Planning to meet her ex-husband and youngest daughter, the woman then mysteriously vanished.
After Melissa Sowders disappeared mysteriously while pregnant, investigators found that while living with her new boyfriend, she still had a relationship with her ex-husband. Authorities questioned whether this was related to the mother of four’s tragedy.
A 16-Year Marriage
Christmas 2013 was a special day for Jason Sanford and Melissa Sowders. The 26-year-old man and woman spent their first holiday together in Texas (USA) as a couple.
Previously, Melissa was often not with her parents during these year-end moments. So this time, Jason took his girlfriend to visit her relatives. The whole family gathered together, a mix of joy and sorrow.
Melissa, a manager at a fast-food restaurant, divorced her husband Matthew Sowders, 28 years old. The couple had four young daughters together, aged 18 months to 8 years. Matthew was granted custody of all four children after the divorce, so they were not present at this family gathering.
They married quite young, Melissa was 16 and Matthew was 18. Over their 9-year marriage, Melissa became a wonderful mother to their four daughters. But over time, the couple grew apart, causing cracks in their marriage. Eventually, they agreed to divorce.
At that time, Melissa didn’t have a job that could support her four daughters. So, she agreed to give full custody to her ex-husband while she sorted out her finances.
Melissa knew that Matthew’s foster parents would help him care for the children until she was more stable. Matthew and his twin sister were very well taken care of by a great family adopted from an orphanage in Nicaragua.
Melissa had previously dated Jason Sanford. They rekindled their relationship after her marriage ended.
Mysterious Disappearance
The last time the family saw Melissa was on Christmas Day 2013. The next day, Jason told Melissa’s family that he hadn’t been able to contact her for almost 8 hours and that his texts and calls to her went unanswered. Melissa was supposed to pick him up from work as usual, but she never showed up.
That evening, the family reported Melissa missing to the Houston police. They contacted where the young mother worked and learned she hadn’t shown up for her shift.
Relatives said that even though they knew the children were well cared for by Matthew’s parents, Melissa still missed them immensely. She had never spent Christmas without her children by her side.
So on December 26, after dropping her boyfriend off at work, Melissa planned to meet her ex-husband and youngest daughter at a local fast-food restaurant. Since then, no one has heard any news about the mother of four.
Police checked surveillance cameras at the restaurant and saw Melissa arrive around 11 a.m. She walked into the lobby area and looked at her phone. Then, Melissa turned around, walked to the emergency exit, and walked outside. No one knew where she was going. Investigators immediately questioned Melissa’s ex-husband.
Complicated Relationship
Investigators interviewed Matthew Sowders – Melissa Sowders’ ex-husband, whom she had gone to meet before disappearing. He said that Melissa needed to use the restroom but didn’t want to use the restaurant’s restroom. He then drove his ex-wife to a nearby apartment. Melissa later returned to the restaurant to get her car.
Authorities continued to interview Melissa’s current boyfriend, Jason Sanford, to gather more information. Jason said the last time he spoke to Melissa was while she was at the restaurant waiting for her ex-husband and youngest daughter. They hung up when Matthew arrived. Afterward, Jason repeatedly called and messaged his girlfriend but never received a response.
Interviewing Melissa’s family members revealed the surprising fact that Melissa was pregnant. According to Melissa’s mother, she was very happy; it was the first time in a while that her loved ones had seen her so happy. Melissa proudly told everyone that she was going to be a mother again.
However, from here, investigators also discovered a complicated love triangle. Despite living with her new boyfriend, Melissa still had a romantic relationship with her ex-husband. Police suspected that this might be related to her disappearance.
Unexpected Truth
Not long after, police received reports of finding Melissa’s white 1995 Honda Accord in the parking lot of a truck stop a few kilometers from the restaurant where she was last seen. There were no signs of Melissa. This was the car that Melissa and Jason had recently purchased.
Police focused their investigation on those closest to the mother of four. They found that Melissa’s boyfriend, Jason, had a history of violence.
Just three months before his girlfriend went missing, the 26-year-old man was arrested and charged with assault. Matthew also filed a report of harassment through phone calls against Jason. Matthew confessed that Jason threatened that he and the children would be in danger.
Interviewing Jason, detectives also discovered more. Jason was actually married but claimed he was going to get a divorce. According to Jason, he was angry when he found his wife in bed with his closest friend of 14 years. Jason then faced assault charges stemming from the conflict with his friend.
Meanwhile, Melissa’s relatives had no idea Jason was married. Jason’s wife also didn’t know about her husband’s relationship with Melissa.
When investigators asked if he had any involvement in Melissa’s disappearance, Jason affirmed his love and denied ever harming Melissa. He also provided an alibi. Jason’s boss confirmed that he was working at the time of Melissa’s disappearance. Jason also agreed to take a lie detector test.
While the search yielded no results, police received a call from a woman who claimed she had seen something horrific on the bathroom floor of Matthew’s apartment.
Two Feet on the Floor
Not long after Melissa Sowders was determined missing by authorities, the story of this mother of four became the top concern in the local media.
Thanks to this, the case had a breakthrough in less than 24 hours, when the Harris County Sheriff’s Office received a strange call from an anonymous woman. She claimed to be a neighbor of the victim’s ex-husband – Matthew Sowders. She reported having unexpectedly visited Matthew’s apartment and seeing something horrific. “I saw someone’s feet on the floor,” the witness said.
Within minutes, police arrived at the house and interviewed the caller directly. She said she saw Matthew and his daughter inside the house, and the little girl was crying loudly. The neighbor asked why, and Matthew explained that his daughter was just upset.
