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PRIMETIME JUSTICE WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Gruesome Details; Hard Landing. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired September 12, 2017 - 20:00:00   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): A flood of new details in the case of Crystal McDowell who vanished before the hurricane deluged Houston.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He just started going crazy trying to figure out what happened to her.

BANFIELD: Her husband charged with murder, a motive now surfacing. Was an upcoming cruise the trigger that set him off?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This case was about trying to bring Crystal McDowell home.

BANFIELD: Was ex about to ask her to marry him again on that cruise?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just makes me sick to think about it.

BANFIELD: Police say Steve confessed he choked Crystal from behind, with the kids present in the home before dumping her body like trash.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a wooded area of west Chambers County.

BANFIELD: What clues did her flooded Mercedes yield?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He drove it there and then parked it.

BANFIELD: And new details about where and with whom those two little kids will grow up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought I heard her call my name (INAUDIBLE)

BANFIELD: The disappearance of Holly Bobo stumped investigators.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Won`t ever give up until you`re back home with us.

BANFIELD: But nearly four years after she vanished, hunters found her body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Remains are of Holly Bobo.

BANFIELD: Now prosecutors say they have Holly`s killer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

BANFIELD: And say his loose lips may have sunk his ship.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened to my daughter?

BANFIELD: Caught on tape, a small plane crashing into a tree.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I heard the bang, knew that he went down.

BANFIELD: How is it the pilot wasn`t seriously hurt?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Good evening. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.

Crystal McDowell has not yet been buried, but the secrets of her mysterious murder and the man who confessed to pretty much everything are being

unearthed and they are nothing short of jaw-dropping.

Police say Crystal`s ex-husband Steve opened the floodgates in a confession that lasted hours and told them everything they needed to know to charge

him with murder, like how he choked her from behind with their two children elsewhere in the house and how he dumped her body and her belongings,

especially that expensive Mercedes and how an upcoming family cruise to which he was uninvited, making room for a new boyfriend, just might have

been the trigger that killed her.

Steve McDowell is now sitting in a cell and planning for his two children`s future, to be raised without Crystal, to be raised without him. He`s also

planning where and with whom he says those children should ultimately grow up. He made his first court appearance today, mostly to get a court-

appointed lawyer. And that means the state will effectively pay for his defense.

And by all accounts, he was in fairly rough shape. He was crying and emotional through a lot of this appearance. And in case you`re wondering,

he has not been able to make that half million dollar bond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN HAWTHORNE, CHAMBERS COUNTY SHERIFF: He said very little. And he is a little emotional, but he said very little. He has been 100 percent

cooperative. Every -- you know, he was a person of interest, as were others. And every person involved in this investigation, including, you

know, Mr. McDowell, has been very cooperative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Until tonight, we have been unaware that Steve McDowell ever posed a threat to Crystal, but he has and there`s evidence and witnesses

that will prove it. And you`re going to hear from them in a moment.

First, though, I want to bring in Sheriff Brian Hawthorne, Chambers County sheriff, who`s been not only working tirelessly on this case during a

hurricane, but also he and his team really brought this to effectively an investigative peak within two weeks.

Sheriff, it`s good to see you. Thank you for taking the time to be with us tonight. I want to first get to one of the most tragic details that I have

heard in this story. And that is the reports that say Steve McDowell may have actually been planning to propose to Crystal, effectively ask her to

remarry him on that cruise that he was uninvited to, and that this might have been the trigger. Do you know anything about it?

BRIAN HAWTHORNE, CHAMBERS COUNTY SHERIFF: Well, Ashleigh, that`s a rumor, but it`s nothing that from a law enforcement perspective -- we don`t have

any validation to that, and there`s no evidence to prove that.

BANFIELD: Did you ever get the sense in the conversations that you`ve been having with him that he was overwhelmed with Crystal, that there was

something about her he just could not let go, given the fact they had just divorced in June?

[20:05:12]HAWTHORNE: Well, there`s no doubt that the man is passionately in love with her. And I think that`s part of the issue here. You know, I

think domestic violence is something that we deal with every day as sheriff`s office, and every police department across the nation, really

across the world. So I think there`s -- there`s love involved, but obviously, it definitely went the bad way.

