EP. 121 TEXAS - The Kidnapping, Torture, and Murder of 12 Year Old McKay Everett (Pt. 2)
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In last week's episode, we talked about the abduction and murder of 12-year-old McKay Everett.

the crime that forever affected my hometown of Conroe, Texas. A couple of months ago, McKay's mom, Paulette Everett Norman, sat down with us and walked us through the worst week of her entire life. Not only had her only child been kidnapped for ransom, but it was committed by a family friend, a man named Hilton Crawford.

On the outside, Hilton was a respected family man who ran a private security business in town. But behind closed doors, he was a criminal who was drowning in debt, which led him to commit the unthinkable. After abducting McKay from their home, Hilton shoved him into the trunk of his car and made his way to Louisiana. And he eventually came back to Conroe, but he didn't have McKay with him.

Luckily, however, investigators did have enough evidence to place him under arrest. And shortly after, he wrote out detailed instructions on where they could find McKay's body. In last week's episode, we left off on the horrific discovery of his body in the swamplands of Louisiana and how Paulette Everett Norman received the news that she had been dreading all along. So this is part two of McKay's story.

I'm Courtney Browen. And I'm Colin Browen. And you're listening to Murder in America. I couldn't move. I could move my eyes. And so, and I said, today, before this day is over, I will move my big toe.

As the days passed, Paulette gained some motor function, but she was still physically and emotionally struggling. She would later find out that this entire experience caused her to have a stroke, and not being able to move gave her a lot of time to think. There were a ton of questions, but for now, she had to put them aside. McKay's remains would be brought back to Texas, and she had to start planning his funeral.

Paulette would later write in the book Deadly Betrayal, quote: Before McKay's burial, Paulette spent some alone time with her son's remains.

His casket was blue with an Elvis Presley blanket draped over top. Carl made sure to spray some of McKay's cologne on the blanket just so they could smell his scent. And before he was lowered into the ground, Carl took a magic marker and wrote on his casket, quote, Thank you for gracing my life. I miss the grit fights. End quote. We had all sorts of little services available.

We had a deal of life downtown. Then we had a grave site, a little funeral on the grave site. And so we have a grave site. And then, Courtney, it wasn't long after that, we got a call from a forensic lab out of Louisiana. And they told us, they said, what would y'all like to do with the, we found some of McKay on the ship. What?

We found tougher hairs, bone. They just named off the things, you know. And they said, well, what would y'all like to do? Well, Carla never agreed with, you know, cremation. I don't have a problem with it.

And now that McKay was fully back home and put to rest, the Everetts had to prepare for trial.

Following Hilton's arrest, the prosecution worked hard to gather all of the evidence they could to get a conviction. And they found a lot. So let's walk you through that evidence and what they believed happened on September 12th, 1995. After Hilton told McKay that his parents were hurt, the two sped down the road in his gold Chrysler. But a few minutes into the drive, after Hilton called Irene Flores...

McKay started asking questions. He could tell that something was wrong. Hilton was acting strange, being evasive, and McKay was demanding answers. From here, Hilton pulls the car over, hits McKay in the head, and throws him in the trunk of his car. The blow likely knocked McKay out, but as Hilton continued down I-45 towards Louisiana, he eventually came to.

There was blood coming from the cut in his face. And that very blood would get all over the lining in Hilton's trunk. But once McKay realized what was happening, he started to scream. He screamed and he kicked and he tried to pry his way out of the trunk for hours. Which obviously he was terrified. Well, it was a fighter too. When somebody lies to you, what does it do to you?

Well, it kind of fires me up. Absolutely. Absolutely it does. I don't take kindly to that. Give me the truth. I can make good decisions with the truth. Don't lie to me. It's hard not to think about what was going through McKay's mind while he was back there. The betrayal he must have felt. Evidence would later show that McKay had been trying to claw his way out of the trunk. There were deep scratches in the trunk's material.

McKay had also shoved something in between the top of the trunk and the weather stripping. There was a large indentation where he had been trying to remove the gasket. Sadly, he almost got it open too. But as Hilton was driving, he started to get anxious. McKay was making a lot of noise back there, and he was driving by hundreds of other cars on the freeway.

If anyone heard the screams of a child in his trunk, he would go to jail and his entire life would be over. Later, Carl asked Crawford's wife, why did Hilton hurt McKay? And her reply was, very matter of fact, McKay got too loud. McKay got too loud. Hilton Crawford was so scared of getting caught, he decided to give up on the ransom plan.

And now he just needed to get McKay out of his hands and head back home. So he pulls over again, grabbing what many believe was a large metal flashlight. And when no one was looking, he opened the trunk and beat McKay in the head, crushing his skull. From here, Hilton drove to Whiskey Bay. He pulled McKay out of the trunk and then dragged his body to an area with dense underbrush.

It's possible McKay was already dead, but just to make sure, he pulled out his .45 and shot him twice, once in the neck and once in the chest. Then Hilton got in his car and sped away, leaving McKay's body in the swamplands to be ravaged by wild animals.

When Paulette heard the details of her son's murder, she was devastated. She would later tell the show, "Evil lives here." People always say, "McKay was abducted and murdered." But there's a word in the middle. "McKay was abducted, tortured, and murdered." This was not a painless ordeal at all. Can you imagine the emotional damage to a child being treated like that? I look back to it now, and it's evil. Total evil. That is Satan walking.

After dumping McKay's body, Hilton drove the two hours back to Beaumont, Texas. And at 4 a.m., he checked into a Best Western. Now, he would only stay in the room for about three hours. We aren't sure what he did inside of the room, but we do know that he called his wife at around 6.30 a.m. and then checked out at 7.33 a.m.

Then from here, he would drive to Buena, Texas. Hilton not only had the murder weapon on him, but he also had blood in his trunk, and he knew he couldn't return to Conroe, Texas until he took care of that. So he pulled up to his friend Billy Allen's storage facility. And as a little side note, this friend Billy had actually been in contact with Hilton's wife earlier that morning.

