During that time, police interviewed both children, unbeknownst to their parents. The parents were then put up in a motel, while the two surviving children were taken to the county's shelter for children, and were not allowed to see their parents for two days. A November 2013 retrial acquitted him of all charges.Īll of the Crowe family members were questioned, their clothing was confiscated, and their bodies were examined for injuries. The transient who was seen in the neighborhood on the night of her murder was eventually convicted of manslaughter, although the conviction was subsequently overturned. The interrogations were conducted in such an egregious manner, combined with other evidence that pointed to a transient schizophrenic who lived in the area, that the boys were eventually declared to be factually innocent by a judge. Two of Michael's friends were also interrogated, confessed and charged with Stephanie's murder. Michael denied any involvement hundreds of times during the interrogation but eventually confessed in what is regarded as a classic example of a false confession. Stephanie's 14 year old brother, Michael Crowe, was interrogated for hours by police using the Reid method without his parents knowledge and without legal representation.
No knives were found at the scene that seemed consistent with the murder weapon, and no bloody clothing was found despite an exhaustive search. A sliding glass door in her parents' bedroom was also unlocked. Stephanie's window was found unlocked, but a screen was in place and there was no disturbance of accumulated grime and insect traces.
Stephanie's parents and grandmother found her body on the floor of her bedroom on the morning of January 21, 1998. The murder of 12-year-old Stephanie Crowe took place in her bedroom inside her home at Escondido, California, sometime between late night January 20, 1998, to early morning January 21, 1998.
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