The body of a missing Texas woman was found wrapped in plastic wrap and stuffed inside her boyfriend’s refrigerator on Sunday, a report said.
Heather Schwab, 35, was reported missing back in June by her estranged mother, who told cops that she hadn’t spoken to her daughter in a year because of Schwab’s drug use, among other things.
She was also scared that Schwab’s boyfriend — 42-year-old Chad Stevens — was abusive and might even kill her, according to Fox 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth.
Unfortunately, the mom’s fears became reality when Stevens’ ex-wife contacted her and said the man killed Schwab and buried her in the backyard.
Police in McKinney, Texas got a search warrant for Stevens’ home on Nov. 6 and found a horrific scene inside his house.
The entrance to the kitchen had been walled off from the rest of the home with sheetrock, the arrest affidavit said. When cops busted through the sheetrock, they found the woman’s body wrapped in “copious amounts of plastic wrap” and shoved in the fridge.
It was unclear how she died.
After police found the corpse, Stevens told them that Schwab died in late July. He put her in the fridge because he didn’t know what else to do, Fox said.
He told investigators several stories about what happened, eventually claiming Schwab died three days after she fell in the shower and hit her head, the station said.
However, the narrative was different from what Stevens told investigators in June when he said that Schwab left him and he didn’t know where she’d gone. He also gave neighbors a completely different story when they asked where Schwab went, claiming the woman died of cancer.
Cops have charged Stevens for tampering with evidence — although more charges are expected.
It’s not Stevens’ first run-in with the law. The Collin County man has a lengthy rap sheet that includes assault, theft and drug charges.
Cops were also called to the residence in August 2022 for a domestic violence incident after someone tipped them off that a man was screaming while a woman waved a gun in the air.
The arrest affidavit said authorities think it was the couple in question, Fox said.
Stevens also allegedly threatened to kill his daughter — and her unborn baby — earlier this year after she called to tell him he was going to be a grandfather.
Investigators interviewed both Stevens’ daughter and his ex, who now live in Oklahoma, the station said.
The two told cops about the incident, and that his daughter got angry and told him he needed to “watch what he says because she knew that his girlfriend [Schwab] had gone missing.”
“Oh, so you think I killed her?” Stevens allegedly responded, before asking a series of bizarre questions about what she knew about his actions.
His ex-wife and daughter also told police that he said he’d researched the penalties for hiding a body, and thought he would only serve five years in prison.