It's unclear exactly what they talked about, but we do know that Connie gave Billy Hilton's phone number, which is interesting because if you remember the night before, Carl Everett called her trying to get in contact with Hilton, but Connie claimed she didn't know her husband's phone number. So it's very interesting that the next morning she suddenly remembers it.

And the reason this is suspicious is because Billy Allen would help Hilton hide evidence in this case. On the morning of September 13th, Hilton met up with Billy at a storage facility. And once there, he asked him if he could keep some things in his storage room. Now, Billy claims that Hilton made up this story about how a security guard of his got shot during an armed robbery. Hilton said that there was a shootout.

The robber got away, but his guard got shot in the arm. And he said that his security guard technically wasn't supposed to have a gun, so he needed to hide the gun there until everything blew over. And Billy Allen agrees to it. From here, Hilton goes to the trunk of his car. They get the .45, put it into a little bag, and hide it in Billy's unit.

But that's not all Hilton would do. He then says that he needs to take the lining out of his trunk because when the security guard got shot, Hilton drove him to the guard's parents' house, but he didn't want to get blood in his car, so he made the security guard get in the trunk. So Billy handed Hilton a screwdriver. He removed the lining of his trunk

and then proceeded to burn it in a fire at the storage facility. Billy would later say that Hilton was only there for about 30 minutes and to thank him for everything, Hilton gifted him a bottle of champagne. Now, before you start thinking that Billy was an innocent person trying to help out a friend, it's important to know that this wasn't his first time hiding evidence for Hilton Crawford. In January of 1993,

Hilton filed an insurance claim for his stolen car that had expensive jewelry inside. He claimed the car was worth $20,000 and the jewelry was worth $46,000. And Allstate Insurance fully paid it off. Well, as it turns out, Hilton's car wasn't stolen. It was sitting in Billy's storage unit. In fact, as they were hiding the gun there, Hilton's car was still inside.

So I think that alone proves that Billy knew more than he was letting on and burns bloody car mats unless they're involved in some shady business. Hilton knew that he could always turn to Billy if he needed help. But after hiding and destroying the evidence, Hilton calls a car dealership in Conroe and asks them about replacing the lining in his trunk.

He said that his got wet so he threw it away and he wanted to know how much it would cost to get a new one. Then about an hour later, Hilton called the dealership again and spoke with a different employee.

This time, however, he was wanting to know how to remove the emblem off the back of his car. Like we mentioned earlier, Hilton had been in contact with his wife several times throughout this entire ordeal, and she likely told him about the description of the car seen leaving the Everett's house that night. So Hilton was really trying to get that emblem off.

When he called the dealership, he spoke with an employee who suggested using acrosol to remove the emblem. And he tried, but he didn't do a great job. Now, after removing the emblem, Crawford would stop by the dry cleaners.

He told the owner, David Friday, that his name was Lewis Crawford and that he needed a shirt cleaned. David said that when he handed the shirt over, it felt stiff and dirty, almost like it had been sprayed with salt spray. But when they took it to the back, they noticed several spots of what looked like blood, and that blood would later come back as McKay Everett's.

Now, keep in mind, Hilton told investigators that he was in Lufkin on the night of McKay's disappearance. So, he needed an alibi. After taking his shirt to the dry cleaners, he called his employee named Gail Vose.

Hilton was Gail's supervisor, and he asked him if he could vouch for him and say that he was at work on the night of September 12th. Gail told him that he didn't feel comfortable doing that since he never physically saw Hilton that night. So since that didn't work out, Hilton called another employee of his and asked them the same thing, but no one was willing to give him an alibi that night. Hilton was frantic trying to get away with this crime, but the FBI was right on his tail. When they impounded his car, they noticed that he was shaking, visibly nervous,

And he had every right to be. Crime scene technicians used luminol on the trunk of Hilton's car, which is a chemical substance used to reveal blood splatter. And even though Hilton had tried to clean it, the trunk lit up with spots of blood. The book Deadly Betrayals said the blood spots looked like twinkling stars on a clear summer night. It was clear that McKay had been bludgeoned back there. They also found blood in the spots where McKay had been trying to pry the trunk open and on the armrest next to the driver's seat.

Shortly after this, the FBI would speak with Irene Flores and then the following morning Hilton would be arrested. And once word got out about his arrest, his good friend Billy Allen knew that he would be in big trouble if he was caught with a murder weapon at his storage facility. So he came forward and told investigators about the gun. He also told them about the ridiculous security guard story that Hilton had allegedly told him about why he needed to hide the gun there. And Paulette told us that since he gave that over, he didn't get in any trouble.

It was quickly becoming clear that the Crawfords, and this ring of people associated with them, were criminals. And the scariest part of it all was that they all seemed so normal.

These people were respected in our community, when in reality they had complete disregard for the life of a child. There was one of the FBI agents looked at me one day and said, "Ms. Paulette, there is an evil that walks this earth that is beyond our comprehension." I won't ever forget those words.

As long as my memory serves me. We're so naive and we just want to tiptoe around and think everything's wonderful. And we don't want to deal with the fact that we need to be on guard. And now we're going to take our first and only ad break.

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- And now let's get back to today's story. - Now after Hilton's arrest, he would plead not guilty. He would also give investigators an elaborate story on his version of events. According to Hilton, R.L. Remington was the one who killed McKay, not him. He said he met Remington in 1993 at a horse track called Louisiana Downs. And there they exchanged business cards.

He said they talked a few times, but then randomly in June of 1995, Remington called Hilton and asked if he wanted to make some fast money. The plan was to kidnap someone and make a couple hundred thousand dollars. And he said that the best part about it was that no one gets hurt. Hilton claimed that he thought about it for a while and decided they should do it.

So he hired Irene Flores to make the call and on September 12th, Hilton and Remington met up at a jewelry store in Conroe. There, Remington showed him a police uniform and he put it on so that he could pretend he was a police officer and McKay would be more likely to leave with him.