BANFIELD: I`m going to get to some of the details of what happened and what Steve has confessed to what some of the evidence is outlined in this

story, which as I said earlier, are really jaw-dropping. But very first and foremost, I want to know about today. You spent time with Steve today.

He made that first appearance today. It is becoming painfully obvious to Steve the situation that he is in, and he talked today about the kids.

What was his primary concern?

HAWTHORNE: Well, his primary concern is the children. He`s -- he`s -- no doubt, he`s starting to come to the realization of the circumstances that

he`s put himself in and the circumstance he`s put his children in.

So I was actually with him a handful of times today. And some of it was with the Department of Family Protective Services discussing the

arrangement with the children and him signing some paperwork. So he is doing his best, I think, to look out for the welfare of his children the

best he can from the position that he`s put himself in. And luckily, there are family members and there are friends that are also looking out and

taking care of the children at this time.

BANFIELD: So let`s talk about that. Uncle Terry (ph) and Aunt Cindy -- we spoke with Cindy last night. The children are with them currently. It`s a

temporary setup, Crystal`s side of the family.

But there is a plan that both, as I understand, Steve and Crystal in better times had decided one of her best friends since childhood, someone she`s

known since she was 16, from out of state is going to be the person, ultimately, that Steve has agreed in this now not best of times would be

the best custodian and is making plans for the transfer of the children`s custody to this female best friend of Crystal`s. Is that accurate?

HAWTHORNE: Well, that`s accurate, but I think it`s real important that we state that this will be up to a court. They are putting the wheels in

motion to do this. And it is Crystal`s best friend and somebody that Steve also knows and trusts. But like I say, ultimately, it will be up to a

Texas district court on who actually gets the children.

As of now, I think all of the family members have agreed that this friend of Crystal`s is probably the best choice, and I think the fact that she

lives out of state I think is probably a positive thing in trying to get the children transitioned and back into a stable environment without the

issues that are probably going to follow them for the rest of their life.

BANFIELD: And ultimately, to that end, I mean, it seems like you`re -- you have tentacles into every element of the community in which you live and

work, and that`s a great thing when you`re the sheriff. You know the superintendent of the school. You`ve to the superintendent. The

superintendent wants to make normalcy first and foremost key to the kids right now. They are back in school.

But ultimately, it seems like all the players involved here, Steve included -- Crystal has no say -- want a change of environment, think that maybe the

stigma and the circumstances in this community might be just too much for these kids to bear. So this best friend -- and I understand she`ll remain

nameless -- living out of state, taking the kids out of state would actually be the best for them, correct?

HAWTHORNE: Well, obviously, it`ll will be up to the court, but I could see where it could be a step in the right direction for the children. You

know, we`ll -- obviously, it`s definitely not up to the sheriff. It`s clearly up to the court and it`s up to the Department of Family Protective

Services in the state of Texas.

BANFIELD: Understand. Let`s talk about some of the financial planning that Steve at least has been able to work through in these early offings.

He`s got assets. He`s got two expensive Mustangs. He, I think, if you -- if I`m correct here, had a conversation with you today about figuring a way

to liquidate these assets in order to make way for someone else to raise those kids and have the means to do so?

HAWTHORNE: Well, he expressed to me that he wanted anything that he had worth of any value, he was going to try and put it in this -- in Crystal`s

best friend`s name or make it to where she could liquidate it, so it would be money that she could use to help raise the children.

[20:10:10]BANFIELD: He also wanted his cell phone, not necessarily to be able to use it, but ultimately to access the data in it, phone numbers of

people close to him that he`d like to be able to communicate. Is he going to be able to get that?

HAWTHORNE: Yes. We`ve already provided it. So we -- you know, that`s -- have a system in the jail in which he can make phone calls. And so he

didn`t have the numbers which he could call and reach out to some people that could help him make arrangements for the children.

BANFIELD: Ultimately, his home -- that was the crime scene. There have been reports that -- and if I may say, they`ve been erroneous reports that

Crystal was killed in the living room of that home. Fair to correct those?

HAWTHORNE: No, that is not correct. That`s going to be probably a mistake on the reporter`s part or maybe he misinterpreted something that I may have

said or something they read somewhere. But no, it appears everything took place in the bedroom behind closed doors.

