MCKINNEY, TX – A missing Texas woman who was last seen alive over a year ago has been found dead in her boyfriend’s refrigerator. Police documents reveal several threats made to the victim’s life by her boyfriend. Convicted with tampering intent to impair a human corpse, 41-year-old Chad Christopher Stevens is connected with 35-year-old Heather Louise Schwab’s demise, according to McKinney Police. Schwab, reported missing on June 28, hailed from a Dallas–Fort Worth suburb.
Execution of a search warrant on Stevens’ property led to the gruesome discovery of a body in the home refrigerator on November 12. Swathed in ample plastic wrap, the body was later identified as Schwab by the Collin County medical examiner’s office. Stevens confessed to police of Schwab dying in his house in July 2022 and hiding her body in the refrigerator, supposedly clueless about how to handle the situation.
Schwab’s estranged mother, Tammra, had reported Schwab as missing on July 28. According to the mother, Stevens was the last known companion of Schwab living together for several years. Tammra expressed concerns citing the abusive tendencies of Stevens and previous threats made by him about killing Schwab and concealing her body.
On “multiple occasions in the past,” Schwab had voiced her fears to her mother about Stevens potentially killing her and hiding her body, the arrest affidavit said. The affidavit also quoted a neighbor’s updates to Tammra of not seeing Schwab in the house for many months, that led Tammra to lodge the missing person report.
In initial interviews with detectives, Stevens feigned ignorance about Schwab’s disappearance and claimed not to have seen or heard from her for about a year. However, a breakthrough in the investigation came when Tammra reported receiving information from Stevens’ ex-wife claiming he had killed Heather Schwab and buried her in his backyard. When interviewed, the ex-wife revealed that she received this startling detail from a conversation her daughter had with Stevens.
Incremental evidence from a phone call between Stevens and his estranged daughter, where Stevens allegedly made death threats to her unborn child, pointed toward his potential guilt. Stevens purportedly questioned his daughter’s knowledge about the backyard and made cryptic comments about evading the law using his research about penalties for hiding a body.
Irregularities were noted in photographs of Stevens’ property, and another former girlfriend of Stevens confirmed his violent tendencies by recounting an assault incident involving the two from January.
Upon executing a search warrant at Stevens’ residence on November 12, a suspicious refrigerator was uncovered leading to Stevens’ arrest. Subsequent interviews revealed Schwab’s death in Stevens’ house and her body’s concealment in the refrigerator.
The arrest affidavit referenced a distress call involving Stevens and Schwab from August 2022 regarding a woman brandishing a firearm and a man yelling. Besides, Stevens admitted to the detectives about threatening to kill Schwab in more instances.
Currently held at the Collin County Detention Facility with a $150,000 bond, an attorney’s representation for Stevens remains unknown.