Murder is an infrequent visitor to Escondido. The year Stephanie Crowe was slain, there was only one other homicide in the city of about 120,000. The nightmare began for the Crowe family on Jan. 21, 1998, when Stephanie was found stabbed to death on her bedroom floor.Coverage of the case grew exponentially in the days to follow when her brother, Michael, then 14, and two of his friends, Joshua and Aaron , were charged with conspiring to kill her. About 4:30 p.m. Jan. 22, the day after his 12-year-old sister, Stephanie, was found stabbed to death, Michael Crowe was ushered into a room on the second floor of the Escondido Police Department headquarters. Michael had been interrogated for almost 2 1/2 hours by this point, immediately the lead investigator began talking about physical evidence.The interview ended about 3 1/2 hours after it started. Michael Crowe was returned to the Polinsky Children's Center. A social worker there would recall later that Michael was emotionally drained, so tired he could barely walk. Yet detectives weren't through with him. Detectives would have Michael in the interrogation room quite a few more times (22 hours total of taped interrogation). The had twisted with they belived to be the truth to get a confession out of Michael. When he did confess he was charged with murder. Later those charges were dropped when new evidence linked a Transient named Richard Tuite. 6 years later Richard Tuite was charged, tired and convicted of voluntary manslauter of Stephanie Crowe.
Stephanie was a happy girl involved with her church. She volunteered at the Escondido Library's youth program and she was liked by everyone.
Stephanie was a happy girl involved with her church. She volunteered at the Escondido Library's youth program and she was liked by everyone.
Murder is an infrequent visitor to Escondido. The year Stephanie Crowe was slain, there was only one other homicide in the city of about 120,000. The nightmare began for the Crowe family on Jan. 21, 1998, when Stephanie was found stabbed to death on her bedroom floor.Coverage of the case grew exponentially in the days to follow when her brother, Michael, then 14, and two of his friends, Joshua and Aaron , were charged with conspiring to kill her. About 4:30 p.m. Jan. 22, the day after his 12-year-old sister, Stephanie, was found stabbed to death, Michael Crowe was ushered into a room on the second floor of the Escondido Police Department headquarters. Michael had been interrogated for almost 2 1/2 hours by this point, immediately the lead investigator began talking about physical evidence.The interview ended about 3 1/2 hours after it started. Michael Crowe was returned to the Polinsky Children's Center. A social worker there would recall later that Michael was emotionally drained, so tired he could barely walk. Yet detectives weren't through with him. Detectives would have Michael in the interrogation room quite a few more times (22 hours total of taped interrogation). The had twisted with they belived to be the truth to get a confession out of Michael. When he did confess he was charged with murder. Later those charges were dropped when new evidence linked a Transient named Richard Tuite. 6 years later Richard Tuite was charged, tired and convicted of voluntary manslauter of Stephanie Crowe.
Stephanie was a happy girl involved with her church. She volunteered at the Escondido Library's youth program and she was liked by everyone.
Stephanie was a happy girl involved with her church. She volunteered at the Escondido Library's youth program and she was liked by everyone.
