we're from the PNW, or at least I'm from the PNW. And it rains a lot, but imagine 27 trillion. No, this was Alan's. This was insane.

And the Houston area saw record flooding, which sadly provided the perfect conditions to cover up a crime. On Saturday, August 26, 2017, so 24 hours after anyone had seen or heard from Crystal, her uncle Jeff reported her missing. The county sheriff later stated, quote, that was when the storm was happening, that Saturday night, and then obviously, it engulfed all of us Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

With the area being pummeled with rainfall, like I mean pummeled, there was really little that police could do to begin an investigation because they're being displaced, they're trying to help other people that are trapped. You know, like this is a really terrifying situation. Yeah, highly doubt that you're going into work when your house is flooding. Right, or you're going in, but you're not really, or you're not even going in, but you're trying to help other people while you and your own family might be in danger.

Right. And remember, these guys are police officers. So they're doing a whole bunch of other different things. They're probably helping with rescues. They're probably helping get people out of their homes, you know, et cetera. Exactly. So they're dealing with that, but they also do want to take crystals case seriously because it didn't make sense where she was when she went missing.

The hurricane hadn't totally reached her area yet, so they weren't really thinking that the hurricane was the cause of her disappearance. But still, their investigation was really stalling because of the situation they were in. So her uncle Jeff actually decided to take matters into his own hands, and he hired a private investigator in the midst of this natural disaster. While she began efforts immediately, she agreed that the elapsed time really complicated the search, saying, quote, I was called a week after she was already missing, but nobody could do anything because of the storm.

The first 48 hours are the most crucial, and we started four days past the 48 hours. But although it may not have seemed like it, the police were still doing everything they could most crucial and we started four days past the 48 hours. But although it may not have seemed like it, the police were still doing everything they could to determine what happened to Crystal that morning despite the flooding that Hurricane Harvey brought. And actually the district attorney reflected very proudly that although some officers lost their homes and all of their belongings, they continue to show up to work and continue to search for crystals. So that kind of helps us all understand the gravity of this.

Is there police officers that are working on Crystal's case? And they have lost their homes in this hurricane. That's so insane. It's just horrible. So immediately, three men in Crystal's life emerged as persons of interest. First, her new boyfriend, Paul, then her uncle Jeff, and then of course, her ex-husband, Steve.

And officers were already struggling with 2 of them. So they accused her uncle Jeff of being too involved to the point that it became detrimental to the investigation, and they were basically upset that he hired a private investigator so early on and they claim that it threatened the integrity of the case because again they were really trying to work on this case they were just having a hard time getting to it and it does make sense why her uncle just wants to figure out what happened to her as a p he's thinking the police aren't doing anything well and he already stated that it was four days past the forty eight hour mark

so it was a week later yeah he's like you know we'll lose an evidence here absolutely on it right so it's totally easy to understand that but then it is also easy to understand whether police are coming from here but for paul he seemed to be revealing more information to the media then he was to the police which raised a ton of warning flags for the police So he's just like going out there talking to news stations Exactly like for example the new stations in the area received a copy of the security camera footage of crystal leaving his house on the morning of August

25th before police had a chance to examine it themselves because it was his security camera footage so he's the one sending it to the media and saying put this out there this is really the last trace of her but police really hold on like we haven't even seen that yet and maybe uh... i'm just assuming here but maybe he's just doing that because he's really actually trying to help of course and he's like maybe if it gets on the tv and people see it uh... yeah i don't you know again I don't know how many people are watching their TV when

there's a massive hurricane going on. I'm sure there was probably you know power outages all over the place but yeah, but I mean it does seem like he was trying to help. So yeah, absolutely. So that's that's why it's difficult because I totally agree with what you're saying. And I'm sure the police did to a point, but then they're saying, ah, like, now this is even more all over the place, right? So all three men were questioned by the police and they were considered persons of interest,

all three of them. And in fact, the police revealed that at one point, they had as many as 25 persons of interest in Crystal's case. Damn, how do you get 25 persons of interest? I mean case damn how do you get? 25 persons of interest I mean I know it's crazy how many people did she really know you know? I know I so that's but that proves that they are really looking into this if there's 25 different people that come up as Suspicious to them very true and also police polygraphed both Steve and Paul and they announced that Steve and Paul failed their polygraph tests in regards to Crystal's case, and both of them were looking very suspicious to police.