BANFIELD: OK. Children present in the house, not witness to the murder, correct?

HAWTHORNE: That is correct.

BANFIELD: OK. I want to make sure that the facts in the case remain the facts and that conjecture and rumor don`t end up being cut and pasted

throughout the internet because that`s what happens a lot of times when these stories, you know, get a lot of momentum.

So that home was a crime scene. It is no longer a crime scene. And those children have had a chance go back with Aunt Cindy into that home. They`re

not only people in the home. Can you elaborate?

HAWTHORNE: Well, currently, I think Steve is permitting the friend that ultimately will -- is attempting to get the children and one of her

friends, who`s helping put the affairs together are staying there. and also, Cindy has been permitted to take the kids back for -- whether it be

clothing or homework issues or books, and also some of their toys.

BANFIELD: So I`m going to do a bit of a checklist here with you just to clear up some of the details that are now becoming evident to make sure

that we have them right. It is now becoming more clear that it was sometime around 3:00 AM the day after Crystal went missing that Steve left

that home and left those children in that home to dispose of the body. There`s evidence to suggest that?

HAWTHORNE: Well, there are some circumstances. But that`s part of the -- part of the criminal case that we`ve got, and I really don`t want to

discuss too deep into that.

BANFIELD: OK. There is now reporting also that Steve, when he took you all to the location of -- where he says he dumped the body -- and clearly,

that`s where the body was found -- he was riding with a Texas Ranger who had been doing the interview process. He was wearing a hoodie. He had

that hoodie up and was ultimately trying to conceal the emotion and his face and really couldn`t do that because it was clear that he was extremely

emotional on that scene, correct?

HAWTHORNE: Yes. He`s pretty well been roller-coaster emotions with -- either -- whether it be one of my detectives or myself or with the Texas

Ranger. He`s definitely been -- you know, roller-coaster is best way to describe it.

BANFIELD: So there was this report in March that Crystal called the police. There was a grave concern of hers that Steve was a danger to her,

a danger to the children, and importantly, a danger to himself, as well, in the way that she feared he may be suicidal. That report was lengthy. It

was adjudicated. And there is some thought at this point that he may also have been suicidal around the time of this murder, as well.

HAWTHORNE: Yes, there was talk of it. And we`ve tried to take all those precautions. And I will tell you the time that I have spent with him, I

don`t feel that he is, but we still are taking the precautions to make sure that he is safe himself.

BANFIELD: So without naming, you know, details, fair to say there`s evidence to suggest that.

HAWTHORNE: Well, there is some written evidence. And so because of that, I think it`s only appropriate for me to take those precautions.

BANFIELD: Understand. There`s also some discussion about -- you know, that Crystal had told friends that she worried that Steve was tracking her.

And now there`s information that Crystal had an app called MileIQ (ph), not unusual for people who are in business for themselves, who put a lot of

miles on their car, she was realtor, that she may have had MileIQ (ph), in fact, did have MileIQ (ph). It was a cloud-based app and might have

actually shut it off, the concern possibility being that Steve was tracking her motions.

HAWTHORNE: Well, that has come up in some of the subjects and some of the discussions with different witnesses, but the validity of exactly why she

may have turned it off, we have not been able to put that together, but that has come up in some of the interviews.

[20:15:10]BANFIELD: We have seen so many of the images leading to her disappearance, in particular, one where she`s walking out of her

boyfriend`s condo the morning she disappeared, and she`s carrying a big heavy black bag, an overnight bag, and she`s got her high-heeled shoes in

her hand. Evidence to suggest now that Steve disposed of those high-heeled shoes?

HAWTHORNE: Well, that`s part of our case, and I don`t want to get too deep into the case. And as this thing moves forward, if the district attorney

wants to discuss that with you, she can.

BANFIELD: Any idea where the bag or her cell phone are?

HAWTHORNE: You know, that would -- I have to give you that same answer on that one, Ashleigh. I`m sorry.

BANFIELD: This is hard, but this is always part of a case like this, especially when there is a murder and disposal of a body. But today was

day where grisly details and very sad details but critical to the case, the autopsy results, the preliminary autopsy results came in for Crystal.

