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The 2017 murder of Crystal McDowell brought the city of Baytown together through their initiatives as the case was eventually solved with information received from strangers online. Crystal went missing on the eve of Hurricane Harvey as she stepped out to get her children from her ex-husband's home.
In a turn of events, Steven led the detectives to Crystal's decomposed remains in the woods after a fortnight, leading to his conviction in 2019. The Dateline NBC episode titled Before the Storm showcases the details of Crystal McDowell's murder as it airs on May 5, 2024, at 9 pm EST on NBC.
The official synopsis of the episode reads:
"A Texas mother of two vanishes as Hurricane Harvey barrels down on the Houston area. As Dennis Murphy reports, Crystal McDowell was not a victim of the storm, but something far more sinister."
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Five details about Crystal McDowell's murder explored
1) Crystal McDowell went missing the day before Hurrican Harvey made landfall
Crystal McDowell had stepped out of her boyfriend Paul Hargrave's house at around 7:30 am local time on August 25, 2017. She was on her way to her ex-husband Steven McDowell's house, where she had been residing with her children as renovations went on in her home.
According to ABC News, Crystal was spotted driving out in her black Mercedes Benz. However, she was filed as a missing person as she became unresponsive over texts and calls. Besides, she was known to be prompt in her replies, as per NBC News.
2) There were two initial suspects in the murder case
The Chambers County Sheriff's Department had two suspects in mind—Steven McDowell and Paul Hargrave. Crystal had been married to Steven for 10 years and the couple shared two children besides Steven's children from his previous marriage. The couple faced marital issues as Crystal worked as a flight attendant with ExpressJet Airlines and had many lovers.
After she filed for divorce in February 2017, she started dating the local jeweler, Paul Hargrave, in the summer of 2017. Steven was bitter over the divorce as well as her new boyfriend.
Both men were considered suspects initially as both of them failed their polygraph tests, as per Oxygen. While Paul went to national media with crucial evidence instead of turning it in to the police, Steven was spotted wearing his wedding ring even though he had been divorced at the time of Crystal's disappearance.
3) Crystal's cousin, Jade, received crucial information about her car online
As Hurricane Harvey raged through Texas and Louisiana, the investigations were impacted and resources were diverted to rescue operations. The search for Crystal McDowell did not stop as her close ones continued to look for information online.
Around the same time, Crystal's cousin Jade received information about her missing Mercedes Benz being spotted in the parking lot of Motel 6. The license plate was halfway visible in the flood waters and the doors were left unlocked with the keys inside it.
The authorities believed that the car was left as bait for theft—a plan that did not succeed due to the downpour and disaster.
4) The surveillance video made authorities suspect ex-husband Steven McDowell
The Chambers County authorities took note of the surveillance footage around Motel 6 and found Crystal's Mercedes being parked on camera at 6:37 am local time on August 26, 2017, as reported by Oxygen. After five hours, Steven McDowell was spotted pulling up to the nearby gas station in his Mustang. Instead of filling his car's tank, he walked over to the parking lot to check the car.
Simultaneously, authorities suspected a hooded man found cycling around the same time to be Steven. The same man had entered the nearby Walmart to buy cigarettes, a bike, and a Red Bull.
5) Steven McDowell led the authorities to Crystal's body
The Chambers County police confronted Steven with the video evidence. Their suspicion was strengthened when they found that Steven had allegedly threatened Crystal with murder-s*icide during their separation.
Steven confessed to murdering Crystal McDowell by strangulation and was thus convicted of first-degree murder. The youngest daughter testified on video as the prime witness in this case—she watched her mother being choked by Steven during a heated argument.
Steven McDowell was sentenced to 50 years in prison in June 2019.
Catch Before the Storm as it airs on NBC on May 5, 2024, exclusively.
