True Crime All The Time - Christopher McCowen

Episode Date: July 14, 2025

Christa Worthington, a former fashion journalist and single mother who lived in Truro, a town on northern Cape Cod, was murdered in January 2002. Three years later, DNA evidence matched a surprising suspect, a local sanitation worker.Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss Christopher McCowen. McCowen told several different stories but was linked to the murder through DNA, and a jury thought the evidence proved his guilt. However, a recently discovered article of clothing may point to another person whom Chris said he was with that night. The testing has yet to be completed.You can help support the show at patreon.com/truecrimeallthetimeVisit the show's website at truecrimeallthetime.com for contact, merchandise, and donation informationAn Emash Digital productionSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

everyone and welcome to episode 443 of the true crime all the time podcast i'm mike ferguson and with me as always is my partner in true crime mike gibson give me how are you hey i'm okay how about you i'm doing great my oldest just bought a brand new car we talked about it at length on our weekly patreon thing we did what our first cars were what our first new cars were yeah you seem to specialize and Chivets and Escorts. Escorts has the car. Oh, yes, yes. Not Chivets with escorts inside them.

These are two different models of cars. Let's go ahead and give our Patreon shoutouts. We had Shay. Hey, what's up, Shea? Brittany Wiley jumped out at our highest level. Thanks, Brittany. Lisa Colts. Hey, Lisa.

Haunted Julianne. Well, thanks, Julian. Andrea. Good old Andrew. Andre Davidson. What's up, Andre? Josh Chastain. Hey, I love your sister, Jessica.

Trish May. Hey, Trish. Kara Hill. What's going on, Kara? And last but not least, Hannah Fitzsimmons art. Look at you. An artist. Maybe.

And then if we go back into the vault. This week, we selected Denise Mante. What's up, Mante? So we appreciate the new support, the continued support. I also wanted to give a happy upcoming birthday to Erica Del Realt. Really? Well, happy birthday, Erica. She's a big fan of the show, and it's a big milestone birthday. She knows what it is. I'm not going to say the number.

What I will say is that you and I have already reached it. Okay. It's a mystery. But it narrows it down somewhat. It does. At least I know it's, I know what your age is and what my age is. I hope you know what your age is. All right. We have a brand new episode out right now on True Crime. all the time unsolved. We're talking about Marcus Rutledge. He was a young father who went missing in 1998 right before he was getting ready to graduate college. This is an interesting episode because

they don't know for certain that Marcus was killed, but foul play is suspected. And his family has kind of come out and said that, you know, they think he might have gotten involved with some dangerous people in the months leading up to his death. So, you know, we get into all of that. All right, buddy, are you ready to get into this episode of true crime all the time? I am. We're talking about Christopher McCowan. Krista Worthington, a former fashion journalist and single mother, lived in Truro,

a town on northern Cape Cod, was murdered in January 2002. Three years later, DNA evidence matched a surprising suspect. it was a local sanitation worker. Krista Worthington was born on December 23rd, 1956. She was the daughter of Christopher and Gloria Worthington. Her father served in the Massachusetts Attorney General's office before returning to private law until he retired. Krista graduated high school in 1973 and enrolled at Vassar College, which is a pretty

prestigious school. Yeah, it's okay. No, it's actually pretty good. I mean, granted, it's all relative, right, compared to some of the places you went to Oxford, MIT, some of those places. But Basser is very expensive and I think pretty exclusive. You are correct. And pretty prestigious. After graduating college in 1977, Krista spent the next 20 years working in fashion.

journalism. She covered runway shows for magazines like L. Harper's Bazaar, and she wrote for the New York Times. It's impressive. It is very impressive. I think for me, fashion journalism would be a tough go. I have never been to a fashion show. Obviously, I've seen things on TV. I don't know what I'm looking at half the time. Yeah. Most of it is stuff that I would never see someone where in the real world. Well, definitely not around here. And I'm not sure if it's meant to be worn in the real world or it's just a show. I'm very confused.

I think sometimes it's a concept. Like, and I think when it goes to the store, they take it down a few notches from what was on the run with. Well, I think they would have to because I, you're limiting your clientele. I think with some of the outfits that I've seen.

For sure. At the age of 26, Krista got to interview famous fashion designer Eve Saint Laurent. That's pretty good. Yeah. I know you wear a lot of that perfume. I love that. YS.L.

Cologne. Not perfume. She lived in Paris for several years and was Bureau Chief for Women's Wear daily. I always wanted to be a chief of something. Just saying. Okay. I mean, I can come up with an honorary title if that's what you're looking for. I also want to be a director or something.

You can be the chief director of BS. Oh, I love that. Which most people would probably agree with. Krista lived in London before returning to New York City, where she briefly lived with a magician, called the Amazing Tarkwin. What would be like to live with a magician? Like, I think it would be mystifying. Yeah.

