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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield

Mom`s Body Found; Sixteen Years Later. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired September 11, 2017 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST (voice-over): Breaking news tonight, a beautiful woman, a grisly death, exclusive details about that Texas realtor who

vanished before a hurricane, where she was murdered and where the killer dumped her body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crystal`s body was discovered by the Chambers County sheriff`s detectives and Texas Rangers in a wooded area.

BANFIELD: Crystal McDowell, strangled the day she disappeared, as police reveal it was the suspect who took them to her body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve been able to charge who caused the disappearance.

BANFIELD: A full confession from Crystal`s ex-husband as haunting video of her birthday skydive comes to light.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Steve, your idea? So she gets hurt, I`m blaming you, all right, buddy?

CRYSTAL MCDOWELL: He has a really good life insurance policy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, cool. Perfect.

BANFIELD: Divorced in June and dead by summer`s end, the sheriff shares exclusive details tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Good evening, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE as Tropical Storm Irma continues to pound northern

Florida and grind its way up into Georgia and South Carolina.

Tonight, we`ve got breaking news on a mystery that we`ve been following since Hurricane Harvey flooded Texas. And that is what happened to Crystal

McDowell, the beautiful realtor who disappeared before the rain and the floods inundated Houston.

The mother of two she disappeared on Friday, August 25th, and for the next two weeks, her family and her friends desperately searched for her until

they stopped searching for her. Their only clues had been a videotape of Crystal leaving her boyfriend`s apartment the morning that she vanished.

She was on her way to her ex-husband`s house to pick up her two kids, and until now, we assumed she didn`t make it because her beautiful black

Mercedes was found in a flooded Motel 6 parking lot with the keys still in it, doors unlocked. Sadly, just this last Saturday afternoon, they found

Crystal`s body.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today at 2:45 PM, Crystal`s body was discovered by the Chambers County sheriff`s detectives and Texas Rangers in a wooded area of

west Chambers County.

This case was about trying to bring Crystal McDowell home, and we`ve made that happen and we`ve been able to charge who can caused the disappearance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: It didn`t take long before Crystal`s ex-husband, Steve McDowell, was arrested, photographed like this and then charged with murder. And

what police say happened is chilling. They say McDowell admits that Crystal, indeed, did make it to his home that morning, but that he

strangled her in that home not long after she arrived, with the kids still in the home. Later, in the middle of the night, he took her body and

dumped it deep into the woods, according to officials, off of Interstate 10, not far from the home where those kids were.

And last Saturday, we`re told that he tearfully led investigators right to the area where he dumped the body of the mother of his two kids and that he

offered a full confession. Sheriff Brian Hawthorne is with the Chambers County sheriff`s office. He joins me live right now from Texas.

Sheriff, this is not the news that we were hoping to hear. You have been on this case from the very beginning. I guess the first question I have

is, how did you get this full confession?

BRIAN HAWTHORNE, CHAMBERS COUNTY SHERIFF (via telephone): Ashleigh, the confession, you know, is a combination of a lot of detective work and a lot

of interviews. So you know, as you gather information and you start building your cases and you look at your persons of interest, you tailor

your interviews to each individual. And things started coming around for the detectives and the Rangers to start asking a lot more questions of

Steve McDowell.

BANFIELD: So can you -- and I`m going to press you. I understand you`re still now headed towards a murder case with this man, so I get it if you

can`t answer, but I`m going to go anyway. Can you give me the answer to the mystery of how her Mercedes ended up at that Motel 6, half submerged in

water?

[20:05:00]HAWTHORNE: Well, I can tell you that he drove it there and then parked it. And it`s obvious that it was in the hopes that it would be

stolen, like I had told you when we found it. And it probably would have been just due to the nature of that intersection of a Motel 6 and

everything that takes place there off interstate 10. But because of Hurricane Harvey and the floodwaters, nobody would have been able to drive

it out of the parking lot.

