Baytown Man Accused Of Killing His Ex-Wife Confesses: Sheriff

BAYTOWN, TX — A 44-year old Baytown has reportedly admitted to investigators that he brutally murdered his ex-wife last last month, Chambers County Sherff's Investigators said.

Steven McDowell is being held in the Chambers County Jail and is charged with killing 37-year old Crystal McDowell on Aug. 25. (Want to get daily news updates and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Pasadena Patch morning newsletter.)

Crystal McDowell, who was a successful real estate agent and the mother of two young children, left her home on Aug. 25 and told her boyfriend that she was going to pick up her children from her ex-husband’s home near Mont Belvieu.

READ ALSO: Ex-Husband Charged With Murder After Missing Baytown Realtor Is Found Dead

It was the last time she was seen alive.

Worried family members reported her missing the next day, but any investigation would have to wait.

Crystal McDowell’s disappearance coincided with the landfall of Hurricane Harvey, which left the coastal areas of Texas inundated with high water and hampered any sort of an investigation.

A week after she disappeared, Crystal’s black Mercedes Benz was found in a flooded motel parking lot.

Investigators combed through marshy wooded areas nearby, and questioned persons of interest in the case that according to the Houston Chronicle, included nine people.

One of those was Steven McDowell.

The McDowell’s had only been divorced for 90 days, with Crystal filing earlier this year — the second time in as many years, officials said.

Investigators said when Steve McDowell came in voluntarily for questioning, he allegedly broke down and admitted to strangling her, and dumping her body.

Investigators said after his confession, McDowell allegedly led investigators with the Texas Rangers and the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office to her decomposing body in a wooded area.

Steven McDowell was charged with murder and has a bond set at $500,000 as he sits in the Chambers County Jail.

The couple’s children are in the custody of child protective services

Officials have not release any information on his next court appearance.

Meanwhile, funeral services for Crystal McDowell are set for Saturday in Baytown.

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Image: Chambers County Sheriff’s Office

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