The Murder of Michelle (Chaffin) Warner
For this case, I watched an episode of American Monster. It’s season 5 episode 9, titled ‘By God, That’s Enough.’
A young mom of two is killed. Was it murder or a crime of passion?
Background
Michelle
Michelle Chaffin was a very talented musician. She played saxophone, piano and was an amazing singer. When she graduated high school, she received a scholarship from her time in her high school band. She used her scholarship to pay for college. She attended Stephen F. Austin University, and hoped to become a lawyer.
Michelle’s Marriage
When Michelle was 17, she started dating 19 year old Chase Warner. Chase and Michelle went to high school together and stayed together for quite awhile.
Michelle learned she was pregnant and gave birth to their daughter Hayley on March 29, 2001, when she was 19 years old. Michelle and Chase got married a few months later.
Michelle and Chase’s marriage started to crack just a short time later. Michelle was busy attending classes, and she and Chase were both adjusting to becoming first time parents. They started to argue, and decided to separate. Soon after, they agreed to an amicable divorce.
Michelle moved back to Grapeland, Texas, and Chase kept custody of Hayley.
A Dark Road
Michelle struggled with her classes and being a mom. After their divorce, Chase removed Michelle from his health insurance, which she had relied on to purchase her anxiety medication. Michelle was looking for ways to numb her pain, and she turned to pain killers. Her addiction soon turned to other serious drugs, too.
In January 2006, Michelle was pulled over for speeding. Michelle’s mom, Donna, said that the police must have sensed something else was off, because they asked to search her car.
Michelle was arrested for possession of cocaine and was sentenced to eight months in prison. After she was released, she went to a required rehab program and she beat her addiction a year later.
Michelle then moved to Houston in 2008, got a new job as a secretary at a medical supply company and now had weekend visits with her daughter. Things seemed to be looking up for Michelle.
A New Man
While Michelle was at work, she met a new man. His name was Mark Castellano, and he worked with Michelle as an IT guy.
Michelle told her family about him, and when they met him they were shocked at how different he was from other guys Michelle had been interested in. He was awkward and nerdy, and tried really hard to fit in. Michelle was very interested though, so her family was supportive.
Michelle also wanted Hayley to approve of Mark, and she did. Hayley was interviewed in this episode, and she said she has memories of hanging out with Mark, and she really liked him.
After Hayley’s approval, the couple moved in together. Michelle got pregnant again, and in 2009, Cayden was born. Michelle was excited, Mark was not. Mark started to distance himself from them, and eventually he left them three months after Cayden was born and moved to Odessa, Texas, back with his parents.
Michelle and Mark Castellano
Mark is Back
Michelle seemed to be happy as a single woman. She loved her kids and her family, and she got a job as a paralegal at a high end firm in Houston.
In 2012, Mark came back into the picture. He told Michelle he was back and wanted to be a dad again. He would take care of Cayden when Michelle had other plans, and Michelle started to see her friends again.
Michelle wanted to be closer to work, and she knew that Mark was living in a new condo just 10 minutes from her firm. She reached out to him, and they agreed to live together as roommates. They would take care of Cayden, but have separate lives.
Michelle seemed to be in good spirits when she visited her family, but no one would know that was the last time they would see her alive.
The Disappearance
On Sunday, September 23, 2012, Michelle’s brother, David received a call from Chase. Chase said he should try calling Michelle because she wasn’t answering and never came by to pick up Hayley. Her family was frantic, and Chase said he didn’t have a good feeling because it was unlike her.
Michelle’s family thought Michelle could have turned to drugs again, but they got a different feeling after David called Mark. Mark told David that he was in Odessa with Cayden. David was angry because Mark knew that Michelle was missing and didn’t reach out to them. Mark told David that he saw Michelle on Saturday night, they had a fight and she stormed off.
Mark told Michelle’s family that she was back on drugs and acting erratically. David didn’t believe Mark at all.