And as we understand it, she weighed about a quarter of the weight she would have normally weighed prior to being murdered and dumped in the

woods. And of course, as in all cases where someone is dumped and left for weeks, there would be evidence of animal damage, and it would be, you know,

difficult to make a full assessment -- the facts would be vague in her autopsy, fair enough assessment, Sheriff?

HAWTHORNE: Yes, that`s very fair. I mean, obviously, it`s the timeframe in which from the time of death to the time that we discovered the body,

there`s obviously going to be some changes, right.

BANFIELD: Also...

HAWTHORNE: Correct.

BANFIELD: Yes. Also I just wanted to...

HAWTHORNE: Go ahead. I`m sorry.

BANFIELD: No problem. I just wanted to clear up the detail again that -- when we spoke last night, it was -- the detail was that Crystal had been

strangled. Today I think we know more. She was actually approached from behind and she was choked from behind, correct?

HAWTHORNE: Well, that`s what, you know, the evidence is showing, and it`s from the confession and what Steve has told us. So you know, I`ll let the

district attorney take it from there. The autopsy results are a little vague just because of, obviously, the circumstances of the body in being in

the elements. Those elements also including the storm. So -- but what we felt like we`d learned from the autopsy is what we learned today.

BANFIELD: OK. And I just want to reiterate that the detail that Steve had been uninvited from an upcoming family cruise -- Crystal was going to take

this cruise with Steve, the children and her uncle. Ultimately, Steve was uninvited. Her new boyfriend, Paul, was invited, and it is becoming

obvious that this did not sit well perhaps with Steve.

Is it your assessment -- do you feel it`s possible, in terms of just motive and theory, that this might have been the trigger that set him off that

morning in that bedroom?

HAWTHORNE: Well, there`s no doubt it has come up in multiple interviews and different statements of some of the people that were involved in this.

So I`m sure it must have some effect. But as far as motive, I`m going to try to stay away from motive and let the prosecutors determine on what --

we`re going to present the facts to the prosecutors, and they can take it where they want to go from there, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Sheriff, I understand and I completely respect that there is a lot to the investigation you have to keep close to your vest. This now not

just an investigation, this is also going to be potentially a murder trial, maybe a murder plea. But he is facing murder, and in Texas -- it doesn`t

get any more serious anywhere, and in some states, it`s even more serious than others. So I respect what you can and what you can`t say.

Sheriff, thank you. Thank you for the time. I`ve said it often, especially given the facts, you`ve been under the immense strain of dealing

with a hurricane. You yourself have lost a lot of personal mementos and lot of your staff have lost their homes and that you`ve been able to do

this and get this much information -- pretty telling, pretty telling to your team. Thank you.

HAWTHORNE: Well, thank you. And my thanks go to the team. I appreciate every criminal investigator that works in my office. And they worked very

hard on this case.

BANFIELD: Appreciate it.

Stay tuned. In a moment, it is what some people call the heat of the moment. Crystal and Steve McDowell`s two children have now lost both a

mother, and effectively, the way this situation has worked out, their father, too. Coming up next, Crystal`s aunt is going to join us. She is

currently caring for their two children, ages 5 and 8.

[20:20:02]She`s going to tell us about some of the plans for the kids, what they have been asking, what they have been saying, where they`re spending

their days and where they may be headed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRYSTAL MCDOWELL: (INAUDIBLE) Are you going to win?

CHILD: Yes!

MCDOWELL: No, you`re not! Are you ready for this?

[20:25:02]CHILD: Yes!

MCDOWELL: All right!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Those are the kinds of videos we all take with our kids. That`s Cindy Seratte`s niece, Crystal McDowell, in better times with her children.

And Aunt Cindy joins me live now from Houston. Aunt Cindy, you know, we look at those videos and Crystal isn`t just a photograph anymore or a name.

She`s a real personality and she seemed like such a spitfire. We didn`t get the sense she was under threat, that she was scared. We never got the

sense that she feared Steve in the way that Steve has confessed to having done what he did to her, if ,in fact, the confession is true.

Did you ever get the sense that Crystal felt that Steve threatened her in any way?