Now, side note, we already know that this isn't true because McKay wouldn't have opened the door for a stranger, even if that person was in uniform. And we know that because that very scenario happened about a year before his kidnapping. But Hilton said that he and Remington drove to the Everett's house and Remington dressed up as a police officer knocked on the back door of the Everett's home. McKay opened it.

and Hilton watched as Remington lunged at him and put a hood over McKay's head. They then put him in the trunk and started making their way to Louisiana. Hilton said at about 11.45 that night, McKay started making a lot of noise in the trunk, and it kept getting louder and louder. So Remington told him to pull over, and as soon as Hilton did, Remington went to the trunk, and then he heard a loud thump.

and McKay went quiet. From here, they met another car, which Hilton claimed was a 1994 burgundy Cadillac, driven by a white male. Remington instructed Hilton to follow the car, and eventually it pulled over into Whiskey Bay. At that point, Remington gets angry, and he starts talking about how the plan went awry.

Once they pulled up to the secluded swamplands, Remington and the other male in the Cadillac grab McKay by his hands and feet, drag him out into the grass, and they shoot him. Hilton claimed that he was not a part of the shooting.

even though McKay was killed with his own gun that was registered to him. But from here, Hilton claimed that Remington told him to drive back home and not say a word to anyone or he would kill his family. And so he did.

Now, the FBI looked for this R.L. Remington and they were never able to find him. It's also very convenient that this guy did all of the dirty work and all Hilton had to do was drive the car. Paulette would later say that she doesn't believe Hilton's version of events. Even if this Remington guy was a part of it, she knows for a fact that Hilton was the one who kidnapped McKay. He came to my back door.

And he was to benefit. It's also important to mention that investigators made a composite sketch of Remington based on Hilton's description. And soon after, a man came in and told the FBI that he had met Hilton on the horse tracks. And on a few occasions, Hilton mentioned wanting his help carrying out a plan that involved a boy. This man said that he told Hilton he wanted nothing to do with it.

And interestingly enough, the FBI said that this man looked just like the Remington description. So it's likely that Hilton just thought of someone he knew at the horse tracks and decided to create this elaborate story putting the blame on him.

And I'd have to assume that the FBI thoroughly looked into this guy and he was clearly never prosecuted. So it's widely believed that Hilton just made it all up to take the blame off of himself.

now paulette and carl had to wait nearly a year for his trial to start something that they didn't really expect according to the book deadly betrayal paulette said quote carl and i thought that once hilton was indicted for capital murder trial would start right away i had no sense of how the criminal justice system works i had to rely on the district attorney's office to keep me informed and they were usually busy i had no idea that hilton would sit in jail for almost a year before his actual trial

Everything just took so long to occur. It was depressing. It was tough, real tough, to go on living with my grief, knowing Hilton was sitting in jail and watching television, trying to figure out a way to get off. This just killed me. End quote. But Paulette made sure to attend all of the pretrial hearings. And at one of them, Hilton actually said something to Paulette. The pretrial was in Huntsville, which is however many miles away, 35 or so.

And I was there. Carl was at work. And they sent a detective to kind of be there with me. And I was sitting right at the railing, and it was in a small little room. It wasn't in a big room. And they were doing the pretrial hearings and jury selection and things like that. And they brought him in, and he leaned over the rail and got in my face and said,

if you would, you know, say the word. And my response was good morning. And the detective was a big, big guy. And he just, and back then I made me a hundred pounds and he lifted me up under my arms and picked me up over that seat and said, you can't do that. I said, I just did. Yes. Well, that let me know that he harbored

intense raging anger. Welcome to the real world, buddy. So do I now.

When we heard that part of the story, we were just shocked. I mean, this guy murdered her only child for nothing and then had the audacity to say fuck you to her? What a disgusting human being. But as the prosecution and defense geared up for trial, everyone in Conroe was ready for what many would call the trial of the century. It seemed like the whole town was following this case.

including my parents, grandparents, their friends, everyone. This was the biggest crime Conroe had seen since Cheryl Ferguson was murdered in Conroe High School, which we talked about in episode 105. But Hilton Crawford's trial would start on July 8th, 1996, and the prosecution started with a powerful opening statement. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, lock the door and turn on the alarm.

That is the last thing Paulette Everett told her son, McKay. Don't talk to strangers. Don't open the door for a stranger. Don't let strangers in the house. You don't know what evil lurks in the heart of a stranger. The evidence will show, however, that evil towards McKay lurked not in the heart of a stranger, but behind the face of a friend. The face of Hilton Crawford, or Uncle Hilty, as McKay called him.

Over the next few days, the prosecution brought forward many witnesses, including Carl and Paulette, friends and neighbors of theirs, Elizabeth Schaefer, the little girl who was talking on the phone with McKay right before he was kidnapped. And day after day, the jury was starting to get a clear picture of what happened back in September of 1995. Paulette was there every day, having to relive the worst week of her entire life.

But the worst day was when they talked about McKay and the trunk. The prosecution talked about how McKay had been back there for hours, trying to claw his way out. They talked about the indentions in the trunk, where he had been trying to remove the gasket. And they told the jury that if he were to have had 10 more minutes back there, he probably could have even escaped. Hearing this was more than Paulette was able to handle.

The thought of her baby afraid, fighting for his life in the trunk of the car was unbearable. Involuntarily, she started to scream in the courtroom. Here is a little clip of that. That is just so hard to listen to, but I think it's important to hear.

Paulette would later describe this horrific moment at trial saying, quote, "When I heard the witnesses talk about guns, bullets, and my child's blood, and poor body, and what he went through, I thought I would die right there in that courtroom. It was awful, and nothing, I mean nothing, prepared me for that. I thought I was going to collapse when I heard what happened to McKay in terms of the hard evidence. I knew that it was necessary to nail Hilton's coffin shut.

Now, towards the end of trial, many people associated with Hilton Crawford testified that he was a good guy. They said he was a friend to many, always willing to lend a helping hand.