BANFIELD: Was this timed, then? Do you think it was a coincidence that the hurricane was happening as this crime happened, or was this planned so

that there would be this great cover of being able to dump a car in an area where it might get stolen, might get flooded?

HAWTHORNE: No, I think it`s completely coincidental because I think he would have probably parked it somewhere else had he realized that the flood

waters of Cedar Bayou and essentially receiving 50 inches of rain was going to flood the entire hotel and that entire part of town. So I think it was

coincidental.

BANFIELD: So if he dropped that car at Motel 6 -- he lived about, I don`t know, two-and-a-half, three miles away. Did he have another vehicle there?

HAWTHORNE: That`s part of our investigation right now and I really -- it`s not in my best interests to talk about that aspect of the investigation.

BANFIELD: So let`s get to that morning when Crystal had sent text messages sort of en route to Steve`s house. We didn`t think that she made it. And

you definitely do know that she made it. Can you take me to the parts of the investigation you can reveal, when she got there what happened? And

what else do you know about what happened in that house with those kids there?

HAWTHORNE: Well, about the only thing that I can say is that she did make it. It appears that the line of text messaging -- it`s not fully clear to

us, but we do know that she did get there. He told us that she did get there and that at some point in her encounter with him that morning is when

he strangulated her. And we have what we have today.

BANFIELD: So ultimately, if she died in that house, she eventually was dumped in the woods. Did he put her body in that Mercedes and then make

that trip with her in the Mercedes? Like, give me sort of the -- connect the dots between her dying in the house and ending up in the woods.

HAWTHORNE: Well, a lot of that is still part of the investigation. It is still being documented. But it is our belief that after, you know, the

strangulation and the death, he then put her in a car. And you know, we`re still documenting exactly which vehicle it is. But it`s my belief it is

the Mercedes.

And then drove her to this -- kind of a -- it`s not -- I wouldn`t say deserted, but it is not a frequented area by the public, and had that

ability and he did this in the middle of the night, early, early in the morning, where there would not have been any type of traffic, and

essentially ditched the body deep into the woods, where it was very difficult to find.

BANFIELD: So if I`m doing my math right, Crystal leaves her boyfriend, Paul`s, house at around 7:00 in the morning on Friday morning. On her way,

about 10, 15 minutes away by driving, she would have arrived at Steve`s house, her ex-husband, where the two kids were. She was supposed to pick

them up.

If she died that morning, but she wasn`t dumped until that night and deep into the night, like even into Saturday morning, literally in the middle of

the night, was her body in the trunk of that car while he was looking after the kids all that Friday?

HAWTHORNE: Well, that is our belief, but a lot of that is still part of the investigation and the detectives are still working on that.

BANFIELD: Understand. Can I go a little further and push you? Would he have -- I mean, if he now is the only parent alive of those two children

and is caring for them that Friday, presumably, since they were in the house at the time of the strangulation, they would still be in the house at

the time of the dump, the body being dumped. Do we know if they were taken in the car while that happened, or were they left at the house? Do we have

any idea where they were at that time?

HAWTHORNE: We believe they were left at the house, and he just took advantage of an opportunity in which it was early in the morning and the

children were presumably asleep.

[20:10:00]BANFIELD: Was Steve using Crystal`s phone at that time to fabricate text messages, or was he sending text messages after she was

dead, suggesting, Just come pick up the kids, and will you be here at any time soon? I`m paraphrasing, but effectively suggesting she was running

late. Was that him covering, or do we know if she was already dead by then?

HAWTHORNE: That`s parts of the investigation that we are keeping close. So I would rather not comment on that right now.

BANFIELD: I respect that. Obviously, through -- and I know that, you know, video played a really big role. Surveillance video played a really

big role, great policing. Obviously, you`re in the middle of, literally, a storm and a hurricane and the aftermath, and you`re still able to within

two weeks, you know, bring this case to fruition. I think that says a lot about your men and women and your department and you, as their leader,

video, interviews, witnesses all comprising sort of the narrative for you.

