Found Deceased TX - Crystal Seratte McDowell, 38, Baytown, 25 Aug 2017 #1 *Arrest*

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She had computer issues. That's why she borrowed her boyfriend's. The factory reset was probably done by her while trying to fix it.

We have no reason to believe her ex was abusive at all. She trusted him with their children and trusted him enough to live with him. She could have lived with her uncle or the townhouse during renos but chose to stay with her ex. So I do believe it's out of line to throw around accusations when there is no proof. One bruise in one picture is nothing.

Neither is one quote taken out of context when we don't even know how long ago he said it.

If we get more information, we can go from there. But abuse allegations seem inappropriate right now.
 
She had computer issues. That's why she borrowed her boyfriend's. The factory reset was probably done by her while trying to fix it.

We have no reason to believe her ex was abusive at all. She trusted him with their children and trusted him enough to live with him. She could have lived with her uncle or the townhouse during renos but chose to stay with her ex. So I do believe it's out of line to throw around accusations when there is no proof. One bruise in one picture is nothing.

Neither is one quote taken out of context when we don't even know how long ago he said it.

If we get more information, we can go from there. But abuse allegations seem inappropriate right now.

She stated he used her and he always has. She stated he threatened her. Feel free not to call that abuse, but I disagree.
 
She stated he used her and he always has. She stated he threatened her. Feel free not to call that abuse, but I disagree.

I agree. Considering she filed for divorce twice from this guy I have assume it wasn't all unicorns and roses.

If my husband was missing I'd be doing everything I could to scream it from the roof tops and be heard over the din of the Harvey issue. His silence is deafening.

His family not knowing he is divorced is bonkers to me too.
 
We're getting one side of the story out of context.

She may have felt used just because she made more money. We don't know.

But this turning into people seeing one bruise and assuming physical abuse is irresponsible.

Perhaps her uncle will share more details later on.
 
I agree. If the EX didn't know about the BF, where did the EX think she was sleeping the night before?

Maybe she's been telling him she's over at a girlfriend' or at her uncle's? It seems the uncle was well-informed about the boyfriend and positive about him if he was joining her, the boyfriend and the kids on a cruise? Uncle also seems negative towards the ex, so he might not mind helping her secretly see the boyfriend.

Also, I think someone else said this already, but maybe she told the ex that she was taking the kids to Dallas as a cover to hide the cruise from him? The uncle might have thought she was going to break the boyfriend and cruise to the ex, but she chickened out. Knowing her uncle was going to Dallas, maybe she told her ex that she was going to join him, with the kids, and he wouldn't be suspicious about her leaving town?
 
He has two small children. They're probably his priority right now.

He also knows that most people are going to assume it was the ex. Anything he says would be torn apart. And I don't think her uncle wants him there.

Could it be the ex? Sure. There are a few red flags. But some of the assumptions are giant leaps and not very fair. Just think we should stick to facts.
 
I would like to see video of her actually walking out her boyfriend's house and getting into her car.

Why have they not released video or why did the boyfriend not bring it with him to air on TV?

I'd bet he has security cametas outside of his house.

Jmo

I haven't read anything yet about security video from the outside of BF's home. Apparently, BF "streamlined" some of the information he gave to investigators and gave photos to Ashley Banfield that had not been given to detectives yet. Detectives want the server and the full videos from security cameras.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1708/31/ptab.01.html

"HAWTHORNE: Absolutely. But before we move on, let`s talk about the video little more. One of our concerns is he was very forthcoming with the
detectives today and he was going to send us this information because obviously last night, you remember you had this information before he
turned it over to detectives.


My concern is, we need the whole video. We don`t need the pictures that he`s produced to you or now to us. We want the whole video. So, in the
morning, we will get with him. You know, he doesn`t seem to mind and he was very forthcoming with us. So we just need to get the server from his video"
 
I haven't read anything yet about security video from the outside of BF's home. Apparently, BF "streamlined" some of the information he gave to investigators and gave photos to Ashley Banfield that had not been given to detectives yet. Detectives want the server and the full videos from security cameras.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1708/31/ptab.01.html

"HAWTHORNE: Absolutely. But before we move on, let`s talk about the video little more. One of our concerns is he was very forthcoming with the
detectives today and he was going to send us this information because obviously last night, you remember you had this information before he
turned it over to detectives.


My concern is, we need the whole video. We don`t need the pictures that he`s produced to you or now to us. We want the whole video. So, in the
morning, we will get with him. You know, he doesn`t seem to mind and he was very forthcoming with us. So we just need to get the server from his video"

Hmmm......
Interesting wording from the sheriff.