They talked about how he used to volunteer, coach little league baseball, how he was a loving husband and devoted father. But the prosecution would soon prove that this wasn't the real Hilton Crawford. Sure, that was the impression he gave off to people, but in reality, he was a crook. They told the jury that Hilton had hidden a car in Billy Allen's storage, all so he could file a $66,000 insurance claim.

Billy Allen testified that he did hide the car for Hilton, but again, he claimed that he had no idea there was any illegal activity going on with it. He said he had no idea it was reported stolen, which many people in the courtroom didn't believe. Billy Allen is also the one who hid the gun and helped Hilton burn the bloody car mats, so he clearly wasn't a stand-up guy himself.

They also brought forward a witness named Sam Petro, who was Hilton's former business partner. They had a private security business together. Sam provided the funds to get the business up and running, but Hilton had the expertise in security. And at first, they seemed to work well together. But then one day, Sam ran an audit on the business, and it was clear that there was some internal theft going on. Sam looked into it a little further, and he found that an employee of theirs was paying security guards who weren't even on the payroll.

Other times, they were writing checks for people that didn't even exist. Now, we weren't able to find the name of the girl who was embezzling money, but they later discovered that she stole $60,000 from their company. Sam Petro was angry, and he wanted to pursue legal action against this employee, but Hilton Crawford refused.

He said that the girl's father was a big client of theirs, so he wanted to keep things quiet and did not want any trouble. Which is so strange because he was going out of his way to protect someone that stole a lot of money from them.

Now, this next part is very interesting, but the next person the prosecution called to the stand was a man named James Gaffney, who was the older brother of the girl who embezzled the money from the security company. James Gaffney was a drug dealer who was in prison at the time, but he testified that shortly after all of this,

Hilton Crawford reached out to him because he "wanted to dispose of his business partner." Hilton Crawford asked James Gaffney if he could shoot and kill Sam Petro. Gaffney said that he told Hilton he would have to think about it. Then over the next few weeks, Hilton called him multiple times trying to convince him to do it. Eventually, Hilton even met up with him and gave him a loaded revolver to use in the murder.

and Hilton had it all planned out. The three of them were all going to meet up in one location, and when San Petro got there, Hilton was going to have him roll down his window, and that's when James Gaffney would shoot and kill him. He said Hilton instructed him to, quote, shoot him at least twice, and then hurry up and get out of there.

But Gaffney said that he eventually got cold feet and decided to decline the offer. But this story is very interesting because Hilton had no issues with San Petro until he found out about the money embezzled from their company. And then suddenly he wants to have him murdered? I don't know about you, but to me it seems like Hilton may have had some involvement in that embezzlement.

Now, another witness brought forward was Hilton's youngest son, Kevin. In the weeks after McKay's death, investigators tore into the Crawford's family finances. And what they found was shocking. Kevin Crawford was an adult at this point. And like many adults, he had some credit cards. Two, to be specific.

Well, when investigators searched the Crawfords' home, they found 11 other credit cards in Kevin's name that were all in Hilton's possession. While on the stand, the prosecutor told Kevin, quote, "'Tell the jury how much total had been run up without your knowledge fraudulently by your father on your credit cards that you didn't know about.'" Kevin responds, "'Seventy-five thousand dollars.'"

That's right, in the months before McKay's kidnapping, from June to September, Hilton had spent $75,000 on credit cards that were in his son's name, which today would equal about $145,000 when you consider inflation. Now with this story, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Hilton Crawford was an evil human being.

Not only did he have complete disregard for the Everetts, his former business partner, but now his own son. From here, the prosecutor asks Kevin Crawford, quote, Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

I babysat him occasionally. When he came over, I'd show him how to use computers. Did he seem to you to be a pretty smart little boy? Yes, he was. He was real smart. Do you think McKay trusted your father? Yes, sir. Your daddy violated that trust, didn't he? Yes, sir. Following that question, there was a hush in the courtroom.

That question alone encapsulated the entire trial and what it represented. Hilton Crawford betrayed the trust of a child. He let the Everetts down. He let his own children down. And now he would face the consequences. The jury left for deliberation on July 19th, 1996. And just 60 minutes later, they reached a verdict.

Hilton Crawford was guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death by lethal injection. In Paulette's victim impact statement, she turned to Crawford and said, "I do not have to answer to Hilton's actions. I cannot speak for Hilton. I try to imagine what McKay would say to Hilton if he were here to speak. Words fail me. Silence speaks at my house."

And from here, Hilton Crawford was taken away to death row

at the Texas State Prison in Huntsville. As for the ransom caller, Irene Flores, she was actually on parole at the time of her arrest for distribution of cocaine. So she ended up pleading guilty to a kidnapping charge and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. But in 2018, just two years before her sentence was up, she was released on parole. And that's the last that we hear of her. Now, as we know, the death penalty is not an easy and quick process.

Hilton would live another seven years after his conviction. But even though the trial was over and many people moved on with their lives, the Everetts were still in the thick of their grief. After McKay's death, their lives were turned upside down. Their home that McKay grew up in was now quiet, and both Carl and Paulette felt a lot of guilt about what happened to their son. They frequently asked themselves, what if?

What if I had stayed home that night? What if McKay escaped? But at the end of the day, they couldn't turn back time. This was their new reality. Soon enough, Carl and Paulette drifted apart. Many spouses do, after the loss of a child. And in 1998, they would separate.

But a couple of years later, however, while Hilton was still on death row, Paulette would marry a man named Wayne Norman, who was a former counselor. And she continued to go to her own counseling, both mental and physical. And that began my journey of several years of physical therapy and getting my speech back and learning how to cope with a quiet house situation.

But I knew that I was in for the fight of my life. Not just because I'd lost my cake, but I'd also taken a hit to my health. Over the years, Paulette worked on healing, taking it day by day.

Then in February of 2003, she got a letter in the mail informing her that Hilton Crawford's execution date was scheduled for July 2nd, 2003, the day she had been waiting for for nearly eight years.