CINDY SERATTE, CRYSTAL`S AUNT: He did. We`ve talked about their family life on numerous occasions. Doing her hair, you know how that goes, you

talk about everything. And in the past, she`s made a few remarks about how he would kill her, you know, if she left and how he wanted, you know, their

life to be different and how she wanted just to make his life peaceful and maybe he could find somebody and go on.

And I really honestly just blew it off. I thought, you know, everybody says sometimes things they don`t mean, and so I really didn`t take it for

anything that it was worth.

And then I guess what`s really terrible is about, must have been about, like, August the 9th was, like, the last time that I did her hair in the

salon. And she was telling me about, you know, the new boyfriend that she had and that she was happy and that she was moving forward and telling a

little bit about the house and what she had done to it. And basically, she just gave me the phone and was showing me pictures of Paul, the guy that

she`s with, and his little girl.

And there was some -- there were several hair stylists in the salon at the time and they were younger, so I took the phone from her and took it over

there to basically see if they had known who the man was, and she grabbed the phone really fast and basically yelled in the salon, No, Aunt Cindy, he

will kill me. I need to keep this private.

And of course, I had never seen fear until that day and I was -- I feel bad. I mean, I look back on it and that`s all I -- I just see is her face.

She was just full of fear. And then everybody started questioning her and putting their two cents in. And then I didn`t see her again for about a

week to cut the kids` hair, and I didn`t hear from her after that. So yes, he has.

BANFIELD: And what about this notion that Paul (sic) had back in March been reported to the police by Crystal. She thought he was dangerous to

her, thought he was dangerous to the kids and to himself, perhaps even suicidal? Can you shed some light on that?

SERATTE: I know I talked with, you know, Steve prior to him going to jail on numerous occasions. I just felt like I needed to be close to him. And

yes, he shared that he had -- he would never touch her, he would never harm her, but that he had felt like he would harm hisself before he would ever

harm her and that, you know, he was very sad.

BANFIELD: You know, you mentioned something off air that really stood out, especially for people who understand the details and the ugliness of

domestic violence. You mentioned that Steve was so in love with her, with Crystal, and his love was so deep that he felt his life had come to an end

if she was going to reject him. Do you see that continuing into what ultimately he says happened and what he says he did to her?

SERATTE: Oh, most definitely. You know, being with Steve and watching his emotions, my heart goes out to him. I mean, I don`t like what he did and I

believe he deserves his punishment. But when you`re around him, you can feel the remorse. And literally, the last time I saw him, he literally,

when he hugged me, he -- it was heartfelt, I`m truly sorry. So yes, I would say it was passion crime.

BANFIELD: And I just -- I want to get inside your head for that moment. You were able to hug him in these last few days post hearing what he says

he did to Crystal?

SERATTE: Yes. I mean, family`s family and -- family`s family, and we all do things sometimes we regret and we will pay for those, like, in a

lifetime. But I just felt like I can`t hate him. I don`t like him. I don`t like what he did, but he did what he did and he`ll pay for it. And I

just can`t bring myself to hate someone that`s mentally at that moment not right because a normal person wouldn`t do that.

BANFIELD: Did the kids -- were they present when that happened, when you embraced Steve? I mean, it`s just -- it`s hard for me to process it.

SERATTE: Yes.

BANFIELD: I`ve never walked in your shoes. I can`t imagine what you`re going through. I don`t even know if you`ve fully processed it yet, it`s so

recent, but the kids saw you hugging Steve?

SERATTE: Yes. When I left, I hugged him -- I hugged him again and I gave him a kiss on the forehead and told him that I forgive him no matter what,

and that I feel truly bad and I would pray for him.

BANFIELD: I`m guessing that even since we spoke last night, the kids have probably asked more questions or come to more realizations. Do they know

more anything more today than they didn`t know yesterday about what daddy says he did to mommy?

SERATTE: Well, today, this morning, we watched a little video on Facebook of their mother of course. Basically the question is, why did -- they had

come to conclusion that their daddy was in a really bad fight and he did something so bad that he broke the law and he will be in jail for a long

time. So they just keep asking when will he come home and why was he so mad and why was he in a fight?