Like you don't know how that person is doing the things they're doing. I think they're always doing tricks and disappearing on you. You know, it's interesting because I'm assuming that most people are pretty normal when they're just laid back at home. Yeah. You know, they're not pulling quarters out of your ears at all times of the day. But I don't know, maybe some people are. They get a little one day every time they walk up to you, touch your ear. They pull another quarter out and you're like, damn it, just like,

my ears long. Yeah. You know. We get it. You're a magician. In 1997, 40-year-old Krista decided to move from New York City to Truro. A small town on Cape Cod. She was looking for a slower pace of life and wanted to be a mother. Krista had spent many summers there, and it was closer to her mother who was dying of cancer. Krista's ex-boyfriend, Steve Radlauer, told 48 hours. She had this having a baby thing in mind. And I think she felt like this would be a good place to do that. The complication was that she wasn't married and she didn't have a boyfriend. Now, she was 40 years old at the time. Maybe she thought, you know, it's now or never. Clock was ticking. Yeah, there is a certain age at which it becomes either more unlikely or more dangerous. Yeah, high risk for sure. For many women.

Krista had also been told by a doctor that she could not get pregnant. After she moved to town, Krista began having an affair with local fishing warden Tony Jacket, who was married with six children. Well, six kids is a lot of kids. It's a pretty good number. Yeah. I always think of it as I have two. So however many kids the person has that we're talking about, I just try to extrapolate my expenses by that.

So if I'm saying I'm paying three times more, I'm going to have to get a second and third job. I would think, man. Because I feel like it's already tough paying for these two girls right now. Jack it told 48 hours. She was someone very different from the people that I knew. She was mysterious, enigmatic, somewhat of a loner. He added, I could tell that there was an attraction. You know, ultimately, I ended up over.

at her house having a cup of tea and one thing leads to another as tea normally does. Yeah, those afternoon tea meetups got to watch out, be careful. I mean, that's just code for sex, right? Yeah, if I said, do you like a cup of tea? Would you like to go get a cup of tea together? Does it really mean I want to get a cup of tea? But you know how I feel about tea. Do not like it. I have tried to like it. Do not. I am a coffee person through and through. Yeah, you're like, no tea bags for me, please. My wife, however, she drinks a lot of tea. She loves it.

The affair was on and off for the next year until Krista got pregnant. Friends and sis, Krista was told she couldn't have a baby, but Tony felt as though she set him up. Well, I feel like Tony had no problem making babies. I'm just saying that. No, he might have been very virile. Yes. Now, would he feel that? way if she told him that she couldn't get pregnant. So therefore, you know, there was no need for

him to use any type of birth control or anything like that. Yeah, I think he might be a little soured like, hey, he said this couldn't happen. And guess what? It happened. In 1998, Krista joined an organization called Single Mothers by Choice and went on a talk show to discuss women who choose to be single parents. Krista's daughter, Ava, was born in. in May 1999. Christy's babysitter Linda Schlector recalled that Krista was a devoted mother who was always

playing and laughing with her daughter. Well, sounds like she loved her little baby. Oh, I'm sure she did. I mean, you know, she had her when she was in her early 40s. Sounds like she was under the impression that it was never going to happen. Right.

So she had to have been over the moon when it actually did. According to Krista's friends, Tony didn't have much time for Ava. And Krista eventually demanded child support. She also demanded that he tell his wife, Susan, who was not aware of the affair or of Ava's existence. I'm sure that didn't go over well.

That's going to be a tough one, right? You have a wife and six kids at home. Now, you stepped out, you had an affair, you made that choice. You did. Sometimes there are consequences, right, of your actions. Now we're talking about a number of consequences. For sure, yeah.

You had a baby with this woman. There's going to be child support. And she wants to make sure that Tony's wife knows all about it, that this is not a secret. Yeah. He's got some new responsibilities. As Ricky would say, you got some splaining things.

to do. But that's a tough conversation you're going to have to have with your wife. I would think so. And most wives are not going to be real receptive to that talk. Susan Jacket told 48 hours, he said he was in trouble. And I said with the IRS? And he said, no worse. I said with the police? No, worse than that. And I said, what could be worse than that? And I was sort of frightened. I couldn't he was very uncomfortable. I couldn't imagine that it was. And he said, I had an affair and there's a child.

He hesitated and he said, there's a child and I said, you're kidding. Imagine there was a lot of fall-up conversations. Oh, that's not a one-time conversation and it's over. No,

that's probably a lifetime conversation. It's going to come up quite a bit. Susan, though, was eventually able to forgive Tony. by the beginning of 2002, the jackets had a relationship with Krista and Eva. They started off by inviting Krista over for dinner. Susan said it was uncomfortable at first, but she got to know Krista and thought she was a nice person. That would be awkward.

