TX - Crystal Seratte McDowell, 38, Baytown, 25 Aug 2017 #4

[Bird of Paradise]

I have seen video of him in court as well. It was an honest question so see if I was missing something. To me it looks like he is even smiling a little bit. It is more obvious in the video because his dimples only come out when he tightens his mouth. There is no reason to shake your head. I don't get why everyone is so sympathetic of a man who admits to murdering his wife and hiding her body.

I'm not sympathetic.
I did not read your post as you stated so my misunderstanding.

The man has been arrested
He apparently has confessed.

No news until court appearances.

There's something I will never understand and that is why anyone feels it is their place to judge who his children should go to, whether he was remorseful, whether he did the deed in the bedroom or living room, from front or behind, whether argument or not....etc.

Many of these comments made before his first court appearance.

My bewilderment is rhetorically speaking btw.

MOO and my apologies to you Gardener.

 

[Bird of Paradise]

Idk how he could afford even 50k bail but qualifies for a public defender. Defies my logic anyway.

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Two different things.
Bond can be posted by anyone.
Lawyer fees are not refundable.

 

[MzOpinion8d]

BAYTOWN SUN:
Wearing an orange jumpsuit, handcuffed and surrounded by law enforcement, a sad-looking Steven McDowell, 44, was escorted into the auxiliary 253rd Court, headed by Judge Chap Cain, in Anahuac Tuesday.

McDowell was appearing for a probable cause hearing to see if he could pay for an attorney. He was not able to and the court appointed him an attorney, Keaton Kirkwood, a lawyer in Liberty.

“Jurisdiction based upon the children WHETHER IT IS CHAMBERS OR HARRIS COUNTY,” Hawthorne said.

Hawthorne said he believes Chambers County should have the case since the children, ages 5 and 8, are enrolled in Barbers Hill ISD. He added the Department of Family Protective Services placed the children in the care of one of Crystal McDowell’s relatives.

“(The DFPS) think they want to do it out of Harris County and that bothers me since it might get bogged down in their courts,” Hawthorne said. “If we put it in Chambers, we can get those kids stabilized.”

-Interesting that Harris County is an option. I think that is good because they are a County far more prepared.
IMO

What difference does it make where the children are? Why isn't the crime being charged in the county in which it occurred?

 

[MzOpinion8d]

Steven McDowell, 44, looked tearful in court on Wednesday after police say he admitted strangling his 37-year old ex-wife, Crystal Seratte to death just before Hurricane Harvey hit

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-kids-nearby-tearful-court.html#ixzz4sczGbany

​

Am I the only one who doesn't see the "tearful" look that all the media outlets reported?

#whenMrCleangoestojail

 

[gregjrichards]

BAYTOWN SUN:
Wearing an orange jumpsuit, handcuffed and surrounded by law enforcement, a sad-looking Steven McDowell, 44, was escorted into the auxiliary 253rd Court, headed by Judge Chap Cain, in Anahuac Tuesday.

McDowell was appearing for a probable cause hearing to see if he could pay for an attorney. He was not able to and the court appointed him an attorney, Keaton Kirkwood, a lawyer in Liberty.

“Jurisdiction based upon the children WHETHER IT IS CHAMBERS OR HARRIS COUNTY,” Hawthorne said.

Hawthorne said he believes Chambers County should have the case since the children, ages 5 and 8, are enrolled in Barbers Hill ISD. He added the Department of Family Protective Services placed the children in the care of one of Crystal McDowell’s relatives.

“(The DFPS) think they want to do it out of Harris County and that bothers me since it might get bogged down in their courts,” Hawthorne said. “If we put it in Chambers, we can get those kids stabilized.”

-Interesting that Harris County is an option. I think that is good because they are a County far more prepared.
IMO

What a shame he looks sad! What about his poor children who are crying for their mother? I have absolutely no sympathy for this individual whatsoever he is an absolute disgrace of a father and person the sooner he gets LWOP the better.

 

[Icechick]

Thank you so much. I thought we were allowed to link to the social media of the victim and the perp. I need to review!!

But I was able to view a bunch now. And I think I understand why so many people seem to be willing to give this guy a pass. It's hard to see videos of a dad with his kids, having fun and being sweet, and to see that he's proudly posting videos and photos of his kids, and then see him as evil or bad or less than human.