BANFIELD: Do they think he was in a fight with someone else or do they think he was in a fight with mom?

SERATTE: I don`t think they know. I think someone else -- I don`t -- I really don`t think they know that -- I don`t think they know that their dad

has done this to their mother. I just think that they know in their mind when you fight, you get into trouble, and I think they have just come to

the assumption he was in a bad fight.

BANFIELD: So they are seeing these as two separate events in their lives. Mommy is with Jesus. I think you told us that`s how you worded it to them.

Last night, you said, mommy is with Jesus. And daddy has been in a fight. Do they see these events as connected?

SERATTE: You know, I don`t know what in child`s mind like that. I mean, they probably wonder, but they`re not -- when they play with their toys at

home, they`re not weird about it. They play. They still hug and kiss. They say good things. They`re just a little disconnected to their dad. They --

more so the youngest than the oldest.

BANFIELD: Kids have been back to the house, correct? You have been able to go back to Steve`s house where the murder happened. They clearly don`t know

that. Are we a 100 percent sure they saw and heard nothing? Or is there a possibility they might have?

SERATTE: I pray not. But they don`t -- whenever they want to go home, I think it makes them comfortable with people being there. But I know them

for a while. When I have them and I would have to take them over there, sometimes they didn`t want to go home. Like they would spend the night if

they were over for the day and it was just their dad there, they didn`t really want to go home. The youngest for sure didn`t. But now that there

are people there that they love and care about, they don`t mind going in.

BANFIELD: They`re in school right now, correct? They got a little normalcy going on during the day. And superintendent has seen to it that they have

as much normalcy as possible. That`s great news. Let`s talk a little bit about the custodial plans, at least the desires of Crystal and the desires

of Steve, both settling prior to all of this on one of Crystal`s best friends who shall remain nameless.

Let`s not put her name on the air, if that`s OK. That`s something that the sheriff would stay quiet about. But she lives out of state. So is this

something you see as healthy for the kids to leave this terrible circumstance, this stigmatized environment and to get a fresh start? And do

the kids know about this?

SERATTE: Yes, ma`am. At first, I was very hesitant. The nameless person, I truly think she`s amazing. She is a wonderful person. And, yes, I`ve told

the children. I made jokes about it. You know, I told them that we`re going to come visit. They`re going to come visit. We`ve just kind of played

around with the idea of it, you know, back and forth. They`re OK with it. They`re kind of getting excited.

They know they`re going to have a new room and they`re going to have wifi. That`s all they talk about. They`re going to have wifi and they`re going to

have their own TV. And they`re going to have their toys in their room, so, and they`re going to have their little games, their little -- I guess

little iPad they carry. They`re excited about that.

BANFIELD: Five and eight years old. That`s a big part of life right there, what you just outlined. I just have one last question for you and it`s

about Crystal`s ring.

SERATTE: Yes, ma`am.

BANFIELD: Crystal had a ring. I believe her grandmother`s wedding or engagement ring. It`s a family heirloom, obviously. She met her boyfriend,

Paul, who has a jewelry store. She was taking that ring in to get it redone. Do you have that ring back?

SERATTE: No, ma`am. I had went to the store to get it, but by law, once everything settled, they will have to receive a letter from, I guess, when

they settled everything with her estate and then we would be able to get it back. It`s held in his vault there.

BANFIELD: Ultimately I`m assuming that you`re hoping that that ring goes to her children, her little girl, potentially?

SERATTE: Yes, ma`am, of course.

BANFIELD: And what else is going to happen with all of --

[20:35:00] -- all of Steve`s things and all of Crystal`s things at Steve`s house because she was effectively living there. So all of those things are

there, but those two people are not going to be there. What happens to that?

SERATTE: As far as what I know, the person that will be taking -- you know, as far as taking care of her estate, they are going to sell everything, put

it into trust for the kids. We`ve had people calling in, dear friend is wanting to make a blanket right now, a quilt with her clothes. They`re

taking some stuff, some old toys to goodwill. I mean, they`re trying to share it for the hurricane victims. They`re trying to separate everything

right now and put everything they can up for the children.