It would be awkward, but, I mean, you know, you really got to give it up for Susan. Number one, she's taking all of this in and that had to be tough hearing that. it. But then she has to make a decision. You know, do I blow up my family because of what my husband did? Right. Or do we try to work through it? She decided to forgive him and work through it. And then on top of that, they make the decision that they want at some level for Krista and Ava to be a part of their lives. But, you know, that can't happen all at once. It's got to be, there's got to be a process to get to that point. Baby stepping.

Yeah. After she ended her romantic relationship with Tony Jacket, Krista started seeing Tim Arnold, a divorced father of two. He helped Krista through her first year of motherhood. Tim moved in with Krista in early 2000. But this arrangement only lasted four months. Arnold told the Boston Globe,

we drove each other crazy. I think in the end she decided I wouldn't come back. There's one thing about dating someone and hanging out and then going home. Versus living with someone. It is a huge difference. It can be, right? Some people kind of roll into it seamlessly and things don't change. But for a lot of people, living with someone day in and day out, you get to see everything.

All those habits that you normally don't see. And sometimes it doesn't work. Krista's ex Steve Radlauer told 48 hours that her relationship with Tim was sometimes contentious. He said, I don't think that she ever entertained the idea. This was going to develop into a long-term relationship, that they were going to get married or anything like that. From what I understand, he was more serious about that as a long-term possibility than she was.

Yeah, they weren't on the same page. And I think that happens quite frequently in relationships. You know, one person is either more invested in the relationship than the other. One person is more serious or thinks it's heading in a direction that is more serious than the other person does. But the two remained friends and Krista sometimes confided in Tim. She listed him as an heir to 20% of her state in the event of A. his death, which he was not aware of until after the murder. Krista's estate was worth about $700,000 per the Boston Globe.

Well, obviously she cared a lot about the guy. Yeah, she must have to, you know, list him as an heir in any type of way. But I think the interesting thing here is that we're, you know, we're getting into the suspects, right? we've talked about some of Krista's boyfriends. Obviously, they're going to be looked at. Does Tony Jacket have a reason for wanting Krista debt?

There's the child support angle. Yeah. There is the, hey, you made me tell my wife and all that. Now, one of the thoughts that goes through my mind is if he was going to do that, would he have done it before he? his wife found out. I would have thought so. To do it afterwards,

I'm not really sure what you're gaining other than custody of Ava and possibly Krista's estate. Yeah. If you're the one who's taking care of her.

Yeah, managing it for Ava. Yeah. Which $700,000 is a lot of money. Yeah, exactly. Tim Arnold found Krista's body inside her home on the morning of January 6th, 2002. Tim lived just through the woods and came to the house around 4.30 p.m. to return a flashlight. He saw Krista lying on the floor in the kitchen hallway with blood under her body.

Ava was nearby, but was unharmed. Tim picked up Ava and ran outside to call 911. Krista was found partially nude, wearing a nightgown, and had been stabbed once through the left lung. the blade went through her body and into the kitchen floor she also had bruises as if she'd been in a fight so there's two things for me here gibbs one is you know obviously tim discovering this scene seeing this person who you cared about probably still do care about right who appears to to be dead but then you know you also have to grab eva i mean how tragic is that, that she's kind of there with her dead mother. Pretty tragic.

And then I think the second thing is just kind of how brutal this was to stab someone so hard that it goes completely through the body and the blade is embedded into the kitchen floor. How mad would you have to be to do something like that? Or how powerful a person are we talking about? because can we limit potential suspects based on, you know, who would be powerful enough to inflict this kind of damage? Someone had smashed Krista's front door. There appeared to be drag marks outside the home, and Krista's personal items were scattered about the driveway. Well, this seems strange to me.

I mean, she was found on the inside of the home. So what's up with the drag marks on the outside? and personal items scattered about on the outside. Yeah, I mean, it's strange, no doubt about it. The medical examiner believed Krista was killed late on Friday, January 4th, or early Saturday, January 5th. The police suspected a local because Kate Kod gets few tourists in January. And that makes some sense, right? If you were talking about in the summertime or there'd be a lot more tourists and maybe you'd be thinking.

a greater possibility of a stranger murder. It's Cape Coddware, Cape Fear was all about, you know, come out, come out wherever you are. No, I thought they were down south somewhere. I was it. I could be wrong. Yeah. Tim Arnold was one of the first suspects because he found the body. He denied having anything to do with the murder and submitted his DNA for comparison.

Investigators had collected a DNA sample from Chris's body that would become a crucial part of the case. And I get it, you know, he has to be a suspect or at least a person of interest. Normally, when people voluntarily give up their DNA, it means they have nothing to hide. Yeah. And they want to rule themselves out. Another early suspect was Tony Jacket. His wife told the police that he was home. Tony took a lie detector test and said he clearly passed.

Okay. And again, right, you have to look at Tony as a suspect. I would think you, for sure, you'd have to. Jacket told the Associated Press in January 2002 that he hadn't been to Christus place since June and that their affair was a summer flame. And I'm sure that his wife loved all of this being in the media, right? Bad enough that she had to work through all this or probably was still working through it. now Krista ends up dead.