When you felt like you had your guy and he then buckled, he took you to the spot where he dumped her. Is that correct?

HAWTHORNE: He took us to the area. That is correct.

BANFIELD: Can you tell me what -- I just -- I`m trying to, you know, imagine what it would be like to be a fly on the wall of that cruiser as

it`s heading to that location and he is directing you. What was this like?

HAWTHORNE: Well, you know, he was -- from everything that I have watched and observed and saw all of on Saturday when that took place, he was

extremely emotional. And you know, I -- like a lot of people that commit these kind of crimes, they later regret that they did. And I think that`s

probably the case with Steve McDowell. But we can`t change the actions and the decisions that he chose to do on that Friday morning.

So you know, from a law enforcement perspective, I try not to take too much emotion and remorse. I`ve got to act on what the law is and what the

expectations of the Constitution are. So I don`t want to put too many feelings in people`s head. Bottom line is he committed the murder, and

that`s what we`re dealing with.

BANFIELD: So I can only imagine the personality in the pictures that we`re running right now, but his mugshot is almost illegible. I cannot see what

is in those eyes. I cannot see what is in that face, given what you`re telling me. And I can only wonder, did he look like this? Was he

despondent, flat affect? Was he devastated? Was he emotional? Was he weeping when he was trying to walk you literally into the woods to find

that body?

HAWTHORNE: All of the above. You just -- you`ve named him all in one sentence.

BANFIELD: It`s -- it`s hard to fathom. How was this confession? Was it one big verbal logorrhea? Was it a number of different interviews? Was it

days upon days, hours upon hours? Like, how did you get all of this information out of him?

HAWTHORNE: Well, the -- you know, I had told you over the last couple of days that I had asked the Texas Rangers to come in and assist us. And they

sent two of the truly finest interviewers probably in the area, or especially in the state of Texas, that -- you know, between all the

information that the detectives and the Rangers had put together, they pretty well would craft the questions.

And I just can`t tell you how much I appreciate the two Texas Rangers that worked so hard on this case with us. And it`s just a matter of education

and knowing how to ask the right questions. And Steve was very forthcoming. I`ve told you all along he always cooperated with us. We

never -- never -- he didn`t always tell us the truth, but he always cooperated with us.

BANFIELD: I have one more question about the car at the Motel 6 now that, you know, law enforcement believes he was the one who took it there and who

backed it into that spot. Is there truth to the fact that he returned several hours later to check out the handiwork, to see if maybe someone had

taken the car?

[20:15:00]HAWTHORNE: Yes. We identified that he did return back to the scene, which is a pretty common thing in law enforcement. We quite often

see people come back to see their handiwork, or to see whether their plan materialized. And in this case, he returned to see if his plan had

materialized, and it had not. So that is part of our case.

BANFIELD: Sheriff, I am not even a fraction into the list of questions I have for you. Can you stay with me? I have so much more I want to ask.

HAWTHORNE: I will.

BANFIELD: OK. Sheriff Hawthorne`s going to stay with me as we continue to just unravel this unbelievable story that, you know, heretofore was a

mystery. It is not now. But sad it is because when Crystal disappeared on August 25th, it was her uncle, Jeff Walters, who initially sounded the

alarm about Steve McDowell, her ex-husband.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF WALTERS, CRYSTAL`S UNCLE: She did not walk away without contacting anyone and just disappear. I know she didn`t. I know her husband has

threatened her before and told her that she would never go out of their house. She would never leave him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:20:30]BANFIELD: Crystal McDowell disappeared hours, hours before Hurricane Harvey began to ravage Texas. And just over this last weekend,

Crystal was found dead. She`d been strangled and dumped not far from where she was expected to pick up her two young kids. That would be the home of

her ex-husband.

Investigators were told all along that Crystal would not just walk away from a large network of friends and family and those children. So now the

murder investigation continues as the prosecution gears up.

