Body of Heather Schwab, missing Texas woman found at fridge at McKinney residence. Woman’s boyfriend, Chad Stephens arrested. Couple had volatile relationship. Suspect has lengthy criminal rap sheet.
The remains of a missing Texas woman last seen alive over a year ago were found stuffed in a refrigerator at her boyfriend’s home according to police.
Heather Louise Schwab, 35, was reported missing 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.
Police documents reveal the woman’s boyfriend, Chad Christopher Stevens, 41, allegedly threatening to kill the woman on several occasions.
Long criminal rap sheet dating back to 2001
At some point, Stevens’ ex-wife contacted Schwab’s mother to say Stevens killed Schwab and buried her in the backyard.
Police in McKinney, Texas, got a search warrant for Stevens’ home on Nov. 12 and found a horrific scene inside, McKinney Police said.
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 Schwab died in late July.
He put her in the fridge because he didn’t know what else to do, Fox 4 reported.
He told investigators several stories about what happened, eventually claiming Schwab died three days after she fell in the shower and hit her head.
However, the narrative was different from what Stevens told investigators in June when he said 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.
Of note, the Collin County man has a lengthy rap sheet that includes assault, theft, and drug charges, with WFAA reporting the man having no less than 26 charges dating back to 2001.
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.
‘Oh, so you think I killed her?’
The arrest affidavit said authorities think it was the couple in question, Fox reported.
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 her ex, who now live in Oklahoma, FOX4 reported.
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.
Stevens is booked at the Collin County Detention Facility with bond set at $150,000.