Yeah. She's murdered. And her husband is being looked at. And basically all the dirty laundry is going to come out. There'll be a lot of buzz, I'm sure, you know, how that happened, what's going on with this. Well, does he get Ava now? Because he's the dad and what about the money? Got a lot of buzz going on.

But it's one thing to deal with something internally in a completely. in a completely different thing to have it, you know, kind of splashed out there in the media for everyone to know about. Another potential suspect was Tony's son-in-law Keith Amato, who took an outside shower at Krista's house. Well, you know, to save water, I take some showers at individuals outdoor showers as well. Because you know me, I don't want to. I mean to save your water.

Yeah. Because it's not saving money for them. No, no, save me. So, you know, I mean, there's some outdoor showers in the neighborhood. I'll, you know, after hour swing over there. After hours, do they have posted shower hours? Well, I mean, I don't want them to see me in their shower. Right.

So after everyone's gone to sleep, that's when you do your shower. Yeah. I got you. I wish you'd put one. And I'd shower after I left here. It'll be good for the, you know, a day or two. That's not going to happen. First of all, no one in the neighborhood needs to see any of that.

If I did put one in, I would do one of those frosted glass ones, but reverse it. So that you thought it was nobody could see in, but everybody in the neighborhood could see you. The police also looked into Krista's elderly father and his 29-year-old girlfriend. Krista thought her father spent too much money on her. Ultimately, nothing came from this either. So, I mean, they're looking into a lot of different people. Now, this must have been a pretty good age gap, right? Krista was around 42 years old.

Yeah. Which means her father, at the very least, was in his 60s, maybe even in his 70s. He had a 29-year-old girlfriend. I'm sure it was true love. But the fact that Krista thought he spent too much money on her, it's kind of a real thin reason, right, to want someone dead. DNA results finally came back in 2003, revealing that Tim Arnold and Tony Jack were not matches to the DNA profile. Well, I bet Tony was breathing a sigh of relief because I think he was probably the one that would benefit the most.

Well, I'm sure both of them breed the sigh relief, just to have their names cleared. But I also think they both knew that was going to happen, right? They readily gave up their DNA, which most guilty people don't do. Tim Seaman was found on a blanket that EMTs threw over Krista's body, but his DNA was not found on her body. And he did briefly live with her. Well, it's the whole reason why I don't touch any of these blankets around here. I don't want you touching any of my stuff.

I don't want to touch it because I don't know what, How much of your DNAs on those? Nobody does. Investigators shifted their focus to identifying other possible suspects. On January 9, 2003, investigators announced they were searching for an unknown man who had what they called an intimate relationship with Krista shortly before her death. At one point, the DA asked all Mel residents of Truro to submit their DNA, 75 men, voluntary. submitted samples. That's surprising.

Well, I wonder how many of the, these guys' wives, if they were married, said, hey, you better get in there and give a sample because now I'm a little worried. Yeah. By 2005, the police would still not officially rule anyone out as a suspect. And I get it, right? Tim's DNA doesn't match. Tony's DNA doesn't match, but they're not ready to rule anyone out. And I think that's smart because, you know, could it still be possible that they orchestrated

the murder? Maybe they didn't carry it out. Maybe they hired someone could have to kill Krista. Tony Jacket had tried to fight for custody of Ava. Ava was living with Krista's friend Amira Chase, whom she named as a guardian in her will. Tony was only allowed to see her once a week. He tried to fight for custody and lost. He believes it's because he was a suspect. And my thought is it can't help your chances, right? If there's even a hint, a whiff that you could possibly be involved, very little chance.

They're going to want to give you custody of this little girl. Yeah, that's true. On April 7, 2005, The police received word that the crime lab had a hit for the DNA sample. The DNA on Krista's body came from Christopher A. McCallin, a local sanitation worker. McCallin had been interviewed twice. He first agreed to give his DNA in April 2002, but the police didn't collect the sample until 2004. Both times, he denied knowing Krista and said he only collected her garbage on his assigned route. It's really strange.

He was willing to give that DNA so early on, and they said, no, we're wait, we're wait. And why not get it? And at that point, maybe it would have brought some answers to the case. Well, yeah, two years is a pretty long delay. Now, the police said the delay in collecting his DNA

was due to his address changes. Okay, so they couldn't keep up with him because he kept moving, Christopher McCowan was arrested on April 14, 2005. It was arrested at his rooming house. While watching cartoons in bed, police found marijuana and an open bottle of prescription painkillers

on the bedside table. I, in bed, watching cartoons. Which, I believe, if you were ever ultimately caught, is probably very similar to how you would be found. In your PJs, watching cartoons high on both marijuana and painkillers. And laughing.

And laughing. McCowan was charged with murder, aggravated rape, and aggravated burglary. When McCallin was taken for a third round of questioning, he denied knowing Krista until he was presented with the DNA evidence. And, you know, it's always fascinating to me, you know, when you watch some of these shows where they actually have the interrogation videos, you know, people are denied, deny, deny, until the police kind of throw out their hole card, right? Which is some piece of evidence that is pretty hard to refute.