Sheriff Brian Hawthorne has been with me and he joins me again on the telephone with me. And also joining the sheriff is Tim Miller. He`s the

founder and the director of Texas Equusearch. He was one of the people whose organization assisted with the search for Crystal McDowell. Tim,

thanks for being here. I just want to get a couple more questions in to the sheriff, if I can.

Sheriff, a couple of other things. When Steve led you to the body of Crystal McDowell -- look, you just went through your own natural disaster

there. The hurricane came through, and that place saw upwards of six feet of water. Did the water affect where you found Crystal in any way?

HAWTHORNE: Yes, it did. We don`t think it -- it sure didn`t help the crime scene any. We feel like we`ve collected everything that we needed

to, but there`s no question about it that that area was flooded and that it probably, you know, created and caused some movement of the body. But the

water had gone down in that area by the time we located her.

BANFIELD: Did -- and this is sort of a detail question, but I think a lot of people would want to know. If an ex-husband is leading you to the

location of the body of the mother of his kids and is in that close proximity, within 20 to 40 feet from a body that`s been there almost, what,

a week-and-a-half, in the floodwaters, she would have been in various stages of decomposition, if I`m not mistaken. Did he see her in that

condition?

HAWTHORNE: No, he did not. He did not go all the way in and (INAUDIBLE) Investigators, Rangers actually went in and spotted it and found the body.

He did not take them all the way in.

BANFIELD: And was Crystal in a state of decomposition by this point?

HAWTHORNE: You know, I would rather not describe. There might be family members listening. And I think it`s in their best interest that they

remember her the way they know her.

BANFIELD: Understand. That`s probably a good jumping-off point. Don`t go anywhere, Sheriff. I still have a few questions for you.

But Tim Miller, you talked to us on the air several times. You and dozens upon dozens of searchers were looking from the bayou to some of the wooded

areas. And as we come to find out, after looking at you in the search with those floodwaters out in a boat looking for her, that she was found in a

deep wooded area. The sheriff says it was so thick that even your people, your teams with their expertise, might never have found her. Is that your

estimation?

TIM MILLER, TEXAS EQUUSEARCH FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR (via telephone): Oh, I told the sheriff earlier today, I said, Sheriff, I do not believe that we

would have found her. She was back there a good ways. It was awfully thick. I think like the sheriff just said, he feels like these flood

waters, you know, washed her back farther than she was originally put. And we were actually on that road with the ATVs a couple of days before that.

And when they came in, they said how thick it was. And you know, we were going to put some foot searchers in there.

But even if we would have put searchers in there, we`re experienced and we do a good job, but I think that we would have came up empty-handed. And

you know, we were actually doing foot-searching that day in the area not too awful far from there. And I mean, it was hot and people had ticks on

them and everything.

[20:25:00]And it was kind of fortunate. I told the people to go ahead and take a long lunch break, cool down. And Lieutenant -- I brought in a

helicopter and Lieutenant Henry (ph) and I just went up in the helicopter. We weren`t in there five minutes when the sheriff called and said, Hey,

come on down. We`ve got her located.

BANFIELD: Oh! Well, you know what, Tim? Can you help me sort of navigate that part of your process because you all work, sometimes for weeks and

weeks upon end in very difficult conditions, and you get very close to your cases. And so do the people who work with you. So when you broke the news

to your search teams, what was their reaction?

MILLER: Well, I didn`t break the news immediately. I stayed out there with the sheriff and investigators while they was, you know, doing their

investigation. And I called our commander at the command center and said, Hey, just keep the people there a little bit longer. I think we`ve got

another spot, a hot area that we`re going to search and -- because, you know, we wanted the family to get notified first.

And then I remember the exact words I said when I went in there and everybody was ready to start searching, and I says, I want to tell you

something right off the bat. The sheriff has really appreciated all the effort we`ve put into this. And he`s going to appreciate something else

also, and I said that I want to tell you that Crystal`s body has been found. Now, please do not put it on Facebook. Don`t make any phone calls

or anything.

