Mother murdered by ex-husband as Hurricane Harvey hits Houston – Everything Law and Order Blog

In this episode of Crime Watch Daily Updates: Hurricane Harvey barreled down on Houston and the surrounding areas in August 2017, and that disastrous storm would coincide with one family’s tragedy.

Thirty-seven-year-old Crystal McDowell was a beloved mom of two and a real estate agent. Though her marriage to husband Stephen McDowell ended quickly, she found new love with a local jeweler named Paul Hargrave.

On the morning of August 25, 2017, Crystal left her boyfriend’s home and drove to ex-husband Stephen’s house to pick up her kids. That was the last time anyone saw her alive.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall around the same time, wreaking havoc on the infrastructure, and flooding the city. Then, on August 29th, officials found Crystal’s Mercedes submerged in hurricane water in a motel parking lot. The keys were still in the car and the doors had been left unlocked.

Detectives spoke with both Stephen and Paul and hooked them each up to a polygraph machine. Stephen failed the polygraph test and later confessed to killing his wife by strangling her while their children were in the next room.

Investigators eventually discovered Crystal’s decomposing body in a wooded area September 9, 2017, and Stephen was subsequently charged.

He pleaded not guilty, but was convicted of murder in June 2019, and sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Let’s look back at the case of a missing mother and the murder that coincided with the deadly Hurricane Harvey.

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43 thoughts on “Mother murdered by ex-husband as Hurricane Harvey hits Houston”
  1. Of course, they failed to mention that the woman was an adulterer. Not saying that her death was justified, but you cannot paint the victim as just some angelic being that was caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  2. How do her best friends not have any idea what's going on in her love life this is extremely sad but it sort of sounds like maybe she was having an affair I could be wrong and that's fine this is terrible and I pray for her children I hope they find a piece one day

  3. I just don't get how you can be so selfish to make your kids lose BOTH parents. The narcissistic greed of all the people that kill their kids other parent is heartbreaking. Rest in peace. And well wishes for her family.

  4. The only thing worse than this horrific case is the annoying voice of the reporter. Her voice almost makes a mockery out of the tragedy. My heart goes out to her friend, children, and loved ones.

  5. 12:25 he's definitely acting during his whole interview. He still puts off weird vibes almost like a 🐍 in the grass. He's a man with many secrets….
    He's a man with better shaped eyebrows than most women….

  6. I don't know if I would pass a polygraph test because doesn't it detect nervousness / anxiety? I feel like if I were accused of anything i would probably incriminate myself although I'd be innocent of any wrongdoing. How do polygraph tests rule out people who are just overly anxious when put in the "hot seat"? I have presentation anxiety for example.

  7. killing someone who doesn't want to be with n you n you think you lost them is nuts cause if they didn't want to be with you, you lost them from that moment anyway n never had them after that anyway, but same time some women are so brutal to their partners when they fall for someone else its just astounding, they expect their EX's to be understanding m society is very sympathetic to them well she had needs her husband was not fulfilling for her, what a shame he was Only working 10 hours a day 7 days the week n he couldn't look after all her needs but If a man falls for another woman well well he is a love rat an undeserving so n so, n their partners/wives will make their lives Hell, n its usually the nice kind blokes that get the wrong end of the stick the ones with little or no experiences the ones who where not getting girls in their youths n Any woman will instantly know who she is dealing with if her partner had many women in his past if he take her to heaven or he is just another minute man so most women will marry a bloke with a good job good prospects n money then find someone to please n satisfy all her needs n desires n its all acceptable but Not the other way round

  8. Why do they allow these murderers to live he took a life is his life more important Noth lives are but it seems the ones who do these heinous things get to live and we take care of them what an evil world even the justice system doint make any sense!

  9. It was so sad. My BFF was good friends with her and her uncle. I remember her telling me as it was happening that Crystal’s uncle was worried when he couldn’t get a hold of her. He was very concerned that it’s not like his niece to be away from her young kids without any word and he knows from Crystal how much her soon to be ex-husband was very controlling and jealous. Both he and my bestie tried to get news medias to cover the missing person report so that Crystal can be found but no news medias would listen because everyone was more worried about the hurricane and that she might have been missing bc of the hurricane. It was truly the “perfect storm” for Crystal’s monster ex-husband to execute his plans of strangling her and dispose her body while everyone is too worried about the hurricane!! He thought he could get away with it! I feel sorry the most for her beautiful young children!! I hope her kids are in good care since Crystal didn’t have any parents or siblings. Rip beautiful Crystal 😥🙏🏻

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