Well, what normally happens? That's when the person kind of changes, does a 180, right? Changes course and starts to come up with a different. version of events. For Christopher, he admitted that he was out drinking. On the night of Friday, January 4th, he and his friend Jeremy Frazier decided to go to Krista's house. He had sex with her and beat her, but it was Frazier who killed her. However, Frazier's DNA was not found on Krista's body. So, you know, I talked about doing a 180. This is a 180. Sure it is. From, hey, I've never been to her house other than.

than to collect her garbage to, oh yeah, me and a friend went there. I had sex with her and I beat her, but then my friend killed her. Admitting to beating her so that way covers you for all the DNA. I mean, in the sex as well. Yeah, maybe he was trying to cover his bases. Maybe he threw that in there to say, oh yeah, I did something bad, but I didn't do the the really bad thing. Right. Yeah. According to 48 hours, McCowan declined to have his six-hour interview recorded. So the only record that exists is a 27-page report detectives wrote from their notes a week

earlier. In this report, McCowan gives multiple versions of what exactly happened that night. And I didn't know that a person could decline to have their interview recorded. I was not aware of that. Maybe there's a waiver you have to sign. I just thought they were all recorded. McCowan's attorney Bob George said the police jump to conclusions. He also noted that McCowan had an IQ of about 78 on a good day when he was not using drugs and alcohol. On the day he was questioned, he was under the influence of Percocet and marijuana, or what we call a Gibby Wednesday night. George also said about the DNA, there was no evidence of the indications of rape.

And, you know, going back to what he did admit, right, he has to admit having sex with Krista. Because how else can you explain your DNA being found? Either you had some type of consensual sex or you raped this woman. Yeah, very true. Now, he just says had sex with her. But then he says he also beat her. So it doesn't sound like a consensual, intimate moment, right? I don't think so.

Christopher McCowan's trial started on October 16, 2006. D.A. Michael O'Keefe argued that McCowan was drinking heavily and met friends at a local club where they were videoed by an onlooker participating in a rap contest. You ever been in a rap contest? Several. He flew up to Detroit. You and Eminem. Hang out by the eight mile.

Just battling it out. Yeah. Mom spaghetti. Oh, it was good though. It was good mom spaghetti. Yeah. O'Keefe said that after a night of drinking, this person wanted the company of a woman after partying and drinking all night.

So at around 1.30 a.m. McCowan drove to Krista's house in Truer, where he killed her, although he had no connection with Krista other than his familiarity with who she was, where she lived, and the fact she lived alone. Which he could have gleaned very easily. Sure he could have. From picking up her trash every week. He also, you know, he could have seen her. He could have thought that she was attractive.

He could have developed an infatuation with her. I mean, there's all kinds of different things. Absolutely. It could have happened. ADA Robert Welsh also said in opening statements, is quoted by the Boston Globe. There were a large number of kicks and blows to her body. The defendant was completely indifferent to her suffering. Well, he didn't care whatever happened to her.

He just didn't give a shit. No. He wanted what he wanted. He was going to take it. if he had to. And that sounds like exactly what he did. And in the process, you know, he beat and killed her. Prosecutors theorized the McCowan beat Krista outside her house, dragged her inside and raped and stabbed her. So, you know, this goes back to kind of the statement that you made, these drag marks outside the house. It seems strange, right, that Krista was found dead inside

her home, but there were these drag marks outside the house, her personal items outside the house. It makes it seem now that we have more information as though the altercation happened outside initially. And that makes sense. From the standpoint that he was not a welcome guest. Yes. In her home, she wasn't most likely going to invite him in. Defense attorney Bob George suggested that racial.

prejudices led to Chris McCowan, a black man, being charged. Over a three-year period, the police never said Krista was raped, and the police only came to that conclusion because McCowan is black. George also said that person that killed Krista Worthington was white. They had footprints that were unidentified. They had palm prints that were unidentified, and they had unknown male DNA from three individuals under her fingernails. The defense argued that Chris McAllen could have reasonably had a consensual sexual

relationship with Krista. The sex probably occurred on Thursday, trash pickup day, and that someone else killed Krista. And I see what the defense is trying to do, right? You've got to frame it as though the reason for his DNA being found is that they were having a consensual relationship, if you want to call it down. Yeah. Now, the idea that she was having sex with this man as he was on his trash route seems a little

strange to me. Not the fact that he's a garbage collector. I'm not saying that, but that he's actually on the job. Yeah, but that stuff happens. Does it? I get it. you're going back to your UPS days. I am.