BANFIELD: Hurricane victims will be getting some of those things. There is this massive story that is colliding with yours as well. Your community has

been ravaged by that hurricane. Ultimately, I think that makes perfect sense, but it certainly is a bizarre confluence of circumstances, Cindy.

Just real quickly. I know I said that was last question, but I do have this.

If the children end up moving out of state with Crystal`s best friend since she was a teenager, will they be able to see their dad in prison if he

ultimately ends up there? And that by all accounts looks like the direction he`s going. Will they be able to visit him and have they seen him every day

since he was locked up?

SERATTE: No, ma`am. They haven`t seen him since the night that we we went and spoke to him. I`m praying and the person who is actually going to take

them, we both think it`s very healthy with, you know, a little bit of counseling that they stay connected to their father but maybe not every day

and ever month, but when they come back to visit, most definitely they need to be in contact with their father. It`s their dad. They need to know what

this new normal is for their life and --

(CROSSTALK)

SERATTE: It`s their normal now unfortunately.

BANFIELD: You`re an amazing person, Cindy, and I dare say there aren`t a lot of family members of crime victims who are as magnanimous and as

forgiving as you. Those kids are lucky to have you in their life. Thank you so much for with us tonight, Cindy.

SERATTE: Thank you.

BANFIELD: When one spouse kills another, the people who know them as a couple just rack their brains to try to figure out what went wrong and if

there were any clues, anything they missed. So what about the allegations against Steve McDowell? Did anybody see this coming? We are going to talk

to two of Crystal`s friends next.

[20:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: When Crystal McDowell vanished just hours before Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, her friends knew that she had not just run off, especially

without her kids.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi baby James.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi baby James. I`m glad you`re here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s cutting my hair. We`re wearing red just for you. We want to tell you we love you so much, and we can`t wait for you to feel

all better. We want to give you a big kiss too, ready? One, two, three, mwah. Love you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Love you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say get well soon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get well soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Crystal in better times with her daughter. Crystal in better times here with her ex-husband, Steve. And now, her family and friends

instead are planning for her funeral. That is scheduled to be this Saturday. What was Crystal`s relationship with her ex-husband really like

behind all of these happy pictures? Because that man, according to the police, has now confessed to doing the worst thing you can possibly do,

murder your ex-spouse.

Joining me now, Morgan Raimondi. She is a friend of Crystal McDowell. She also knows her ex-husband, Steve. Morgan, thanks for being here. You know,

we`re all sort of baffled as we get bits and pieces of information. We are trying to put the puzzle together as to how this could happen. Did you have

a theory about what possibly could have happened in that house that fateful Friday morning?

MORGAN RAIMONDI, FRIEND OF CRYSTAL MCDOWELL: Well, I discussed it with a mutual friend of ours. And I was unsure as to whether or not this actually

occurred in the home or outside of the home. I did believe that Steve was responsible. And when they found the Mercedes, I had told friends that I

believe that Steve was the one that, you know, left the Mercedes with the doors unlocked and probably --

BANFIELD: Morgan, did you get the sense that this was something planned and premeditated for a long time or did you get the sense that from the man you

know, it must have just been that he snapped?

RAIMONDI: You know, honestly, I think he must have just snapped. Because back in June, I was facing the very real possibility of being homeless, and

I had posted a video on Facebook, just letting friends and family know because my situation with my former employer, only worked

[20:45:00] four days for months May and June, and Crystal and Steve -- actually Crystal had reached out to me and she said, you know, Morgan, you

can come live with Steve and I (INAUDIBLE). So, I mean, that was just in July and this is August. So, I`m extremely confused. But, you know, when I

saw the posts from her family on Facebook saying that Crystal was missing and that it wasn`t storm-related, I knew she was with Steve and the first

thing I thought of was Steve did this.

BANFIELD: I want to show our viewers something that you pointed out to us from Steve`s Facebook page. He posted a photograph on June first. Let`s

keep in mind that this last June first is right before the divorce is finalized. It is months into the divorce plan. The divorce is coming to an

end, right?

And yet he posts on June first, picture of a coffee mug, OK? If you can see in the background there, the coffee mug has a post-it note on it saying

good morning beautiful, I love you. And the posting says good morning Crystal. Seratte McDowell. Sorry I didn`t bring you coffee in bed this

morning, but you work so hard and you deserve to sleep in today. Your coffee is ready when you get up. I love you. With a smiley face on that

coffee mug.