Investigation
On Tuesday morning, Michelle’s family filed a missing persons report with the Houston police. Detective Fil (pronounced like Phil) Waters called Mark. Mark insisted he didn’t know where Michelle was. Mark went on to say that Michelle had a history of leaving and abusing drugs.
Mark told Detective Waters that they had a fight. He said Michelle hit him in the face, went into her room and when he went to look for her, she was gone. The police were immediately suspicious because Michelle’s car was discovered to still be in her parking space at the apartment complex.
The police obtained Michelle’s phone records. They discovered the last call she made was on Saturday night, and then there was no activity after that.
The police went over to Michelle and Mark’s apartment, which was now vacant. The police didn’t find any blood or evidence that a crime occurred. However, the police wanted to try to find any surveillance footage that could help them. They found a commercial office building across the way, and asked for the surveillance footage.
The Surveillance Footage
The footage was eventually downloaded and sent to them. On Saturday evening at 6:48pm, Mark’s truck is seen pulling into his parking space. Nothing unusual, but he did make several trips to his car and back inside the apartment. He left with Cayden at 9:28pm, and he already confirmed they drove to Odessa.
Mark didn’t tell them that he came back to the apartment. He returned on Monday morning at 1:27am. A few minutes passed, and Mark is seen dragging a container and putting it in his car, and driving off. Detective Waters made several digs at Mark in this episode. He said Mark wasn’t a very strong guy, and they could tell he was struggling to lift this container.
Det. Waters called Mark, and asked him to come to Houston, so he could interview him in person. Mark agreed and came to the station the next Sunday morning.
The Confession
Det. Waters asked Mark to tell his story again of what happened that night. Mark said they had a fight over something that three year old Cayden did. Mark said Michelle gets violent sometimes, and went on to say she had a “princess attitude,” and gets everything she wants because she’s pretty.
Det. Waters talked with Mark about his son, and said he wanted Mark to trust him. Mark said he was concerned for Cayden because Michelle was the primary caregiver. Mark said he killed Michelle over trying to protect his son.
Mark said he grabbed her and broke her neck. He said they were arguing, she swung at him and he grabbed her. He said he fell on top of her and crushed her windpipe. He said he was on top of her for several minutes and realized she was dead. Mark said he deserved to get the death penalty, and “broke down.” I personally don’t believe he was actually crying.
Mark said he left with Cayden to take him to Odessa. He left Cayden with his parents, and went back to clean up. He said he put Michelle in a moving crate they had, and was surprised that she fit inside. He dragged the crate to his car and dumped her body in Midland, Texas.
Michelle’s remains were found in an oil field, eight days after she was killed.
Trial and Conviction
In May 2014, Mark went on trial. His defense said it was a crime of passion. The prosecution said it wasn’t, and that Mark was a liar. He lied about where she was and said she was back on drugs. Michelle wasn’t, she was completely clean.
After four hours of deliberation, Mark was found guilty, but was only sentenced to 27 years in prison. After his sentence was read, he mouth "thank you,” to the jury.
Mark Castellano mug shot
Other
In this American Monster episode, this wasn’t discussed, but Mark went on the Dr. Phil show to say he was innocent of this crime. He later called the producers and told them he choked Michelle to death, and confessed to the police a few days later.
A clip of Mark talking with Dr. Phil
FINAL THOUGHTS
This dude is a piece of shit. I don’t believe he cared that he killed Michelle. He attempted to show empathy, but I think it was all for show. I don’t know if I believe he planned the murder, but I think he was the violent one in their relationship. I think Michelle was trying to protect herself and Cayden, and Mark snapped. He then lied and covered up his crime, until he was confronted about the evidence and had to confess.
He got a very light sentence, and I believe he would reoffend if he does get out of prison.
Sources
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-gone-the-search-for-michelle-warner/
https://thecinemaholic.com/where-is-mark-castellano-now/