BANFIELD: Sure. I can understand that.

MILLER: And there was actually people that she worked with there, friends that she knew. And yes, there was a lot of crying, a lot of tears. And

you know, it`s one of the things I said last week when we was on the air. If you recall, I said I feel as though the best thing we can hope for is to

one day soon go to a funeral. And you know, it did not end up like Elizabeth Smart.

And for the circumstances around the case, it truly had the best ending that it could have had because I truly feel as though if Steve wouldn`t

have talked and led to the body, we may be a year from now and her not being found. So you know, again -- and you know, the sheriff -- him I were

talking for four days before we got involved with the search. We`d be talking early in the morning, late at night. There`s not one time he said,

Can I call you back because I`m having dinner? Can I call you back because I`m having lunch?

BANFIELD: You know, everyone put in a lot of -- you know, they put in a lot of overtime in their own homes. Many of these law enforcement

officers` own homes were inundated. And their families were in trouble and they were still out looking for Crystal.

And you know what? I`m going to also say it`s not unusual -- when you say there were tears, it doesn`t mean that they`re happy for the result, that

they are happy that there`s resolution because so often, so many families don`t get the resolution.

And to that end, I actually want to introduce Cindy Seratte. Cindy is Crystal McDowell`s aunt, and she joins me from Houston. Cindy, I am so

sorry for your loss. And I am so sorry that this story did not have the resolution that you and your family were hoping for. How are you all

holding up?

CINDY SERATTE, CRYSTAL`S AUNT: The best we can, just taking it day by day.

BANFIELD: And Cindy, the burning question for, I think, a lot of people who followed Crystal`s story and also were hoping for the best, having

never met her, was that she has -- she had those two little children. And they are now with you and your husband, correct?

SERATTE: Yes, ma`am.

BANFIELD: How are they?

SERATTE: Given all the circumstances -- they`re little kids. I think they just adapt. We`ve tried to make it as normal as we can. I mean, with

there (ph) as many people just love on them, as many people as come forward and ask for help. And we play with toys and we take them to the park and

we pray at night. And we talk. You know, we just kind of make it normal for them. So I think they think they`re just dealing with it the best they

can, like children do.

BANFIELD: So originally, we had invited Steve to be on this program as the search for Crystal continued. For five consecutive nights, we asked him to

be on the program and he said no. And one of the excuses he gave us was that the children did not know that their mom was missing or what might

have happened. Do the children know what`s happened now, not only with their mom, but with

their dad, as well? They`re only 5 and 8 years old. What have you told them?

SERATTE: They know. They don`t know how it happened. I don`t know who would be able to do that other than a therapist, but we had to go. Mr.

Hawthorne, the sheriff, he got us to come to the police department. He said that, you know, they needed to speak with their, you know, with their dad.

And it was a private moment for the kids with another sheriff or another deputy, rather, on, I guess standing there to monitor the behavior.

It was probably the worst. It just makes me sick to think about it. It was the worst, most horrific thing I`ve ever had to go through, to watch those

babies ask their dad basically why he was in jail and did he do something to break the law? And all Steve could do was hug them and cry and try to

talk about their day and ask them to be good, almost like a goodbye-type of talk.

I mean, it was really odd. I didn`t really even know what to say. I mean, you`re just kind of just in shock. And then the little one, you know, she -

- the little one, she don`t really know what`s going on. And the eldest one tries to take care of her. And he tries to do his part as a big brother,

but I just don`t -- I just don`t think they understand. But there was a lot of tears.

There was a lot of -- a lot of emotion. And when you say emotion, it`s just -- it`s unbelievable. Like I can`t even explain it. They went from no tears

to name calling to -- not name calling like ugly, but it went from daddy to calling him Steve to daddy, why are you doing this? Why are you here? Are

you coming home? Just questions like that.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, PRIMETIME JUSTICE SHOW HOST: Did he tell them that he had hurt their mother or -- when you say that they had this conversation

with him, did he admit to the children what had happened and his part in it?