So as this was going on, a major development came when on August 29, so four days after Crystal had last been seen, her car was finally recovered. And it was abandoned in a parking lot and it was also flooded, so the entire inside of her car is flooded with water. So a friend of Crystal's cousin who was aware of the situation spotted her black Mercedes sitting in a few feet of water in a flooded motel 6 parking lot just 10 miles or 16 kilometers from her house. The car had been left unlocked and the keys were on the center console, almost as if it had been set up to be stolen. Aside from that, the car appeared to be untouched, like there were no obvious signs of a struggle,

but it was also hard to tell with the amount of water that it crept in. There also hadn't been any new activity on our cars or her cell phone, so investigators focused their search on the car and the hotel and they decided to work backwards from there just hoping to trace the movements of the car back to Crystal's last known whereabouts. Which is obviously really hard to do here because they know that now that this car is flooded, they're going to have the hardest time trying to pull any sort of DNA or evidence out of this car. Exactly, which they pretty much can't so they're like all we can do is try to figure

out if she put her car here or if somebody else did. Right. So while going through the surveillance footage of the area, just hoping to catch the car being dropped off, police found exactly what they were looking for and more. At 6.37am on August 26th, the day after Crystal disappeared. The car could be seen backing into the motel's parking lot. Then 5 hours later, Steve himself could be seen pulling his Ford Mustang into the Chevron station just a few doors down from the motel, parking it, and then walking over toward the motel to check if her car was still there.

Steve could also be seen shoving something deep into the trash cans near the gas pumps, which looked like to investigators some discarded clothing. But sadly, by the time they were able to track this footage down, and were able to check the trash cans in the perimeter of the gas station, the area had flooded and the contents of the trash can had floated away. In addition to that damning evidence, investigators also pulled footage from near the motel in which a hooded man can be seen riding by the parking lot on a bike, despite the pouring rain. From a Walmart down the street, they obtained footage of a man whose description was eerily similar to Steve's, purchasing a red bull, cigarettes, and a bike, and paying in cash.

So obviously this is weird, because if we're talking about somebody who looks eerily similar to Steve, purchasing these items and a bike, and then their security footage of a man, being seen riding a bike near the motel. It makes you think that maybe that was Steve, that he bought a bike in cash, but I'm just having a hard time figuring out how his car got to the area, but also her car, and then there's a third mode of transportation,

and that's the bike, because if he killed Crystal, which we're gonna find out, and dropped her car off, then why would it, it would make more sense for him to buy a bike and ride the bike home, then like for him to come back in his car and then leave on bike.

You know what I mean? Like it just doesn't really make any sense. It doesn't make any sense. I feel like I say that all the time. Maybe that was the purpose, that he was kind of trying to throw people off. Maybe he was aware that security footage could pick him up on it and that he wanted to just leave his car

and go practice his bike so he could get out of the area somewhat undetected, especially if he's putting his hood up. Right, but his car was already detected just a few businesses away from the motel. That's why it's so bizarre. And maybe he just didn't realize that police were really gonna put two and two together and be like, okay, we clearly see your fucking car

on security camera footage, like, what are you doing? Well, and we know that he didn't abandon the car and get rid of it all together because we're gonna, I'm gonna talk about that in a bit. But, I don't know, this is such a weird detail. But anyway, so at this point, Steve was still living at home with their two children, again, Madden and Maui.

And beginning to suspect that all roads led back to him, investigators were growing concerned that maybe under threat of arrest, Steve would either harm the kids or he would flee. Those Steve maintained that he would never have hurt Crystal and that he was shocked that they would even insinuate such a thing. Crystal's friends and family told a different story. You gotta love this because I feel like this just happens so often in true crime cases where it's like,

I would never, I would, I loved her and then it's like the family's like, nah, that's, no, that's not the story. Yeah, hold on to that. So in interviews with those closest to her, police discovered that Crystal had actually filed for divorce just a year after they got married back in 2008. And remember, this story takes place in 2017. But Steve had talked her out of it by threatening her, telling her that he would kill himself if she ever left,

which is just devastating and very manipulative. It is. So she had also told a friend shortly before her disappearance that she felt as if Steve had been tracking her movements. After she went missing, Steve played the part of a grieving spouse, despite the fact that they were no longer married, and to this day, his Facebook cover photo and profile picture are Crystal's missing poster. He regularly would post updates and news articles and links to her families now to Funged website, just urging the public for answers in her case.

