Source: It was the ultimate act of forgiveness by a devoted wife who was blinded by love. Andrea Crew, 31, had called the police on her husband Caleb after he’d poured motor oil over her head in a terrifying attack.
But once Caleb was in court on charges of domestic violence, Andrea had a change of heart. She couldn’t face sending the father of her children to prison – so she dropped all the charges and they drove home together to try again.
Sadly, Caleb didn’t share the same level of mercy shown by his wife. Just hours later, he strangled the mother of his two children to death.
Caleb, 26, was a ex-marine who’d served time in Afghanistan. He lived in Fairfax County, Virginia, with his Columbian born wife Andrea, 31 and their two daughters, aged four and 11 months. They made an attractive couple, but behind the smiles, their marriage was strained. Friends and relatives later claimed Caleb was abusive towards his wife and they argued about money.
Domestic abuse
In July 2013, police received an emergency call from Andrea claiming Caleb had poured engine oil over her head. He was arrested and charged with domestic violence. Andrea was considering taking her daughters to South America for a fresh start. Tensions were high, but Andrea just wasn’t ready to walk away from her marriage.
On August 7, Caleb put on his suit to appear at Fairfax County Courthouse, but before the case could be heard, Andrea changed her mind and dropped the charges. The case was dismissed and the pair walked out of court hand in hand.
Did Andrea think they could put their troubles behind them? Was she trying to keep her family together? One thing’s for sure, it wasn’t long before their problems started up again.
As the couple drove home together, they started to argue and Andrea threatened to call the police and report him again. Caleb was angry and when they stopped outside a local bank their fight escalated. He pulled Andrea into the back seat of the Jeep and, in a rage, Caleb strangled her with his bare hands.
When he felt she still had a pulse, he stuffed his suit jacket in her mouth and wrapped the tie he’d worn to look smart in court around Andrea’s neck, pulling it tight. "Goodbye," he said, as the life drained from her face.
He dumped Andrea’s dead body in local woods and went to pick up his daughters from their babysitter. That night, he put them to bed and returned to the woods. He stuffed his wife’s body in a bag, along with a backpack weighed down with granite and dumbbells. Caleb drove to a bridge where he rolled Andrea into the Occoquan River.
The next day, he went to the police and reported Andrea missing. Caleb said that on the way home from court, they’d argued and she’d talked about taking their girls away from him. He said she’d walked off to think about things and hadn’t come back.
Days later, a local man fishing on the river spotted a body and it was identified as Andrea. Caleb was arrested and once he was questioned, his story started to unravel. He admitted he’d killed his wife because he didn’t want to deal with another call to the police.
The confession
"I took the phone. I grabbed her out of her chair. She only weighs 8 stone. I grabbed her throat and strangled her in the back seat," he said. "First thing I said was 'Goodbye'. I knew once I went down that path I couldn’t go back. She said, 'Please Caleb', I started crying but I couldn’t stop." When asked why he’d used his tie after strangling her, he replied, "To finish the job."
In October 2014, Caleb was back in a Virginia court – this time for the murder of his wife. After initially pleading not guilty to first degree murder, he quietly told his shocked lawyer on the first day of the trial that he wanted to change his plea to guilty.
It was a surprise to everyone. Andrea’s mother, who had travelled from Colombia, sobbed quietly. Finally, he was standing up to his crimes.
The evidence was stacked against him. Rocks were found in Caleb’s home that matched the ones found in the backpack that weighed Andrea down. The tie found around her neck also matched the one seen around Caleb’s neck as he left court, caught on CCTV footage.
The prosecution said the crime was brutal. "Evil visited Andrea Crew in the form of her husband," they said. "Evil that manifested itself in a man that was able to look his wife in the eye and then choke the life out of her body.'
Caleb, now 27, was sentenced to life in prison in January this year. Andrea’s sister, Jeimmy Arias Pineda, said her beautiful sister was religious and always aimed to be a good role model for her children. Andrea’s daughters, now two and six, are living with her relatives in Columbia.
When Andrea forgave her husband and walked out of court with her hand in his, she hoped they’d make a fresh start – but Caleb betrayed her within hours.
He’d worn a tie that day to show everyone he was a respectable family man, then he used that very tie to rob his children of their mum, and steal the future of his trusting wife. Caleb had been given a second chance, but he used it to become an unforgivable murderer.
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