But thats what most bad people are like. Heck, Hitler was warm and sweet with children. Countless murderers we see in these cases were well-liked, friendly, popular.

And most things and most people arent that black and white. Everything is always complex.

But what's simple to me is that a normal, decent, honest, good person and loving parent doesn't "lose control" and strangle their ex to death over a period of several, agonizing minutes. A normal, decent, honest good person and parent doesn't cover it up for days and post posts about their missing ex, all the while knowing where her corpse is rotting.

This man is a bad human being. He chose this. He destroyed a beautiful woman and his beautiful kids out of jealousy and possessiveness.

I reserve my sympathy for the real victims. And he's not it.

AMEN!!!

I cant believe the amount of sympathy and passes he is getting! Each time I see someone give him a softie I want to scream.
Blows me away...he admitted he strangled her FROM BEHIND like the coward he is. He is pure evil. MOO
Hes a master manipulator and continues to be one from behind bars, in good company with Scott Peterson, Drew Peterson, and many more.

 

[EmmieA]

there were so many warnings about the approaching hurricane and if he lived in the area long enough he would know what areas had a tendancy to floodplus the seedy motel, that was aplan to make her look like a S--- and lead the cops into a false theory she was missing from that motel all while her body soaked in flood water that would remove all traces of what he had done to her. I strongly suspect he raped her too, that one last assault he inflicted on her. I get so angry just t
hinking about this. grrrr...

Oh yes, of course. My point was he just couldn't count on the level of devastation the hurricane could cause. But yes, leaving her car at the hotel was a very sinister move on his part. I don't think that part was planned beforehand -- but heck, I also didn't think he could murder his wife so I've been wrong about everything involving this case.

 

[Gardenista]

AMEN!!!

I cant believe the amount of sympathy and passes he is getting! Each time I see someone give him a softie I want to scream.
Blows me away...he admitted he strangled her FROM BEHIND like the coward he is. He is pure evil. MOO
Hes a master manipulator and continues to be one from behind bars, in good company with Scott Peterson, Drew Peterson, and many more.

I feel the same. And many times there is some sly victim-blaming in there.

 

[Gooddeeds]

Oh yes, of course. My point was he just couldn't count on the level of devastation the hurricane could cause. But yes, leaving her car at the hotel was a very sinister move on his part. I don't think that part was planned beforehand -- but heck, I also didn't think he could murder his wife so I've been wrong about everything involving this case.

-I think most know what my opinion is on his 'remorse', but I want to present it here within this post as though I had no opinion, feeling or knowledge of the alleged crime.

If someone asked if I see any tears, my answer would be No. If someone asked if he was wearing Orange or Green...my answer would be Orange.

The Media gets away with inserting drama laced 'observations' that have not been observed. Therefore I think it's important to hold to what is visibly seen. IMO-He looked pretty cleaned up to me. He got to see his kids, he got to express what 'his thoughts' were from his current point of view, he got some sleep, he got his phone back, he showered and shaved. I don't see belly-aching, heart-stopping remorse.

MPO

 

[Whiskers16]

Idk how he could afford even 50k bail but qualifies for a public defender. Defies my logic anyway.

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Does a person have to "qualify" for a public defender? I thought everyone has a right to a public defender if they don't already have a lawyer for themselves and/or choose not to hire a specific lawyer.

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[Gooddeeds]

Oh yes, of course. My point was he just couldn't count on the level of devastation the hurricane could cause. But yes, leaving her car at the hotel was a very sinister move on his part. I don't think that part was planned beforehand -- but heck, I also didn't think he could murder his wife so I've been wrong about everything involving this case.

-In my opinion he was pre-planning for something. I can't tangibly identify what that was, but confident it was one sided. Whenever he began down that line of thinking it started with his controlling anger. He had already tampered with her devices, he sent the manipulative Mommy text on Thursday night, he thought his text thread through for Friday morning-setting her up for his entitled opinion to be recognized as the final word. As though she was an illogical woman who just couldn't see that she needed to retract her actions towards a better life for herself and the children in order to do what is best...for 'Him and only Him'

IMO

 

[luckystar01]

I think he was hoping that someone poor and desperate would take the car to evacuate. Hurricanes can be unpredictable, for sure, but one thing that was never in question was whether or not Houston would get slammed with rain. According the sheriff's FB page Chambers County got more than 51 inches. Just think about that for a minute. He dumped her body in the woods and then went back home to his cushy bed. And then it started raining, and raining, and raining. 3+ full days torrential downpours. Did he think about Crystal when he looked out of the window? What the water was doing to her? People that truly loved her, such as her uncle, drove toward the hurricane in a desperate attempt to find her. That's a 4 hour car ride, and I bet it felt even longer. He was more afraid of not finding her than finding himself in flood waters. Steve, on the other hand, wasn't feeling remorseful quite yet so he was perfectly fine with her body disintegrating. He wasn't even remorseful when his children (presumably) asked him when she was coming home.

