A man found himself in police custody after authorities discovered his ex-girlfriend’s deceased body inside a refrigerator at his residence.
Chad Christopher Stevens, 42, faced accusations of tampering with evidence and fabricating evidence related to the disposal of his ex-girlfriend, Heather Louise Schwab's body, according to the probable cause affidavit obtained by NBC DFW and reviewed by PEOPLE.
Upon executing a search warrant on Stevens' residence, investigators located a refrigerator in his kitchen wrapped in copious amounts of plastic wrap and suspiciously concealed with a piece of sheetrock, as detailed in the affidavit. Inside the refrigerator, they uncovered a small saturated human body positively identified as Heather by the Collin County medical examiner.
A spokesperson for Heather’s family expressed profound grief, stating they were "beyond grief-stricken and broken-hearted" and thanked the McKinney Police Department for their dedication in finding Heather.
Heather had been reported missing by her mother, Tammra Schwab, on June 28. Tammra, despite not having spoken to her daughter for a year, learned from a neighbor that Heather had not been in contact for months. Tammra shared details of Heather's abusive relationship with Stevens, where she feared for her daughter's life.
The investigation took a crucial turn on Nov. 3 when Tammra reported Stevens' ex-wife's claim that he had "killed Heather and buried her in his backyard." This information, traced to the ex-wife's daughter, prompted a search warrant, revealing anomalies in Stevens' backyard. Another ex-girlfriend came forward about a previous assault, resulting in an arrest warrant for Stevens and a subsequent search warrant leading to the discovery of Heather's body.
During questioning, Stevens admitted to hiding Heather's body in the refrigerator after her death on July 26, 2022, claiming he didn't know what to do. Detectives noted previous altercations between them and a police call in August 2022 indicating a disturbance.
Stevens, with a history of arrests, including theft, driving while intoxicated, and assault, was charged with tampering with evidence and booked at the Collin County Detention Facility with a $150,000 bond.
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