The comments really echoed this sympathy, just all telling Steve like how sorry they were for him and of course the kids, and that they were praying for resolution for them. He also still wore his wedding ring. Steve's first daughter, Krista, that's Krista with a K, remembers seeing how devastated he appeared to be at the loss and didn't believe that he was capable of hurting anybody. Like Krista's aunt, Krista called her dad a big kid and described him as goofy and very fun. However, she does remember that Krista and Steve quote, made each other crazy, and that, especially at the end,

things became very toxic between the two. When Crystal officially filed for divorce in February of 2017, Steve had begun engaging in some very erratic behavior. According to his first daughter, Krista, he started rapidly changing his Facebook profile picture to like representations of death, including pictures of graves, and then the grim reaper, which is just like really weird. Strange. Then he put up pictures of himself and Christal before settling on a profile picture that said no photo available.

And it was also during this time that Steve kidnapped their children. So let's talk about that for a second. So shortly after filing for divorce, Crystal called 911 one evening to report that Steve had taken their kids out for the evening and then had disappeared with them for days. So Steve had basically explained that he suspected Crystal of having extra marital affairs while they were together, and that he was angry and still in love with her and wanted to get her back. So Crystal dropped the charges when Madden and Maui returned unharmed, but at this point, even Steve seemed to realize how toxic things were, so he said

that he was ready to live separate lives for a while. But a few months later, when the divorce was finalized, he seemed to return to the assumption that the two would, you know, maybe make amends and be together again. Krista remembered that the four of them were planning on going on a cruise together as a family, and that Steve had made up his mind that this was his chance to rekindle things between them, and he didn't want Paul going in his place. He even planned on proposing again, and had purchased a tuxedo for himself and a white dress for Crystal.

But according to Krista, Steve said that this was all Krista's idea. Yeah, right. I don't think so. Steve claimed that Crystal had come to him with the plan to get remarried on the boat. So then, when she quote changed her mind, telling him that she didn't think that it was a good idea for Steve to go, and that she wanted to bring Paul instead so that he could

maybe bond with the kids, Steve was basically, I rate. And while we may never know the exact nature of this exchange, it's worth mentioning that it seems like Steve made this entire narrative up. I would agree with you there. So while the tides of suspicion seemed to be turning towards Steve, Christa maintained that her father had nothing to do with Christal's disappearance. She even asked him outright if he had anything to do with it, to which obviously he responded that he didn't, and again, that he couldn't believe that he was being suspected of such a thing. But she also recalls odd behavior from him as the day since Crystal's disappearance ticked

by. He began giving her family heirlooms away, like photo albums and stuff like that, and he even got rid of his own car. And because the Chambers County District Attorney was concerned for their kids, Madden and Maui, because you know, there were almost certain that Steve was to blame for Crystal's disappearance, they had the children removed from his home. So at this point, Steve had nothing left to lose. So he told investigators that he wanted one more night

to put his affairs in order, and that in the morning, he would go to the station to confess. In exchange for this, investigators agreed to take the death penalty off the table for killing 37-year-old Crystal. Late that evening, he called his first daughter, Christa, over to the house, and told her that he had been offered a plea deal.

And if he confessed and told them where Christal's body was, they would even lighten his sentence. Christa, who was still confused, they didn't understand why he would know where Christal's body was. Because he killed her. Right, because he's just he hasn't told her that yet he's just saying oh the police said if i show them where her body is

the help me and she's saying well how would you know where it is dad you didn't do this you've been telling me didn't do this right i mean it seems pretty obvious at that point but then he broke down into sobs and she realized that her father had in fact killed her stepmom. The next morning, Steve did go to the police, which you kind of felt like he wasn't going to, right?