In the seven years Hilton Crawford was on death row, he claimed to have found God, and that he even led some of the other inmates to Christ. He also said that he wished Paulette would forgive him, but there's a wall between us. If I was on the other side, I don't know if I could, I just pray. I can understand. Now, on June 26, 2003, about a week before his execution, Hilton would do an interview with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, where he stuck by his story that he did not kill McKay Everett.

Until his dying day, Hilton Crawford claimed that R.L. Remington pulled the trigger and that the entire time he was under the impression that McKay wouldn't get hurt. Which is interesting because he was a former police officer, so he should definitely have known that most kidnappings end in violence. He also said something cryptic about his alleged accomplice. Hilton told reporters, "...I know where Remington is. He's in France. I've got an address. It will all be made clear in information to be released after I die."

This had a lot of people wondering whether or not Hilton was telling the truth. But all of these years later, nothing has ever come out. Now, he ended the interview by saying that he did what he did because his family's lives were being threatened because of the amount of gambling debt he had. And that, coupled with other money issues and bad business deals, led him to have poor judgment. As the days neared closer to Hilton's death, Paulette went back and forth on whether or not she wanted to attend the execution.

but she ultimately decided to go. If you had ever told me I would do that, I would have said, I don't think so. But I did, and I did not feel remorse or hurt or feel sorry for him or anyone involved. Anywhere along the way, he could have turned that car around. Anywhere along the way.

On the afternoon of July 2nd, Paulette and Wayne left Huntsville to watch the execution of Death Row's second oldest inmate, 64-year-old Hilton Crawford.

For his last meal, he had 12 beef ribs, 3 enchiladas, chicken fried steak, a bacon sandwich, a loaf of bread, cobbler, 3 Cokes, 3 root beers, french fries, and onion rings. Following his meal, he was put into a van and driven to the Huntsville Death House. Just a few minutes before 6:00 PM, Paulette was brought into the viewing room.

There was a glass window with steel bars that separated her from the execution room. And on the other side, lying on a light green gurney, was Hilton Crawford. He turned his head towards Paulette, and once their eyes met, he smiled at her. She did not smile back. From here, the people in the viewing room took their seat. Some were there to support Hilton in his final moments.

Notably missing from the room was Hilton's family and Carl Everett. They didn't wish to see him die, but Paulette was glad she decided to go. At 6pm, the room got quiet, and once Hilton was hooked up to the IVs, the warden asked if he had any last words. Here is what he said.

Yes, sir. First of all, I would like to ask Sister Teresa to send Connie a yellow rose. I want to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for the years I have spent on death row. They have been a blessing in my life. I have had the opportunity to serve Jesus Christ and I am thankful for the opportunity. I would like to thank Father Walsh for having become a Franciscan and all the people from all over the world who have become my friends.

It has been a wonderful experience in my life. I would like to thank Chaplain Lopez and my witnesses for giving me my support and love. I would like to thank the nuns in England for their support.

I want to tell my sons I love them. I have always loved them. They were my greatest gifts from God. I want to tell my witnesses, Tani, Rebecca, Al, Leo, and Dr. Blackwell, that I love all of you and I am thankful for your support. I want to ask Paulette for forgiveness from your heart. One day, I hope you will. It is a tragedy for my family and your family. I am sorry. My special angel, I love you. And I love you, Connie. May God pass me over to the kingdom's shore softly and gently."

I am ready. From here, the warden nodded his head and Hilton Crawford was given the first dose of his lethal injection. For 60 seconds, he laid there, awaiting death until he drifted off to sleep. Then they administered the second dose. Paulette watched his chest and noticed his breathing was becoming more shallow. Then his face turned from pink to a bluish tint.

And finally, at 6:19 PM, Hilton Crawford was declared dead. I asked Paulette if she felt any relief watching him die. I was glad to know that he was gone and that no other child would be at risk at his hands.

Members of the press would ask Paulette some questions outside of the prison, and she used this opportunity to tell the media about her new foundation, the McKay Foundation, which works to help children learn about personal safety. The foundation was put in place to help children learn about the dangers of child predators and how often those predators are people close to home.

Paulette went on to tell the media that Hilton's last words were meaningless and that even in his dying breath, he was still distancing himself from the crime. And yes, he apologized to her, but he didn't even mention McKay. Lastly, the reporters asked if she forgave Hilton, and her response was, quote, "...forgiveness is God's job." End quote. Following Hilton's execution, Paulette did her best to carry on with life.

She started teaching again at an elementary school in Willis called A.R. Turner. And that's where I met her when I was in the second grade. And something that really stood out to me is that this was back in 2004, just one year after Hilton's execution. Now, I didn't have her as my teacher, but my cousins and friends did. And so many of them said that Ms. Norman was one of the best teachers they ever had.

She always instilled confidence in them and pushed them to use their imagination. My aunt told me this story about how her mom died that year and my cousin was supposed to have a lead in this play, but he couldn't attend the play because he had to go to the funeral. So Ms. Norman set up a private play just for our family so that my cousin could still be a part of it.

And I think that's just such a testament to the kind of person Paulette is. These were the worst years of her entire life and somehow she was still making such a difference in children's lives. Now, sadly, on April 1st, 2011, Carl Everett passed away from a heart attack at the age of 58, which is another heartbreaking part of the story because he had a wife and young daughter at the time.

but many people found comfort in the fact that he was finally reunited with McKay. He and Paulette had lost contact over the years, but after his death, his wife asked if he could be buried next to his son, and of course, Paulette agreed.

Courtney and I actually went by their graves a couple of months back and left some flowers. And there were little pennies and notes that people left on the tombstone, which shows that people around Conroe still think of the Everetts all these years later. Now, most people would think that after Hilton's execution, that would be the final chapter in this horrific story. But sadly, that wasn't the case.

After McKay's death, investigators brought Carl and Paulette in and they let them know that throughout their investigation, they learned that Hilton wasn't the only person tied to this crime.