And all of the dalliances that you had as a lethario back in the day. Okay. But you weren't hot and sweaty picking up trash. That's hot and sweaty. Yeah. But I'm just thinking about, you know, the smells and the, the, the hygienic kind of angle to it. I get you. It doesn't seem like the ideal situation to all of a sudden, you know, break into rumpus room

activity. I'm not saying it can't happen. It just doesn't seem ideal. It's probably not the ideal scenario for many. And she's not married. She's not attached. It's not like she has to sneak around. Right.

Why can't you come back after you've taken a shower after your shift ends and then we'll have time then? that would make a lot more sense. Those stinky overalls out of here. Yeah. Krista's ex-boyfriend, Steve Radlauer, told 48 hours that he doubted that Krista had a relationship with Christopher McCowan because he saw her two weeks before she was killed and she would have mentioned it to him. Bob George said he didn't want to bash Krista, but he pointed out that she had an affair and noted the DNA under her nails. and the DNA found on the blanket that belonged to her ex, Tim Arnold.

So what is he saying, right? He doesn't want to bash this woman, but he has to point out that she, you know, had an affair in the past. Yeah. She has the DNA of multiple individuals under her fingernail. What's he trying to say, Gibbs? She, uh, like to have some fun. Yeah, maybe she got around.

I think is what he's trying to say, while at the same time saying, I'm not trying to bash her. The defense also argued that the police intimidated McCowne, just like they did with suspects, Tim Arnold and Keith Amato. Amato testified about his interrogation. Per 48 hours, Trooper Mon slammed his hand down on the table and said, this is a murder investigation. And if we so choose, we will turn your life inside out. Okay. I'm not even sure what that means.

Me neither. You ever had your life turned inside out? There was a point. I felt like it was turned inside out at one point, but yeah, no. And is it that uncommon for a detective or somebody to, you know, slam their hand down in exclamation? Oh, for sure. I don't know that it is, right? Trying to get your attention.

Yeah, they're trying to put on some theatrics. Yeah. Rattle your cage. No, in some instances, do they intimidate people? Absolutely. Do they coerce people? Sure. We've talked about it before.

Unfortunately, that stuff does happen. The state's expert testified that the DNA proved beyond doubt that McCowan had sex with Krista before she died. However, the state medical examiner concluded there were no conclusive signs of rape. Besides the DNA, investigators found no prints, footprints or hair. or hairs linking McCallin to the crime. So even the state medical exam can't conclusively say Krista was raped, but there's no doubt, right, that there was some type of sexual interaction.

The question is, was that consensual or not? Yeah. And I think, and I go back to his own statement, it doesn't sound consensual in any way because he even admitted that he beat her. He did. Now, he blames the murder on the guy he says was with him, but he says, I had sex with her and then I beat her. But he did the worst thing. So talk to him. State trooper Christopher Mason testified that McCowan was first interviewed in 2002 as part of their routine investigation of anyone who had contact with the victim.

He was interviewed again in March 2004 to get his DNA sample. He was cooperative and said he never interacted with Krista. And, you know, police are going to look at that, right? Obviously, he lied in the beginning. He only changed up his story when they confronted him with, with the DNA. Which is not good. But now you're going to tell a different story? Yeah, his story changed in April 2005, right?

At first he said he didn't even. even know Krista, and the person who killed her must have been drunk or stupid. If he had done it, he would have made sure the child didn't see anything. I also think that's a strange thing to say. It is. Now, let me tell you, I didn't do it, but let me tell you how I would have or the things I wouldn't have done if I had done it. That just seems like a strange area to delve into.

Yeah, I hear something like that. I'm thinking, maybe you did do this. why are you going down this path? When Trooper Mason asked him to think hard about what happened, McCowan said, fine, I had sex with her. He claimed he was so drunk, he couldn't remember anything else. After he was confronted with DNA evidence, he threw up his hands and said,

it could have been me. Okay. He's making some strange statements. Very, very strange. He would have been wise at this point to have an attorney with him. who would have advised him not to make any of these statements. And we mentioned it, right? McCowan was out drinking with his friend, Jeremy Frazier.

Between 12.30 and 1 a.m. They went to Krista's house. She was startled but invited them in. McAllen had sex with Krista on the floor. While Jeremy started going through her things, which angered her, she confronted him and they went outside. Frazier punched her. Krista was fighting and screaming.

Now, this is all coming from McCallin. Yeah. These aren't facts. These are, this is part of his ongoing statements. McCowan said, he beat and punched her so hard that he heard her head hit the driveway. Frazier told McCallin,

he was going to have sex with Krista. He kicked in the kitchen door and didn't return for 10 minutes. McCowan claimed he witnessed Frazier stab her, and they wiped her body down with a dish. rat. Trooper Christopher Mason testified that although McCowan didn't confess to murder, he admitted that he beat Krista and saw the murder. McAowen also said, I never meant for that lady to get killed. It's a nightmare after nightmare. And not a day goes by that I don't think of it. So, you know, let's just break down this story for a minute. He's admitting to certain things.