Yeah, I was kind of assuming that he was going to just take off. Yeah, I mean, I'm kind of surprised that he kept his word, but he did. He went down there to confess. And in what police described as a tearful, remorseful confession, Steve said, quote, I did not mean to hurt her. I love her. On Saturday, September 9, 2017, so just two weeks after she went missing, police announced that they had recovered Crystal's body. after she went missing. Police announced that they had recovered Crystal's body. Steve led police to her decomposing remains

in a wooded area off of Needle Point Road right there in Baytown. Crystal's friend Morgan said, quote, when Steve decided that if he couldn't have her, nobody else could, he also made the decision for her children, her family and her friends. He took her away from all of us because of this one selfish act. He also made the decision for her children, her family, and her friends.

He took her away from all of us because of this one selfish act. With the confession and location of her remains, Steve McDowell was arrested in a weighted trial. But despite his confession, prosecutors really had their work cut out for them. According to the Texas State Penal Code, crimes that are committed in the heat of passion versus, you know, violent crimes that are premeditated can carry a much lighter sentence. This code defines heat of passion as, quote, passion directly caused by an arising out of provocation by the individual killed or another acting with the person

killed, whose passion arises at the time of the offense and is not solely the result of former provocation. If Steve's defense team were able to adequately argue that Steve was simply set off by seeing Crystal come home that morning after spending the night with her boyfriend, he could spend as few as two years in prison. That feels so wrong. It feels very wrong, yeah. And Steve described that Crystal came home that morning that they had rekindled things

and that while their children were still asleep, the two of them had sex, which obviously we don't believe that either. And by his own admission in court, he then hugged her to death. And what a way to put it, you know, like instead of saying, I strangled her, you're saying I hugged her to death, is it like you're putting like love behind it? No. Well, and yeah, I mean, obviously he's doing this because he feels like if he says, oh, I hugged her to death, I really didn't mean to do it, that they're maybe going to give him a lighter sentence and they're gonna take it easy on him.

But like, it's just weird though that he is acting like, oh, we made up, we made love, we're back together, and then I hugged her and she died. Like that's what he's essentially saying happened. Yeah. Which is just not how it happened. There's no way. It's such a shit way to go about things. Like you're already caught, like at least do the right thing and explain exactly what happened.

Like tell the court that you strangled her. Yeah, especially because they're talking about only two years being on the table, even if it was a heat of the moment thing that you didn't do by accident. You know, so it's just insane. So the defense also read aloud a series of flirty text messages that Crystal had allegedly sent him, you know, back while they were still married, but the source was unverified. So they basically did everything they could to paint Steve as a devoted and jilted husband, and then paint Crystal as this wild child who had one foot out the door for their entire marriage.

And this conveniently leaves out the stories that accurately painted Steve as the unfit, violent husband and parent that he apparently was. And manchild. Manchild indeed. But the most shocking aspect of the trial came from Crystal and Steve's daughter Maui. So the children were staying with Crystal and for the time being and she wanted to keep them out of this whole mess but via a recording that was played in the courtroom, Maui explained what she saw on the morning that her mom was murdered. Maui, who had been

only five years old at the time, had seen her parents fighting that morning, and had even seen her father Steve push crystal on the bed and hit her. And then he saw her dad strangle crystal. Maui remembered that her mom looked at her and mouthed help, but she couldn't understand what Crystal was saying and didn't grasp what was happening to her. Maui said in her explanation quote, I couldn't hear her, she looked at me sadly. That is such a heartbreaking moment, the fact that she was 5 years old, and she's basically explaining that like, she didn't understand that her mother was being murdered.