Now, Paulette obviously knew about Billy Allen, the one who helped hide evidence, but she also learned that Hilton's wife was tied to it as well. The FBI called us in one day and the FBI said, they took us to their conference room and I said, what's the purpose of this? And on the table, it's a big conference table, on the table, there were all sorts of documents. And they said, well, we want you

and Carl to sit down and we want you to read these because we want you to see how bad all these people are. It was down to family, friends, people who were already, you know, being incriminated in it. And they said, we want you to see how bad these people are.

And I look back on it and I think they, I think, wanted us to not go soft or not have that moment where we felt sorry for any involved. They wanted us to see. It was a real eye opener. These people, the Crawfords as a family and friends.

all their friends that were into horse racing and being at the track and a lot of what, they were already all under investigation for illegal activities at the track. Part of these documents that Carl and Paulette got to read had to do with Crawford's wife. They learned that on the night of McKay's abduction, investigators asked Connie if she knew anyone with a gold Chrysler.

And she told them no. Now, we already know that a huge part of this crime had to do with that gold Chrysler. And believe it or not, the car was actually registered to her. So the fact that she told police that she didn't know anyone with a gold Chrysler is very suspicious.

Paulette also learned that Connie admitted to authorities that she spoke to Hilton on the phone while he had McKay. So she knew that Hilton had taken McKay, but she didn't say anything to anyone. And let's also not forget about the fact that after McKay was dead, she called Billy Allen and gave him Hilton's phone number so that Hilton could hide evidence.

Even though she claimed the night before that she didn't know Hilton's phone number. Hilton's wife also knew that McKay was dead before anyone knew he was dead. If you remember, she ran out screaming that he was dead and by that point Hilton hadn't even confessed.

Now, according to a DEA agent named Ron Lofton, Hilton's wife called him the morning after McKay was abducted and tried to create an alibi for Hilton. Now, this guy was immediately suspicious, so much so that he got an affidavit written up. But recently, when trying to locate that affidavit, the DEA can no longer find it. But it is interesting to note,

Let's also not forget the fact that both she and Hilton were looking at homes in Bentwater, telling the realtor that they were about to come into a lot of money. - So Paulette and Carl received all of this information and they were told by local law enforcement, the DA, and even the FBI that Hilton's wife was indeed connected to this crime. And they told them over 100 times that they were going to arrest and prosecute her.

But years and years would pass. Hilton was convicted, Irene Flores was convicted, then Hilton was executed, but she was never arrested. Paulette was informed that they already convicted the main perpetrators in this story, and they didn't want to spend money on having to prosecute anyone else. So she was free to move on with her life. It is mind-boggling how adults, how a, how adults,

other adults covered for him and his wrongdoing. The enabling environment is toxic. There's a lot of undertow to this case. There's a lot of, there are several investigative reporters who have looked at documents and they're going, "Paulette, why was this person not prosecuted? Why was this person not prosecuted?" And I go, "You're asking the same questions now that I have asked for almost 28 years."

And I still don't have an answer because everybody has gone crickets. But now it's time to talk about McKay's case. It's time for us to ask the difficult questions. Why were certain people not prosecuted? Wow. And they're just, they continue to live on their life and... They think they got away with it. Another very interesting part of this story has to do with that stolen car.

Remember how Hilton claimed that $46,000 in jewelry was stolen along with the car? Well, as it turns out, Connie was seen wearing that jewelry after it was reported stolen. And she was wearing it to elementary school where she taught first grade.

Her co-workers there asked her how she got the jewelry back and she told them that Hilton found it at a pawn shop in town. Now it is very convenient that the jewelry was located and the stolen car was found in Billy Allen's storage. If you haven't already connected the dots, the Crawfords were clearly very corrupt and so were many of the people around them. Paulette and Carl had no idea that these people were criminals.

Of course they knew Hilton had a gambling problem, but they never thought that he would kill over it and that the elementary school teacher across the hall from her would help him cover it up. I mean, elementary school teachers are supposed to protect children. So it let me know too that there are people even in the field of education, and I don't like saying this because I am a master degree teacher myself,

But there are people in education who do not believe in the sanctity of childhood. I saw it. I dealt with it. I've lived with it.

But I look at what happened to McKay and I wake up every morning and I go, welcome to planet Earth. This is as good as it gets. If you don't like this, you're not going to like your study on planet Earth. This is it. We live in a depraved society. This Earth is depraved. And we have to be on guard for evil. That doesn't mean you can't go have fun. But I, if nothing else, if...

We can help one child not go through what McKay went through, one parent not go through what I or Carl went through, or one community not go through what this community went through. Because I do think it had a damaging effect on some of the children in that I think it can cause skepticism, distrust, anger,

It doesn't leave your mind. Things like what happened with McKay stick with you, just like you mentioned. It has stuck with you all these years.

Something interesting to note is that there were rumors going around the Conroe and Beaumont areas that the Crawfords were connected to the mafia. In fact, Paulette was speaking to a newscaster out of Beaumont, and they started talking about Connie. At that time, she had divorced Hilton and was going by her maiden name, Parigi. And when this newscaster heard that, he nearly levitated out of his chair. He asked Paulette, Do you know who you've been dealing with? The Parigis have mafia ties.

Now, this is just what the newscaster told her, but after hearing all of these stories of shady business deals, embezzlement, kidnappings, insurance fraud, and murder-for-hire plots, it's definitely believable. I was told, you know, that there was a mafia influence. That's why Hilton's behavior, Crawford's behavior, did not seem odd in their household. You know, when you grow up in a household like that, then those behaviors are not, they're considered normal, not abnormal.

Paulette also had some very scary experiences after Hilton's conviction that led her to believe that there may indeed be a mafia connection. For years, she was pressing for the other people involved to be prosecuted, and soon enough, she started getting stalked. For instance, she went to Germantown, Tennessee for therapy, and there was a man following her around the airport, accosting her.