He is. But like we said before, he is blaming the heaviest of the charges on his friend, Jeremy Frazier. And this is something we've seen time and time again, right? People admit to parts of the story, the parts that wouldn't, you know, put them to death or put them away for life, let's say. Right. Just enough to try to get them out of the,

the big daddy charge of murder. Yeah. Because there's no way he can say he wasn't there anymore. The problem is the evidence didn't support McCallon's story because Jeremy Frazier's DNA was not found on Krista or at the crime scene. You also have to wonder what Jeremy Frazier is thinking at some point when his good buddy is trying to throw him under the bus and say that he murdered this woman. Pretty pissed, wouldn't you? Well, yeah, that's a deal breaker for most friendships, I think. Forensic psychologist Eric Brown testified that McCann.

Cowan couldn't understand the police's questions because of his low IQ. The prosecution countered that he was intelligent enough to make up a story attempting to frame his friend. What did we say it was? 78, I think. It's on the lower side, but, you know, does that mean that, you know, he's not somewhat street smart, maybe, able to craft a story? That's it, right? I mean, doesn't mean he's not able to think through situations and things like that.

I think he knew what was going on. Jeremy Frazier testified that he couldn't remember much about where he went that night, but the police mentioned things to him and he started to remember. Earlier, state trooper Christopher Mason testified that Frazier received a call from the state police on January 5th and may have been working as a drug informant. Phone records verified this. Defense attorney Bob George also questioned the credibility of Frazier's alibi witness, Sean Mulvey.

According to ABC, Frazier said he was at an underage club called the Juice Bar with McCallin and Mulvey on January 4, 2002, where they were recorded participating in a rap contest. They left the bar and went to a party, but a fight broke. out and everyone was kicked out, Frazier and Mulvey went to Mulvey's father's house and stayed the rest of the night. Frazier didn't know where McCowan went. Now, when first questioned,

Sean Mulvey denied Frazier's account of the weekend and said he couldn't clearly remember whether Fraser spent the entire night at his house. Mulvey testified that he lied when first questioned because his father advised him not to get involved. Yeah, I think if you're this Frazier guy, you got to wonder who your friends are at this point. Well, for sure. One guy is trying to accuse you of murder.

Your other friend lies and says, he's not sure that you stayed there that night. Because, hey, I'm not getting involved in this. Right. The defense also argued that the police didn't send fibers, hair, and DNA to the lap. And that the EMTs contaminated the crime scene. During closing arguments, Bob George said about to rape charge, it's based on an assumption, a false assumption, that a Vassar educated 46-year-old world-traveling, wealthy heiress could not possibly have had consensual sex with a black, uneducated, troubled garbage man. The jury deliberated for the next six days. On day six, one woman was thrown off the pant because her boyfriend was arrested.

in an unrelated crime, and she was recorded having a phone conversation with him where she criticized the police. Well, that would do it. Yeah, so they seated a new juror. Two days later on November 16, 2006, the jury found Christopher McCowan guilty of murder, aggravated rape, and burglary.

He was sentenced to three life terms without the possibility of parole. Christopher spoke before sentencing and said, This case here is a very horrendous case. I feel sorry for the victim's family, her daughter, and her. I have never meant for this to ever take place. But Your Honor, all I can say is that I'm an innocent man in this case, and that's all I got to say.

After the trial, several jurors made allegations of racial bias during deliberations, which caused the trial judge to call them back for questioning 14 months later. They revealed there was racial tension in the jury room, which the defense argued was grounds for a retrial. One white juror referred to McCowan as a big black man, which offended a black juror. The judge ruled that the jurors remarked was an innocent description and rejected the request for a retrial. On December 10, 2010, the state Supreme Judicial Court upheld McCowan's conviction in sentencing but one of the justices wrote that he wished the trial judge questioned jurors more searchingly about the potential racial bias. So, I mean, this is kind of a big part of the case.

Seems so. The defense hammered it, right, during the trial. They did. Well, I think it was part of their strategy, basically trying to convince the jury that, you know, the police got it in their mind, that there is no way. that Krista could have had a consensual sexual relationship with McCown. Now, could she have? Absolutely.

She could have. But does the evidence support that? No. But I don't think this was a slam dunk case, right? There were some things, I think, as a juror, that you would maybe get hung up on. The state medical examiner couldn't conclude. say that Krista was raped. You go back to Chris's own words. I had sex with her and then I beat her. Okay. To me, it doesn't sound like a consensual sexual relationship. No. And if this Frazier guy is not there at all,

as his alibi seems to suggest, they don't find any of his DNA there, even though Chris says he, you know, was with her for 10 minutes and said he was going to have sex with her. Again, you got to go with the evidence. You do. Christopher got married in prison around 2014 to Leslie McCown. Leslie told the Cape Cod Times in 2024, there is no way he could have done this. I always knew he didn't do it. I believe he was framed. I believe it was because he was black. Leslie had known Christopher casually since 1999, when he came to the Dunkin' Donuts where she worked. She didn't follow the case until after he was convicted. She wrote to him and they got to know each other.