Looking through the open door, the witness saw two female feet unmoving. When she asked whose feet were sticking out, Matthew became agitated, saying, “It’s none of your business,” and slammed the door shut.
Fearful that someone’s life might be in danger, police quickly rushed to Matthew’s apartment. Upon entering, they found the power was cut off, dirty clothes scattered everywhere, and the floor filthy, but there was no body or evidence of criminal activity. They came up with two hypotheses: either the neighbor saw incorrectly, or Melissa was lying there, but everything had been cleaned up.
The mysterious woman
While still trying to piece together details from the neighbor’s account, detectives also requested Matthew to come to the station for further questioning. Matthew admitted that he and his ex-wife were in a love triangle.
During their last meeting before Melissa disappeared, Matthew claimed their conversation lasted 30 minutes, and then Melissa left. When detectives asked about the neighbor’s visit, Matthew denied it, saying the neighbor had never been to his apartment or knocked on his door.
Matthew appeared confident and defiant. He asserted he had no involvement in his ex-wife’s disappearance. Matthew even suggested detectives focus on her new boyfriend.
Police reached out to Melissa’s closest friend and learned details about the terrifying marriage between Melissa and Matthew, a relationship she described as filled with obsession.
The friend revealed that Melissa often called her in tears, saying Matthew wouldn’t leave her alone, that he constantly wanted her back. Nightmares began from there. “Once Melissa told me he tried to abduct her at work at night,” the close friend disclosed.
At this point, despite receiving much information, detectives couldn’t definitively determine who was responsible for Melissa’s disappearance. As they tried to uncover the truth, the Harris County Police Department received a call from an anonymous woman.
The Recorded Conversation
Despite receiving much information, the investigative agency still couldn’t definitively determine who was responsible for Melissa Sowders’ disappearance. At this point, the Harris County Police Department continued to receive a call from a woman. She sounded fearful and requested anonymity before naming a person: Matthew Sowders, the victim’s ex-husband.
This woman initially claimed to be a friend of Matthew’s. Later, she revealed that the two were romantically involved but Matthew wasn’t truthful about still being in contact with Melissa and that Matthew showed jealousy when his ex-wife had a new boyfriend.
The witness stated that after Melissa went missing, Matthew came to her in a soaked condition from head to toe, his truck covered in mud. “He said he had knocked Melissa unconscious, strangled her to death, and then dumped her body in a trash can before bringing it to the Cypress Creek area to dispose of it,” the woman revealed.
Alongside seeking assistance from a search team with access to boats, divers, and sonar scanning equipment, the police also suggested Matthew’s girlfriend engage him in conversation while wearing a recording device. She agreed and arranged to meet Matthew.
In the recorded conversation, Matthew confessed to the murder and expressed confidence because Melissa’s body hadn’t been found yet. When his girlfriend suggested turning himself in, Matthew said he would consider it.
The Body Under the Creek
Authorities believed Melissa was murdered, but they still lacked enough evidence to arrest Matthew.
Three days into the search, police received information about where Matthew might have disposed of Melissa’s body. It was an area he often went fishing. Here, an empty trash can was found. The search team focused their sonar scanning around the nearby creek.
On the seventh day of the search, they finally discovered a body under the creek, weighed down and submerged deeply in the water. The body was confirmed to be Melissa Sowders. Near the victim’s hip bone was a tattoo consisting of four letters combined into one word: “Matt.”
The autopsy results indicated she died from homicide, likely by strangulation. Due to the cold winter and the body being submerged in water for seven days, the forensic pathologists couldn’t determine the exact cause of death. Melissa was also confirmed to be two months pregnant at the time of her murder.
A team of undercover officers was dispatched to monitor Matthew’s house, ready to intervene if he displayed any inappropriate behavior. While attempting to leave the house with his father, Matthew was immediately arrested by police.
Unlike previous interrogations, this time Matthew refused to talk to anyone except his lawyer. He was charged in connection with the deaths of two people, one of whom was an unborn child.
A Deadly Jealousy
Melissa and Matthew filed for divorce in 2013 after nine years of marriage. Melissa’s close friend revealed that she often received tearful calls from her friend. Melissa said Matthew wouldn’t leave her alone and constantly wanted her back. There was even an instance where Matthew attempted to abduct his ex-wife from her workplace at night.
Some friends knew that although Melissa still interacted with her ex-husband, the fetus in her womb wasn’t his. Her current boyfriend, Jason Sanford, is the father of the baby.
Police believe that when Melissa went to Matthew’s apartment to use the restroom, he discovered some content on her phone related to her pregnancy with another man. This might have triggered Matthew’s anger. The surge of jealousy led him to kill his ex-wife.
A Terrible Verdict
After collecting all the evidence, the prosecution alleged that Matthew knew Melissa was pregnant at the time of her murder, but they couldn’t definitively prove it beyond reasonable doubt. Ultimately, they accused Matthew of intending to kill his ex-wife.
Matthew told two friends that he strangled his ex-wife to death after she pointed a gun at him. However, the prosecution didn’t believe this was a case of self-defense.
In April 2015, two years after Melissa went missing, Matthew agreed to plead guilty to killing her. In return, he was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Since his incarceration, Matthew has refused to talk to anyone, even adamantly refusing to leave his cell when requested to interact with the media.
Melissa’s children still live with Matthew’s parents after their mother’s death, while their father must serve a 60-year sentence with the possibility of parole after 30 years. However, Melissa’s loved ones say they’re the ones enduring a worse sentence — a life without Melissa.