You would think he would turn over important stuff to the police before the media.

Jmo
 
The police don't seem to care much. Too overwhelmed by flooding. The uncle has had to work hard and push for media coverage. I think the police only started looking for her after the media started covering this
 
My wish list:
I assume they have the security footage from the gas station by the jewelry store by now that would be helpful. Also I would like to see the security vids from bf house when HE leaves and arrives at the store.
The pings when she got those texts/vm would be fabulous.
EX phone pings .

Not asking for much!
 
The police don't seem to care much. Too overwhelmed by flooding. The uncle has had to work hard and push for media coverage. I think the police only started looking for her after the media started covering this

Well, that's probably why the uncle hired the PI firm. Hopefully they start to piece it all together and they can bring Crystal home.
 
So the b/f didn't immediately turnover all of the camera footage inside? Why wouldn't he do that right away? Why produce stills when the entire footage in motion is much better? It seems if he has inside camera footage he would surely have outside footage as well. Has he turned those over to LE?
 
So the b/f didn't immediately turnover all of the camera footage inside? Why wouldn't he do that right away? Why produce stills when the entire footage in motion is much better? It seems if he has inside camera footage he would surely have outside footage as well. Has he turned those over to LE?
Well it makes sense to me to focus on the most important parts of the video, to single those parts out saves time.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
 
From a Realtor point of view a couple things stick out to me. The computer reset AND phone issues at the same time seem like an odd coincidence. Doing my work on a factory reset laptop isn't a big deal because it is a liability to keep client's personal files on my own laptop... we keep all those in cloud base storage. But phones are a huge pain to switch. In order to access houses we use a Supra lockbox on the front of the houses (Houston uses Supra as well) and you have to use either an app on your phone, OR a FOB, which is the size of a garage door opener. Most agents use the app, because it's one less thing to futz with, it is cheaper, and unless you are doing a lot of farm and ranch sales it updates easily via wifi or cellular data, and you don't have to remember to keep it charged and grab it each day. Supra & the MLS will keep a record of every house we visit and the time, and how long we were there with the box open. Keyboxes in my market center usually are only able to be opened from 8am-8pm.

HOWEVER, when you move from one phone to the next, the supra eKey app will NOT move the data over, you have to call to get a new agent verification code to set up the app, this keeps us from just sharing our eKey with other agents or it falling into the wrong hands. That means she would have had to visit the MLS office or called them during business hours (8:30am-5pm in Houston). There is no way she would have been able to just easily swap out phones, either at the apple store, or with the BF's old iPhone and be able to access Supra boxes.

Also, it is not mandatory for the Realtor to attend closings. A lot of us do because it is a service we like to provide our clients, but not being able to attend would not cancel a closing. A walk through would be delayed if escrow was not ready to close, but a lot of times we know that 3 days in advance, walk-throughs are also not mandatory, but a service we offer the client to make sure there are no surprises at the time of possession.

Legally we have to deliver a Closing Disclosure 3 days before closing. My routine is get the CD signed, schedule a walk through, then attend a closing. If her walk through with the client was cancelled at 7:20am because she lost childcare, but it was fine because his closing was delayed anyway, she would have known before 7:20 that the closing would have been delayed, especially because she would have been in constant communication with the lender about the CD and escrow about receiving the closing docs. Sorry if I am getting appointment types mixed up, I can't remember if I read she closings, showing, or walk-throughs scheduled for the other missed appointments.
 
I keep going back to the texts that crystal supposedly sent.

I think it is possible that the boyfriend sent those texts from her phone.

IF the ex husband did, then i would think it would give his location.

Jmo
 
I don't know how divorce works in Texas, but in my state if you have children, you have to be legally separated at least 12 months before the divorce can be finalized. So if divorce was finalized in June, 2017, in my state that means the couple would have started the process at least a year before and often it's longer than that. It would not be as "fresh" or "recent" as you may think. While emotions still could be volatile, probably not as volatile as if you were 3 months into the process. Just a thought.
According to the Court Docket for the case the divorce was initiated February 21st and the decree issued June 2nd. It was an Uncontested Waiver Divorce. Means that the respondent (husband) signed the documents. It is not known without ordering the documents which cost $1 per page what the asset/liability distribution was nor whether there was any alimony. It is shared custody and no child support by either party.

You have to register and login to use the Harris County site so I can't link directly to the case.
 
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