SERATTE: No, ma`am. Molly (ph) was actually -- excuse me. I`m not supposed to be saying names here, but the youngest one was actually sitting in his

lap and just loving on her daddy. And the little boy was sitting there and trying to console his sister. And basically they just kept asking him and

he didn`t do anything. He just sat there and he cried. He held them tight.

He was very remorseful. I mean, we told him from the time we come in that we loved him. All of us did, you know, he just need to love on the kids and

talk to them and basically -- I can`t even honestly tell you what was all said because I think I was just sitting there in shock, actually.

BANFIELD: So, Cindy, I`m not sure I`m clear. The children know their mom has died. Correct?

SERATTE: Yes, ma`am. And actually how that took place was after we had went, we sat in the car, and they had a lot of questions. And I answered

them the best way I could. And then we went home that night and we were sitting there, watching TV. And it just so happened that their mother,

Crystal, showed up on the TV as a missing person.

So I knew at that point, you know, by the time they start school that something was going to have to be said. So I really just prayed about it,

thought about it, you know. And the next day, we went to church. And then basically after church, I took them to a park that`s in our local town. And

I basically just sat them both down. I held their hands. I told them how much they were loved.

Basically, I told them that there was so much drama and tears the night before. I just could not do it. I didn`t have the heart to tell them. But I

told them basically that their mother was with Jesus and that she would no longer be with them, but that she would always be looking out for them.

They had wonderful family and everybody loved them and we were going to make their life as easy as it could be. And, of course, they asked.

BANFIELD: As easy as it could be. Do they know that their dad is right now in jail because of this? Do they know that he`s played a part in this?

SERATTE: No. No. They asked me. They were like, what did he do so bad that he`s in jail and when is he coming home?

BANFIELD: What did you say?

SERATTE: Basically, I just told them that I really didn`t know details. I didn`t know exactly why he was in there, which I wasn`t telling a story

because I don`t know all the details, you know, about the case, because Brian is keeping it -- you know, the sheriff and people are keeping it

under wraps until it goes to trial. Basically, I just told them that, you know, I didn`t know.

We weren`t going to talk about that, that I really didn`t know and I couldn`t give them answers and they were very young. Let`s just hang out.

Let`s just play in the playground. If they had any questions to ask about their mother that basically they could feel free to talk any time and that

we loved them and basically try to make it easy for them.

BANFIELD: Can I ask you, Cindy, one last question? They`re still --

SERATTE: Yes, ma`am.

BANFIELD: They`re still going to want to see their -- he`s their dad. I mean, they don`t know what they don`t know.

SERATTE: Yes.

BANFIELD: And have they asked to visit and will they be visiting him?

SERATTE: I`m under -- I would be believing they would. I think they would. I mean, after -- the sheriff had -- you know, we spoke earlier and he said

that when everything is done that, yes, they would have the right to see their dad

[20:35:00] and I believe they should. But it`s -- they`re going to need some therapy. They`re going to need people to love them, people to care for

them and make an easy transition. Just taking them to the actual police department, they were just pretty overwhelmed with that. And if they have

to see their dad behind a glass wall or bars or just even across a table in that orange outfit, it`s traumatic.

BANFIELD: Without question. Cindy, thank you very much for being with us and being so candid. And, God, I hope you and your family are going to be

OK and that you do love on those little guys. They`re going to need you more than anything. Our hearts go out to you, Cindy.

SERATTE: Thank you.

BANFIELD: Thank you for being with us. One of the things that Cindy mentioned really strikes a chord. Steve is in prison orange. Steve is being

held on $500,000 right now, his bond. And Steve is charged with the most serious crime there is. And if he`s convicted and if what he confessed,

what police say he confessed to is true, it is quite possible he will never see the outside world again and maybe never be able to touch those kids

again. What does this mean for everyone else as well? That`s next.