I`m just confounded by this, Morgan. They`re just about divorced and he is suggesting I want you to sleep in, but when you wake up, I`m ready to bring

you coffee in bed. Did you -- could you figure this out? I mean, what stage were they in as they were heading to divorce?

RAIMONDI: I didn`t see this. I didn`t notice this particular post on Steve`s page until after Crystal went missing. So I was going through his

Facebook. I came across that post. It was like, this is reverse psychology. It would have been different if Crystal would have taken the photograph

with the coffee mug and said look how sweet my husband is to me.

And if he -- also a screen shot of comments underneath and Steve saying, oh, I massaged her feet every night before bed, she deserves to be

pampered. It`s basically he`s like oh, look at what I do for her.

BANFIELD: Yes. I think it`s clear, it wasn`t standard operating procedure for these two. I mean, she was living in this home as her home was being

renovated. But, you know, it is still somewhat a mystery though how it ended this way. Morgan, thank you so much for being with us tonight and

helping us to sort of plod through, you know, everything that led up to this.

It was certainly a rocky road for Crystal and Steve and their relationship. That is not in question because the next person we`re going to interview is

someone who went to their wedding and stood by Crystal, even just a few months later as they had their very first separation. Yes, they separated

in the past. We`ll talk to her next.

[20:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Surely you can`t be serious. I am serious, and don`t call me Shirley (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: The fun side of Crystal McDowell. Morgan Raimondi wasn`t her only fun friend. She had a lot of friends. Joining me now right now is Crystal`s

other friend, Bronze Weldon Beckley. Bronze, I want to ask you. You`ve been friends with Crystal since she was 17. I cannot imagine having to process

the things that you`re processing now about your friend.

Can you just give me some -- I don`t know. She some light on this relationship that she had with Steve. You were at their wedding in spring

and by winter, they were separated. It sounds like it was bad from the get- go. Did it get better? Was it always that rocky?

BRONZE WELDON BECKLEY, FRIEND OF CRYSTAL MCDOWELL (via telephone): No, I don`t think so. She got married in April, a month before my husband and I

got married. By the time our first child was born, that early next winter, we had went home and Crystal threw us a party for the new baby and they had

already been separated.

BANFIELD: What was your read on him? Were you surprised by the separation?

BECKLEY (via telephone): I was very surprised that they had already been separated. She hadn`t mentioned it all through, you know. I had moved to

Mississippi right after I got married. She didn`t mention it. It was very - - you know, shocking that they had already been separated. But they reconciled very quickly after that because her little boy is just a year

younger than our little girl.

BANFIELD: But reconciled. I mean, so this is 10 years ago, they reconciled, sure, but what happened in ensuing nine years. She`s dead and he`s admitted

it. Was it good all the way through or awful?

BECKLEY (via telephone): No indication of any kind of -- from all I -- all my accounts with Crystal over the last 20 years, last 10 years through the

marriage, they had a great marriage.

BANFIELD: It is just -- it`s just bizarre. Bronze, thank you for your perspective. I think we`re all still trying to solve this mystery even

though so many details are already out. Maybe the how, but still the why is just an incredible mystery.

If you`ve ever seen a hard landing before, you`re certainly about to see one that is for the record books. Look at that. Small plane in Connecticut.

How on earth did the pilot survive this? That`s next.

[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: If you are the least bit afraid of flying, just look away for a minute and don`t worry, there`s no sound on this video, but the visuals are

pretty riveting. Plainville, Connecticut. Police there are actually trying to figure out why on earth this small plane just did this right after

takeoff. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Right? You just don`t need sound to know what that would sound like. And what it would seem like from the cockpit. But the FAA is now

investigating this. The single engine Cessna, just never seen to get in the altitude before it crashed into this parking lot.

Don`t ask me about the cars, I don`t know. But the pilot is OK. Just minor injuries. And that`s remarkable. Thank you so much, everyone, for watching.

[21:00:00] I`m Ashleigh Banfield. We`ll be back tomorrow for "Primetime Justice." "Forensic Files" is up next.

END