 

[Eileen730]

How do we know if hes remorseful or not?
Suicidal?

From the photos I see the man does not look well.

 

[luckystar01]

Does a person have to "qualify" for a public defender? I thought everyone has a right to a public defender if they don't already have a lawyer for themselves and/or choose not to hire a specific lawyer.

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I think you need to be able to prove that you can't afford one, which is confusing since he's by no means poor. He had a house, two Mustangs, etc. I'm thinking maybe the judge learned of his plan to liquidate his assets so his kids will have money and took pity on him or something.

 

[jillycat]

I really don't think anyone is particularly sympathetic toward SM, other than perhaps the Aunt and that may be on behalf of the kids. He has to meet financial criteria to have a Public Defender and under 6A, he can have a court appointed lawyer at no cost if he can't afford counsel (and his offense is serious and could lead to jail, which are true here). No court can take pity on one person vs another outside of that criteria. If his assets are going to the children, he would presumably be indigent and qualify for a Public Defender.

 

[Suglo]

Here is a study with the applicable laws on indigent defense in Texas. It was published back in 2007 but gives a general guideline of who is eligible and who is not.

http://tidc.texas.gov/media/27395/supplement-to-verification-study-final.pdf

And here is a document published by the ABA (American Bar Association) that gives the indigent defense guidelines per state.

https://www.americanbar.org/content...e/determinationofeligibility.authcheckdam.pdf

 

[Gooddeeds]

I think he was hoping that someone poor and desperate would take the car to evacuate. Hurricanes can be unpredictable, for sure, but one thing that was never in question was whether or not Houston would get slammed with rain. According the sheriff's FB page Chambers County got more than 51 inches. Just think about that for a minute. He dumped her body in the woods and then went back home to his cushy bed. And then it started raining, and raining, and raining. 3+ full days torrential downpours. Did he think about Crystal when he looked out of the window? What the water was doing to her? People that truly loved her, such as her uncle, drove toward the hurricane in a desperate attempt to find her. That's a 4 hour car ride, and I bet it felt even longer. He was more afraid of not finding her than finding himself in flood waters. Steve, on the other hand, wasn't feeling remorseful quite yet so he was perfectly fine with her body disintegrating. He wasn't even remorseful when his children (presumably) asked him when she was coming home.

-That is correct, the rain was coming to the degree of requiring evacuation in some areas despite any change of direction the storm may have taken. School was already canceled, as was his place of employment (not yet verified from his employer). So far we know nothing about his employment??? Does anyone have info on that?

 

[Gooddeeds]

I really don't think anyone is particularly sympathetic toward SM, other than perhaps the Aunt and that may be on behalf of the kids. He has to meet financial criteria to have a Public Defender and under 6A, he can have a court appointed lawyer at no cost if he can't afford counsel (and his offense is serious and could lead to jail, which are true here). No court can take pity on one person vs another outside of that criteria. If his assets are going to the children, he would presumably be indigent and qualify for a Public Defender.

Thank you for the info! Can you opine on:
-2 County options?
-'first degree felony' as stated in the Baytown Sun?

 

[Gardenista]

Here is the flooding in Crystal's subdivision:

https://www.facebook.com/abc13Houston/videos/10155287667389342/?comment_tracking={"tn":"O"}

[video=youtube;kh5yI5cyvLE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh5yI5cyvLE[/video]

 

[Janeumayer]

I'm totally flummoxed @ the murderer of his own children's mother being allowed to even see his children after he was arrested. Where is the empathy / sympathy for what Crystal endured? He killed her and dumped her body in the woods. Are all murderers given kid-glove treatment. He's supposed to feel bad, ashamed, guilty, etc. Heck with his pity party.

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Why on Earth would people feel sorry for this monster when he did make a threat to Crystal about hurting the kids?