[20:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Steve McDowell is facing murder for the death of his wife, Crystal, who police say was strangled in their home after she came to pick

up the children the Friday morning that she disappeared. Those children were in the home. And you just heard an interview with their aunt, Cindy,

who is now looking after them.

I do want you to know that police say that those children did not witness and did not know what was happening to their mother in that home,

allegedly, at the hands of their father. But that`s important to know because I think a lot of people would want to know that.

Sheriff Brian Hawthorne is back with me again. Sheriff, I left off some questioning with you. I didn`t get to the most important part, that you

don`t think this is going to be a death penalty case. Why do you not think so?

BRIAN HAWTHORNE, SHERIFF, CHAMBERS COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE (via telephone): Well, just under Texas law. And then also the effort -- having

conversations with the district attorney, I believe that she and I both, and after consulting some of her assistants, we feel like it is just a

plain murder charge, not a capital murder charge.

BANFIELD: Do you not believe that this was, you know, planned, premeditated, lying in wait?

HAWTHORNE (via telephone): No, we don`t. I mean, there may have been some certain aspects of it that could have been -- could be construed as or

could lead you to believe premeditation, but in this particular scenario, we do not believe it is a capital case.

BANFIELD: One of the questions I asked you last week when we were in the search and investigative part of this, before we knew what happened to

Crystal was, those around her get interviewed and they get polygraphed and both Steve, her ex-husband, took a polygraph and her boyfriend, Paul

Hargrave, also took a polygraph. Can you now tell us what the results of both of those were?

HAWTHORNE (via telephone): I can tell you what the results of Steve`s were. Steve did fail the polygraph. And then, you know, I don`t think that it`s

in my best interest to discuss things in regards to Paul because Paul is not a party to this crime and he is innocent of anything. He was just a

person of interest to us at the time.

BANFIELD: OK. Sheriff, hold on for one moment. I`ve actually got Paul Hargrave on the line with me. He is, of course, Crystal McDowell`s

boyfriend. He joins me from Baytown, Texas. Paul, I am very sorry for your loss. I`m sorry that this has turned out the way this has.

I`m sorry for what you have gone through because clearly, the way investigations go -- and it ain`t personal -- everyone close to the person

who is missing gets interrogated. I just want to get your reaction to the way this has resolved, if not personally resolved.

PAUL HARGRAVE, BOYFRIEND OF CRYSTAL MCDOWELL (via telephone): Thanks for having me back. And I just wanted to state, I am here today because I want

to stress the importance of those two children. There is a page, youcaring.com. If you go to that web page and put in Crystal McDowell`s

information at the top right-hand corner, you`ll see the page.

If everyone will please just take a look at that and consider those children. As far as my reaction goes, I am upset, just very in a state of

shock right now. Much respect to the Chambers County Police Department. I think they did an amazing job. The Texas rangers did a fantastic job.

I will say I respectfully disagree. I think this was premeditated due to the storm coming in. They know a lot more information than we do. But given

the circumstances, I think Steve knew exactly what he was doing. He was in his right mind when he did this and this was definitely premeditated based

on the actions --

BANFIELD: You know, I do have a source -- I do have a source that said

[20:45:00] you failed the polygraph as well. And I want to be really clear to our audience. You have nothing to do with this. The police do not

believe there is anyone else involved, but it does speak to why polygraph tests are not admissible in court. They can be wrong.

But with Steve failing the poly and you failing the poly, it really a sort of mystery whereby the police would continue to sort of pursue you. I do

want -- you know, one of Crystal`s friends, Brad Bozeman, had this texting conversation with her two days before she disappeared.

And it was about you. And this is what she said about you. She said to him, Paul, saying he`s such a gentleman and so loving and kind and sweet. It`s

amazing, with a happy face. I feel so, so loved and so happy. This is what she told Brad. I just wanted to ask you if you felt the same way about her.