She mentioned Chris was stabbed at the first prison. He was incarcerated at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Cedar Junction, formerly MCI Walpole. At the time, the DOC only confirmed there was a stabbing, but did not identify the victim. and you know I'm always interested in people who marry an inmate. Yes. Now, she did know him at least casually since she knew him somewhat.

Yeah, she wasn't like, it wasn't like she didn't know him at all. Right. Before all this happened. But they really got to know each other after he'd already been convicted. And then, you know, eventually got married. But she came out and said it, right? I know he didn't do it. Well, I hope that's what she believes.

Yeah. be weird if it, if she's like, yeah, I know he did it. But I'm going to marry him anyway. But I love him. In 2017, McCallon had a new defense attorney and hoped to obtain new evidence that could lead to a retrial. McCallon told ABC's 2020 that he knew Krista from his trash route. And he said, being a garbage man, I get to go by everybody's houses. And, you know, get to talk to them briefly on the Thursday before the murder.

Krista asked him to help get rid of a Christmas tree. And as he said, one thing led to another. It was just a mutual thing between two people, I guess. We started kissing. Then we ended up having sex. McCowan told 2020 he didn't remember talking to the police or what he told them because he was under the influence of marijuana, cocaine, and Percocet during his six-hour interview, saying, the police kept on switching.

everything, I was so intoxicated off all of them drugs that I really didn't know what the hell was going on. Well, if you were taking all that, you probably didn't really know what was going on. No. That could be absolutely true. But he also said some things after this interview where the thought is he wasn't intoxicated. So, you know, everything wasn't said during this six hour interview. He also said he didn't remember going to the house with Jeremy Frazier. When asked why he named Frazier, he said, that's what they, the police, said that I did. I didn't do that. On May 22nd, 2004, a Superior Court Associate Justice approved McCowan's request to conduct DNA tests and fabric analysis of a blue and white sweater worn by Jeremy Frazier on the night of January 4th, 2002.

Frazier turned in the sweater in May 2005, but it wasn't found until 2023 in a state police barracks. Also submitted for testing were blue and white fibers found in Krista's vaginal area and under the fingernails of both her hands. A match of the fibers could result in a new trial for McCowan. McCowen's attorney Gary Peltier said previous testing was inconclusive. So, I mean, this is pretty interesting. I also can't believe that Frazier turned this sweater in in 2005 and then it wasn't found until 2023. I mean, what in the world are we doing here? Yeah, sounds like there's a little problem in the evidence room. But these blue and white fibers, right, if they come back to matching this sweater that Frazier turned in, it could be a game changer. And we don't do this a lot,

Gibbs, but I'm just going to play devil's advocate for a minute here. Let's say there is a scenario where Chris McCowan's DNA was found exactly because of exactly what he said happened, right? They had a consensual sexual encounter. Right. But then later on, Jeremy Frazier comes to her house. Maybe Chris had said something to him about what happened and he thought, well, I'll try my luck. Things go bad. He ends up killing her. And he's wearing this sweater when he doesn't. I think, you know, the problem for me is as of right now, the evidence doesn't support that theory. But if the blue and white fabric after tested comes back, it could change things.

Big change. But as of now, no one else has been charged with the murder of Crystal Worthington. The DNA evidence, I think as of now, supports the prosecution's argument that McCowan acted alone.

But like we just said, it's possible we could see some further developments in McCallin's appeals process based on this DNA testing. I can also see a problem with the chain of custody of this sweater.

Oh, for sure. You're what? Then going to try Frazier for the murder if these fibers come back to match the sweater? And for 18 years or so, nobody seemed to know where it was. I think that's a hard, hard sell. That's going to be a tough one. But would it be enough to reverse the conviction against Christopher McCowan? I don't know.

I mean, I think this is one that we're all going to have to watch and see how it plays out. But that's it for our episode on Christopher McCowan. We've got a voicemail. You want to check that out? Let's hear it. Hi, Mike and Gibby. This is Shane from Illinois. I just finished listening to the wellness case.

And my family actually owns a farm in Adair County about six miles outside of Columbia. So it was really cool to hear something about our tiny little town out there. My uncle actually remembers them, said that they were really great people, and my grandfather actually went to them with his cattle medical issues. Just wanted to say, you guys are doing a great job. Throw a couple cases at you. The Star of Rock murders out here in Illinois and the St. Valentine's Day Masker. All right.

Keep your time ticking and goodbye. All right. Thanks for the voicemail. Appreciate the suggestions very much. Shane. Come back, Shane. Is that from the movie Shane? Yes.

Oh, okay. I've heard that like too many times. Probably. Or maybe he's not old enough to know or have seen the movie. That's true. I don't know. Very true. The movie is quite old.

Oh, all right, buddy. That is it for another episode of True Crime All the Time. So for Mike. And Gibby. Stay safe and keep your own time ticking.