Ep 3. Shanda Crain

In season 20 episode 3 of the true crime series Snapped, viewers follow the chilling case of Shanda Crain, a young mother and wife whose life takes a dangerous turn. Shanda was a happy-go-lucky 36-year-old living in Stephenville, Texas, with her husband, Jeremy, and their two young children. However, things were not as idyllic as they appeared on the surface, and soon Shanda would be at the center of a horrifying crime.

The episode begins by introducing Shanda Crain and her family and showing footage of the small town where they lived. Shanda seemed content with her life as a stay-at-home mom, but there were rumblings of marital strife between her and her husband, Jeremy. According to friends and family, the couple argued frequently, and Shanda suspected that Jeremy was having an affair.

One day in July 2016, Shanda's husband Jeremy came home to find her missing. He saw that her purse and phone were still in the house, and he began to worry. He called his sister to ask for help and together they set out to find Shanda.

They searched for hours, and when they finally did find her, it was too late. Shanda's body was discovered in a remote area outside of town, and it was clear that she had been brutally murdered. The investigation was led by local law enforcement, including Sergeant Clark Bosley from the Erath County Sheriff's Office.

The detectives began by interviewing Shanda's husband, Jeremy, but quickly ruled him out as a suspect. They began to explore other leads, and soon a picture emerged of a troubled woman with a past that may have played a role in her death.

Shanda had a history of drug use and had been in and out of rehabilitation centers. Her family and friends knew that she had struggled with addiction, and there were rumors that she had been involved in dealing drugs. The investigators began to look more closely at her circle of acquaintances from that time and found a group of people that might be involved in the murder.

The detectives had few leads until they received a tip from a woman named Sabrina Martinez. Sabrina told Bosley that she knew who had killed Shanda and agreed to meet with him to reveal what she knew. She named two people as the killers – a woman named Crystal Lowery and a man named Charles Allen, who was also known as "Carlito".

According to Martinez, Crystal and Carlito had been planning to rob Shanda for several days before the murder. On the night of her death, they lured her to a remote location under the guise of wanting to buy drugs from her. Once they had her in their custody, they beat her and strangled her to death.

With this new information, the investigators moved quickly to arrest both Crystal Lowery and Charles Allen. However, neither of them admitted to anything and seemed to be in a state of denial about their involvement in the crime.

The trial began for both suspects, and several witnesses testified that they had seen Crystal and Charles together on the night of Shanda's murder. Sabrina Martinez also took the stand and recounted her conversation with the detectives.

The prosecution argued that Crystal and Charles had planned and carried out the murder of Shanda Crain in cold blood. However, the defense presented a different theory, claiming that Martinez had fabricated the story in exchange for immunity in other cases. They argued that the evidence was circumstantial and that there was no physical evidence tying either of the suspects to the crime.

After a lengthy trial, the jury made its decision, and the verdict was announced. The episode concludes by revealing the outcome of the trial and the harrowing details of the case. Viewers are left to ponder what led to the murder of Shanda Crain and the chilling lengths some people will go to get what they want.