HARGRAVE (via telephone): Of course. Yes, I do. We felt very strongly for one another.

BANFIELD: Paul, I`m very sorry for your loss. And I hope that you can get your life back and on track and out of this terrible, terrible story that`s

affected you as well. My best to you and, you know, obviously, all of Crystal`s friends and those who are close to her.

Crystal and Steve McDowell reportedly had recently, amicably divorced, like in June. But was that really the case? And was there any hope, at least on

Steve`s part, that there might be a reconciliation? We`ll ask one of Crystal McDowell`s friends, straight ahead.

[20:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Every marriage has its good times and its bad times. Looking back this video of murder victim, Crystal McDowell, and her ex-husband, now

murder suspect, sky diving. It seems on the surface like one of the good times, but listen closely to this banter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Whose idea was this?

CRYSTAL MCDOWELL, MURDERED BY EX-HUSBAND: Steve.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Steve, your idea? So if she gets hurt, I`m blaming you, alright buddy?

MCDOWELL: He said he has a really good life insurance policy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Oh, perfect. Are you covered in that policy?

MCDOWELL: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Could be just unfortunately timed conversation. That was her birthday. Steve McDowell is now charged in his wife`s death. They divorced

only months ago in June. Janel Valdez was a friend of Crystal McDowell and she was supposed to have lunch with Crystal the day she disappeared.

She`s with me now. Janelle, this must have been astounding to you that the weather was why you canceled your lunch date with Crystal that day. You

texted her at a time that appears it might have been two hours after she was murdered. Did you have any idea what happened to her?

JANEL VALDEZ, FRIEND OF CRYSTAL MCDOWELL (via telephone): No. I had no idea. When she didn`t respond back, I didn`t think twice about it and then

I found out the next day that she had been reported missing. That`s when I just started going crazy trying to figure out what happened to her.

BANFIELD: Did you know anything about Steve?

VALDEZ (via telephone): Yes, I knew Steve. We`ve hung out.

BANFIELD: What did you think of him?

VALDEZ (via telephone): He was fine. He seemed OK.

BANFIELD: No sign? Nothing that stood out? Nothing that was unusual looking back? Things you could recognize? Nothing?

VALDEZ (via telephone): No. To me, he didn`t -- I don`t know. I didn`t -- I never saw them fight in front of me.

BANFIELD: To you, did they seem like a normal couple? I mean, other than the fact that they divorced, they were amicable in their divorce. Did they

seem like they were friends?

VALDEZ (via telephone): I think that they -- from what I believe is that she -- everything to her -- she came from a kind of maybe not a good

upbringing. I think everything in her power was to make it amicable for her children. So that was what was important to her. Whether they worked out or

not. She was the one that wanted to keep a good face for the children and the family.

BANFIELD: Janel, I`m sorry for the loss that you have suffered and, you know, she had a lot of friends, it seemed. She seemed to have at lot of

good friends. I know they`re probably going through the same thing that you are as well. I thank you for joining us tonight as we try to unravel why

this happened. Thank you, Janel. We are back right after this.

[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: You`re looking at live pictures right now of New York City. This is the tribute in light to the victims of the September 11th, 2001 attack.

Today is the 16th anniversary of the attacks. It was observed right across the country today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Scott Walter Cahill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thomas Joseph Cahill

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: George C. Cain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Salvatore B. Calabro.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joseph M. Agnello.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Each of those brave Americans died, as they had lived, as heroes. Doing their duty and protecting us and

our country. We mourn them, we honor them, and we pledge to never ever forget them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: To all who those their lives that day, we will never forget them either. Straight ahead on this anniversary of the attacks, CNN Films

presents "9/11." An updated look at the iconic film with the only known footage from inside the Twin Towers. We`re going to see you right back here

tomorrow night at 8:00 for "Primetime Justice." Thanks, everyone, for watching. I`m Ashleigh Banfield.

[21:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END