Yeah, and then then here Steve again, lying to the courtroom once again, and remember he's saying, oh, how dare you, how dare you insinuate that I killed my ex-wife? Like everything this guy says is a lie, because then he's saying, oh, like I already touched on, that they made up and that everything was fine and then he hugged her to death,

and then here's your young daughter, saying that she watched you kill Crystal. Watch you kill her mom. And can you imagine just like how traumatizing that's going to be for Maui for the rest of her life to know that her father did this to her mother? In front of her own eyes and that she couldn't do anything to help because she was so young. And actually, Steven knew that she was standing there because, according to Maui, Steve told her to go to her room and wait there and that she couldn't talk about what she had seen, not even to her brother Madden. So Steve knew that she was witnessing this and just said, you know, go away, don't say

a word. Yeah, and coerced his child to not say a word about the murder. So, so messed up. Well Paul claims that he had his suspicions about Steve from the beginning, and remembered quote, I believe he knew exactly what he was doing, and I think he knew the storm was coming in, and this would help cover his tracks. I think I had a lot to do with his decision to do this, and I can't help but feel responsible

for that. Ultimately, the jury did not rule in favor of the heat of passion defense, and on June 12, 2019, Steve was sentenced to 50 years in prison, and he'll be eligible for parole after just 25 years. Initially, Crystal's loved ones were shocked, hoping for at least a life sentence. Some of them even pushed for the death penalty. And when the sentence was revealed, crystals' uncle Jeff yelled, quote, he deserves worse. Paul said in an interview after the sentencing, quote, tragedy struck into the hearts of friends and family across the nation.

Tragedy struck into the hearts of friends and family across the nation. Our worst fears became a sad, unwanted reality. Crystal has passed. However, Crystal's spirit will continue to grow and thrive through her children and those that knew her best. She will be missed deeply. Through Facebook, go fund me and fundraisers from locals in the Baytown community, those who were touched by her story donated to start a college fund for her kids.

Madden and Maui were sent to live with Crystal's high school best friend Mandy in Las Vegas, and Mandy was overjoyed at the prospect of taking them in, saying, quote, I'm going to adopt them as soon as I get the paperwork signed. Amazing, thank you so much Mandy for being so awesome. Yeah, so amazing of her. And just finishing the quote, she said, it's almost like they've always been mine. Crystal always referred to them as our babies.

Despite the hurricane, Mandy rushed to Baytown as soon as she could get a flight when she heard that Crystal was missing. She had been one of many who was consoling Steve and the kids. However, she claimed she had the sinking feeling that Steve had been the reason for her friend's sudden disappearance. She remembered, quote, the whole thing I was taking notes and recording Stephen and forwarding them to the DA's office. Stephen thought that he was fooling me, but I was fooling him the whole time. Though Mandy also hoped for life sentence for Steve, she says that her main priority

now is Madden and Maui and keeping them safe until their father is able to be paroled. She said quote, I'm okay with that because the kids will be grown. I feel like the DA was very passionate and she did an amazing job, and I will forever be grateful to her and her team. Mandy has relished taking the kids to some of the places that she and Crystal loves visiting together and reliving those memories through them. Crystal's uncle Jeff remembered, quote, I was upset at first because they were being taken away from their family, but apparently they're adapting really well, and I'm thankful that Mandy is providing a place for them.

Christa, who remember as Steve's first daughter, now lives in Austin, Texas, but still keeps in touch with her younger half-siblings. Christal's obituary reads, quote, To say Crystal was a loving mother, caring friend, and devoted confidant would be an extreme understatement. She simply and unapologetically cared for everyone she knew, deserving or not, and was loyal to those she cared for, sometimes to a fault. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode and on Friday we'll have an

all new case for you guys to dive into. What a devastating story but I again I'm, so thankful, happy, relieved, and also very shocked that Steve confessed. I mean, again, confessed kind of, but at least he did in some way, because in a lot of cases like this that we cover, they don't confess at all, and maybe they're convicted, and maybe they're not convicted because they're just pretending like they didn't do anything. So at least he went down for it. Yes, and also, you know, they were pretty much screwed from the get-go with, you know, having this massive hurricane happening during the time of the investigation. So, you know, it was very hard for police to get any sort of evidence. So yeah, I am glad that Steve did confess. And I mean, everything was pointing to him anyway, and they were probably gonna get him eventually, but

I'm glad that he is now behind bars where he belongs. Absolutely. So thank you guys so much for tuning into this one. Like he said, we'll have an all-new episode for you guys on Friday and We'll see you then. All right guys, so for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. Thank you. you