True Crime Stories

  I am attempting to jump back into research and posting. That generally means that I am also jumping back into watching true crime television shows after a small break. This is a case that I had never heard of until I saw it on Paula Zahn's On The Case . I am working my way through the shows and although I have seen many of the episodes I am coming across a lot of very, very old cases that are catching my interest. This case took place in 1979, but it also helped solve a crime that occurred some four years prior, but then again, no one yet knew it was a crime. One of the most interesting things about this case is it spotlights how much “pull” a medical examiner has. We all pretty much know that it is up to the medical examiner to determine cause of death, but more importantly the manner of death. It is the manner of death that determines whether a death is an accident, suicide or homicide. Apparently the medical examiner at the time in Harris County Texas, that include...

As I stated in my last blog, I have several cases ready to put together which I often struggle with. Besides the fact that I seem to lose a bit of luster when I research them without posting them soon and my memory often fails me I also have the issue that to give something the attention it deserves I have to “feel” it. While I may find one interesting when I start my research I may not feel the same later, especially if it has been days. In those cases I tend to want to “just get it done” and so as I said it does not necessarily get the attention it deserves. But, as I was going through the four or five I have ready I saw this one and remembered my excitement from it. I was glad to see it because I have struggled with the fact that I have wanted to research more cases. I have been re-watching Forensic Files, or at least listening to them, on Netflix lately and have heard several cases I had never heard about that I have been excited about digging into. Before I do tha...

In late August 2017 the southern portion of the United States, in particular the states of Texas and Louisiana, was preparing for Hurricane Harvey to hit land. Houston Texas resident Crystal McDowell would last be seen on August 25 th , just hours before Houston would be plummeted by the storm. The following day Crystal's uncle, Jeff Waters, who had raised her since the age of eleven, reported her missing. Crystal and Steven McDowell had been married close to ten years when they divorced in June of 2017. Reports of exactly where Crystal was living at the time of her death, two months later were a bit sketchy. Almost all of the information stated that not only throughout the marriage, but also after the divorce, Crystal, who was now a real estate agent working for a family company, had been the breadwinner and had been supporting Steven. But, while some reports claim that she was living in her own townhouse that would be searched after she was found to be missi...

Catherine Mehaffey Shelton I am currently reading the book, Luggage By Kroger , written by Houston reporter, Gary Taylor. He had a very short lived but volatile relationship with then Houston attorney, Catherine Mehaffey. At the time he met Catherine she was involved in a civil suit. She was not the attorney, but the plaintiff against the estate of an ex-boyfriend who Catherine claimed as a common-law husband. The ex-boyfriend, George Tedesco had been found brutally murdered in the garage of his home in January of 1979. Catherine had been suing him for a divorce and they were due in court on the day he was found murdered. Catherine would lose her civil case against George Tedesco's family when there was no proof that the couple had ever portrayed themselves as a married couple, one of the main things in order to prove a common-law marriage. In fact, Tedesco's family could never even prove that the couple had lived together, even for the three short months ...

Generally my blogs are titled with the perpetrators name, or in cases in which there are multiple perpetrators I will title it “The Murder of” or “The Death of....” This case is a bit different. Most people believe that John Hill was the perpetrator in the death of his wife (and some say there were others). He was also the victim of murder himself. Although I suppose to be fair I should tell you there is a conspiracy theory that he faked his death. This case is full of interesting characters. There is the millionaire oilman who is hellbent on exacting revenge against the son in law he is convinced murdered his daughter; there is the prominent plastic surgeon who most would say had an affair with the wrong woman; and then there is the lawyer who would defend him. I spoke of Richard “Racehorse” Haynes some time ago in my blog about T. Cullen Davis. I looked back to see what it was I may have said about him at the time, and I have to say my opinion of the man has chan...