She was scared and didn't really know what to think of it. But later that night when she got to the townhome she was staying at, the home's phone started ringing. She picked it up and at first, the caller asked her if she needed a chimney sweep. Confused, Paulette asked who it was. And they responded by asking her if she knew one of Hilton's witnesses at his trial. Paulette was terrified.

Especially since she didn't tell anyone she was in Tennessee. How did this person know she was there? How did they get the townhome's phone number? Paulette would later tell the FBI about this experience.

Following this experience, Paulette was on edge. She felt like Hilton's accomplices were keeping a close eye on her. But Carl didn't believe her.

That is until one day when a stranger knocked on Paulette's back door. I was on the phone with Carl because he would call home to check and see how I was doing. And so I went to the door and the guy had a spritz bottle and a little cloth. And he wanted to clean my rug, come in and clean the bad spots. Just let me in to clean just the worst spot. And went on and on, you know, this fast-talking salesman stuff.

And I said, well, I don't have any bad spots, but you have a great day. Well, he stepped forward and got in my face and said, I don't know why you won't let me clean your rug. Miss Crawford let me clean hers. You know Miss Crawford, don't you? And y'all, by this time, I am so cynical about criminals. I go, you want to play? Let's play. I said, I don't know a Miss Crawford. You have a great day.

And he took off. Well then, I blocked the door and got back on the phone with Carl and Carl said, "I'm on my way home." I said, "Do you believe me now?"

So it was clear to Carl and Paulette that people were trying to intimidate them so that they wouldn't keep pressing for Hilton's accomplices to be prosecuted. And because of all of this, there's a part of Paulette that thinks maybe Hilton's R.L. Remington story is true. If the Crawfords had ties to the Mafia, there very well may have been others that participated in the kidnap for ransom plot.

But the FBI and the DA quickly dismissed the R.L. Remington story because Hilton Crawford was prosecuted. And to them, at that point, their work was done. Even though they promised Carl and Paulette that others would be prosecuted as well, they never were. For years, they told Paulette not to speak out, in fact. To be patient and to keep quiet. But after 28 years, she's ready to tell her side of the story. And what did they tell me to do? Yeah.

Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet. Be quiet, be quiet, be quiet. I got shushed. I got shushed. I got shushed. And now I go, don't shush me. Now it's my turn. You had your turn. And you didn't do what you told Carl and me you were going to do. Now it's my turn. You know, I got asked last night, what do you really want? I said justice for McKay. Everyone involved, I want justice. The truth shall set you free. That's not going to make some people happy.

I didn't say anything about happiness. I said freedom. And I vowed I would bury a person with the truth. And believe it or not, there's stuff Paulette knows about this case that she's not even able to talk about yet. People that are connected directly to this crime. The other day, she said that she actually ran into one of these people at the store. And a person that was involved who has not wanted to step forward, who has covered, covered, covered Paulette.

And I told them one day on Father's Day in a store in Conroe, "I will bury you with the truth." - Paulette has remained quiet all of these years, but now she's ready for the truth to come out. Conroe, Texas appears to be a good, safe community when people like this are living among us, getting to move on with their lives. Paulette told us that she's getting older these days. Before she dies,

Her main wish is to leave breadcrumbs so that the truth will be revealed. Get to a point where you just go, "I just want the truth." You know, just let it, let the chips fall where they may. The truth sets us all free. Let's just deal with the truth. And now tell me why certain individuals were not arrested and prosecuted. Copyrighted a title the other day, "Promises to a Portrait."

I have a portrait of McKay and one of his little dogs. He called it the Dotted Dog Fleetwood. And I've made promises for 28 years to that portrait that you will have justice. After McKay's death, I can only imagine how difficult it was to be able to trust people afterwards. I mean, the Crawfords were family friends of theirs.

people that she thought had good intentions. And how did this whole story affect your ability to trust anyone? Was it very difficult? I became a verifier. It's not that I don't trust anyone.

And what's so unfortunate about this entire case is that it was all so pointless.

Hilton never got the money, the Everetts never got their son back, and in the end, it makes you question how Hilton ever thought he could pull this off. I mean, even if the Everetts did pay the ransom and McKay was returned back to his family, he knew Hilton Crawford, and McKay could have easily been able to identify him as the kidnapper.

In being a former police officer, Hilton should have known that ransoms hardly ever end up working out. Because that's so rare, too. It is rare. And extreme. It is crazy and extreme. I mean, because how can that work out well for any person?

person involved, and that means even the perpetrator. My favorite word is idiot. It's a great word. It's a great word. And, you know, you really meet some along the way in life. And this story goes on the whole life. The whole life. And anywhere along the way, that goes for any of us, anywhere along the way, even while Hiddleston had McKay in the car, he could have chosen

to turn that car around. Change your mind. Don't continue in a wrongful... Don't do that. And that's why I say it's a criminal mind. It does not think like normal human beings. We may...

I may have a goofy thought that races through my head, but I don't latch on to it and I don't hatch a plan. We all go, I'm frustrated with that person. I'd love to just wick-a-whack them, but we don't do that. And he latched on to it, and he allowed evil to come to rest on him. And that's one of the things the FBI said, that predators will have a plan A, B, C.

And we don't have a plan A, B, C of how to destroy their plan. But what child ever thinks they're going to have to fight for their life? They're thinking Cal jumped over the moon or Mary had a little lamb.

They're not thinking predator with a gun. I had said for years that if we had known that he was having financial trouble, and he had asked, we would have certainly done what we could. Well, I found out Carl did. He did. He helped him out. And look what a betrayal. Wow. Carl didn't tell me. You know when I found out that, Courtney? I found out that at the Walgreens about six weeks ago.

Really? The banker told me that Corhead co-signed a note with Hilton Grupper. What did you feel when you heard that? Did it make you more angry? Yes, I think I shook on the inside for about two days. I was livid because I thought, you lowlife. It's like the story couldn't get worse and then years later it does. You have no idea. I mean, I'm sitting on stuff right now that I can't talk about.

