When your children finally leave the nest, it can be a scary time. Some parents struggle with letting go, while others accept that their child is equipped to make the right decisions in the real world.
Sometimes, however, no matter how prepared you think your child is, there are outside forces that take over. What happens when your child starts becoming distant and you don’t know why? The following story depicts a father dealing with a bad feeling he couldn’t shake off with his daughter. He knew something was wrong before anything even happened…
The Best Dad
Gary was a retired firefighter who loved being a dad. If he could have it his way he would be with his two children, Jessie and Brandon, all the time. In fact, Jessie didn’t ever want to let her dad out of her sight. When Jessie was 14, Gary and her mother Carla divorced, and Jessie spent her high school years with her father and her new stepmother Gina.
Leaving The Nest
When Jessie went off to college, Gary missed her terribly. Jessie seemed to be having more fun than she was focusing on school and her dad became worried. But after a few years of college, Jessie moved to Orange Beach and started working tables at a popular beach side restaurant called Cobalt. She still spoke to her dad Gary every day…
A New Boyfriend?
Jessie had been living with a long-term boyfriend but she surprised everyone when she fell for a new guy, Jason Lowe. Lowe was friendly, outgoing, handsome, ambitious and had two college degrees, so he was quite the catch. But for Jessie, Jason wasn’t just a new love, he was a ticket to a more exciting life.
Keeping Secrets
When Lowe went to Dallas for a six-figure job in the tech industry, Jessie decided she would join him and pursue her own dream of cosmetology. She thought of the move as more of an adventure. But Jessie failed to mention she was about to go to Dallas when she saw her family that Christmas…
Something Was Wrong
Shortly after the holidays, Jessie prepared to leave for Texas. Now, suddenly, the girl who always had her iPhone with her was now never on it. Jessie’s friends couldn’t reach her, and they became very concerned when her phone number was cut off. The only way to reach her was to go through Lowe.
Jessie Was Not The Same
Her friends would come to find out that Lowe was monitoring all of Jessie’s calls. Eventually, every time Gary called Jessie he only got Lowe, who told him she would call him later. But when Gary went to visit Jessie in Orange Beach, she was hugging him more than normal. He asked his daughter if she was OK and she said yes and that she was still moving to Texas. Still, Gary knew something was wrong…
Cutting All Communication
Even though Jessie never led on that anything was wrong, Gary had a bad feeling. He decided to channel his frustration by going into Jessie’s room and writing a song about how much he loved her. Four months after that, Jessie moved to Texas and she stopped answering her dad’s calls altogether.
A Controlling Boyfriend
Because this was very unlike his daughter, Gary called Lowe and insisted on knowing where Jessie was. Lowe became defensive saying that he didn’t know. He even yelled that they were not codependent and he didn’t know where Jessie was. But then, when Jessie didn’t call her mom and stepmom on Mother’s Day, Gary packed his bags and headed to Texas…
Going To See Jessie
When Gary got in his truck and headed to Texas he was very angry. So angry, in fact, that it scared him. Gary texted Lowe on the way there and said that if Jessie is not at the apartment when he gets there that he will be in a tremendous amount of trouble.
Missing Persons Report
However, when Gary arrived at the apartment, Jessie was nowhere to be found. Gary immediately filed a missing person’s report with the Richardson police department and over the next 24 hours, police were on a hunt. They regularly visited Jessie’s apartment, but she never showed up. That’s when Detective Hail called Lowe on the phone…
He Was Covering Something Up
Lowe said the last day he saw Jessie was on Mother’s Day, May 8, at 10 am and that she left in her Acura. The next day, detective Hail made a house call to Lowe. By then Jessie had been reported missing for three days and it seemed everyone was desperate to find Jessie except the man that claimed to be in love with her.
Shocking Evidence
While Lowe had a convincing story, there was one problem with it. Police learned that the couple had sold that Acura three weeks before Lowe claimed Jessie drove off with it. They found the car in the new owner’s driveway. It became clearer the next day that something was going on besides a missing person case…
Getting Closer
A group of detectives including Hail returned to the apartment and they saw a line of cocaine on the table. But it was an odor coming from the garage that really got their attention. It was the smell of death and it was coming from the back of Jason Lowe’s black Audi. Detective Hail opened the hatch door, but there was no Jessie Bardwell in there.
The Evidence
There was, however, evidence that a body had been there because the car smelled like decaying flesh and had a lot of damage to it. Lowe told detectives that he got stuck in the mud while searching for Jessie. But when they sprayed a chemical into the backseat of the car, it turned blue, indicating the presence of blood. At that point, the case turned into a homicide investigation…
Still No Jessie
Lowe was arrested and investigators questioned him, but nothing seemed to get him to talk and he was very irritated. Yet, even without a body, Jason Lowe was charged with murder. Detectives suspected that he killed her. Texas is a huge state there are lots of rivers, ponds, fields and a million different places you could hide a body. Still, they hadn’t found Jessie.
A Reliable Source?
Almost three weeks after Jessie was last seen alive, police finally got an answer. The chief said they received information from a reliable source about where Jessie’s body was and that the Bardwell family needed to prepare for the worst. Her body was found where Lowe’s car was stuck in the mud and she was thrown away like a piece of trash. But her body was so badly decomposed, officials could not say how she was murdered…
Plea Deal
That reliable source turned out to be Lowe himself, and he told police where the body was as part of a plea bargain. If convicted, he would only serve half his sentence of 50 years instead of the full term. Prosecutors believe Jessie was killed on or around May 1, the last day she was seen alive. They believe Lowe kept her body in his car for eight days before dumping it.
Paying Respects
Over 900 people showed up to mourn the death and celebrate the life of Jessie Bardwell. But it wasn’t over yet. Lowe still had to be convicted of murder and the trial was set four years after Jessie had been killed. Prosecutors called Lowe to the stand and he told an elaborate story of what happened that night…
A Confession?
Despite trying to convince the jury he was innocent, prosecutors built a strong case against Lowe. He had a sadistic past including drug use and numerous ex-girlfriends who believed that Lowe could have killed them too. With everyone that encountered Lowe scared for their lives, a phone call between Lowe and a friend visiting him in prison proved everything. He said, “I made a mistake.”
Guilty
At the trial, Lowe was finally convicted of murder. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison and he will be eligible for parole in May of 2041 when he is 52-years-old. Until then, Gary can rest his head a little bit knowing that his daughter’s killer is behind bars.