Now, earlier we mentioned that when McKay was buried, there were parts of his body that were left behind at a forensic lab. So when Paulette received the rest of his remains, she got them cremated. At my office in my home, at my feet are McKay's ashes and then God sent a little dog after McKay's death, Princess Penny. She was already named and, you know, I found her.

boatloads of pennies after McKay's death so her name being Princess Penny she was a toss-away dog I said I'll come and get her and so I went and got her and she lived I had her 15 of her 18 years she was three when I got her and so her ashes are at my feet too when I die and then um

So my ashes will be mixed with McKay's and Princess's, and then there's several places, one of which is in Wiggins, Mississippi, on a hilltop. And you can see for miles and see just the tops of the trees. And whenever I would drive McKay home, he would say, stop, Mom. Oh, he called me Woman. Stop, Woman. And he would say, this is the most beautiful place on earth.

And so that's where my ashes and his ashes and Princess's ashes will be. Now, just as a little background, we were doing this interview at my parents' house near Conroe. And at this point, we were wrapping things up. And one of the final questions I asked her was, do you ever feel McKay's presence? And as she was answering me, the front door to my parents' house opened.

all on its own. I will post the video of it on our Instagram because it's truly unexplainable. There was no one there. I don't know why the door would open, but take a look at the video because it is wild. But here is the audio. That's so beautiful. Do you feel McKay's presence with you? A lot of times she is.

And it's real odd because on their days when I go, I'm not sure I can put...

And we just thought that that was such a beautiful, wild little moment during our interview. I mean, we had been talking to Paulette for hours, over two hours at that point. We were at the very end. And right when we asked the question, do you ever feel McKay's presence? The door swung open. And we were like, yeah, I do.

completely by itself. As if somebody was standing right there, wanted to let the people in the room know that yes, they are still here. In fact, I have goosebumps even just talking about that moment right now. - When I just don't think I'm gonna make it another moment, I'll look over and there'll be a penny. And it is just the oddest thing I'll go, "Thank you, McKay."

I do, and I do believe in signs and wonders. And I was in New Orleans. I have some friends that live down there, and they kind of helped. They were a getaway place for me after McKay's death. And we were walking around.

And you know how the quarter has just little cubbies all along the way? And I saw a piece of paper fluttering on a window down one of the little alcove things. And we walked in and I looked. And on that piece of paper, somebody had written, there is no way to judge the length of one's life. I told one of my friends, I said, this is a sign and wonder.

Because it is so true. Life is very, this earth is, we're here for a period of time, but not forever. We don't know. You know, the Bible tells us our days are numbered, but we don't know how many. It's true. I believe that we all have a God-given purpose. I have wondered, you know, what was Crawford's God-given purpose that he blundered? You know, what would it, what would it, could it have been?

as McKay's mom, it's not that I think I'm keeping McKay alive. I think all children are special, not just my son. Someone called me a fierce advocate for children, but that's been my battle cry. I believe all children are special and deserve opportunities and to be safe and nurtured and taught well.

and respected. All those good things. So if I can talk about my son and let others know that it's not just him that I speak up for, it's not just McKay that I advocate for, it's all children. And I think that that's one of the reasons that I'm still here for how long, who knows?

But as long as I am, I will speak up. I will not be shushed no more. It's my turn now. Hey, everybody. It's Colin here. This was such an amazing episode. We want to thank Paulette again for sharing her story with us. We are actually currently working on a full length documentary about this case that's going to be posted to my YouTube channel soon. So be on the lookout for that.

What a crazy story. What a sad story. And yeah, once again, thank you so much to Paulette for coming out and for being so brave and sharing her story with us. Well, I want to share some updates with y'all. We have actually revamped the Patreon. We gained so many new patrons this week. I'm going to shout some of y'all out. Nella Mae Salazar, High Priority, Sarah, Gonzalo Salas, Lauren, Josh, Laura Pentea, Jasmine Jamison, Piper May, Felix Peterson, Madeline Wiggins,

Oh my god, we didn't even get through literally a quarter of all of you new patrons. We are going to keep shouting you guys out week by week, so we're just a little backlogged right now, but...

As a major update, all of our patrons who signed up last week already heard this episode. This episode was posted last Friday and we're about to post next week's episode on our Patreon in the next day or two. So yeah, if you want to get early access to all of our shows, you want to get the ad free versions of our shows, go sign up on patreon.com. We are also, if you are a $10 or $20 patron, we are posting bonus episodes. Our first bonus episode is officially out on Patreon. It's a 40 minute long episode.

And we have another one coming this week. So if you subscribe to the higher tiers, you get more content. Anyways, you can follow us on Instagram at Murder in America. You know, Courtney and I love y'all so damn much. And yeah, we will catch you next week. And thanks for listening. See you guys later.

Thank you.

Well, well, well, a visitor.

Make yourself at home and feel free to explore my establishment. Each visit to my shop will unleash a sordid tale about the many relics curated within. Every one darker than the next, I'm afraid.

Welcome to the antiquarium of sinister happenings and odd goings on. I can smell your intestines. I'm scaring her, aren't I? If you are uncomfortable with the supernatural, the occult, or exploring other realms, I encourage you to stop listening to this immediately. It's the last in afternoon. I'm in my walk. I want to go home. Terrible things happen when we talk about him too much. Take that! Take that!

and assume zero liability as per store policy. No exception. Thank you, and have a great day. Find the antiquarium of sinister happenings online at bloody.fm and wherever you do come home to. It was late in the afternoon when the professor and I took our way towards the east, whence I knew Jonathan was coming. Jonathan Harker has asked me to note this, as he says he is hardly equal to the task.

and he wants an exact record kept. Dear Madame Mina, I have read your husband's so wonderful diary. Strange and terrible as it is, it is true. I will pledge my life on it. God, preserve my sanity. For to this I am reduced. Safety and the assurance of safety are things of the past. I am in hopes that I shall see more of you at Castle Dracula.

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