Matthew Cox | Inside True Crime Podcast
Escaped FBI Fugitive Unmasks Corruption from a Secret Caribbean Location
Wed, 13 Nov 2024
Chad details an international story of perjury, revenge, prosecutorial misconduct, and attempted kidnapping and corruption at the FBI, the Department of Justice and the State Department. Chad "Kudzu" Hower's Contact Link's: Chads Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kudzutheraccoon Chad's Youtube: https://youtube.com/@KudzuTheRaccoon Chad's IG: https://instagram.com/chad.hower?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Telegram: https://t.me/@id436841270 Follow me on all socials! Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/matthewcoxitc Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidetruecrime/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matthewcoxcrime Follow my 2nd channel - Inside The Darkness! https://www.youtube.com/c/InsidetheDarknessAutobiographies Want to be a guest? Send me an email here! [email protected] Want a custom Con man painting shown up at your doorstep every month? Subscribe to Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/insidetruecrime Get a custom painting done by me! Check out my link! https://www.etsy.com/shop/coxpopart Listen to True Crime Podcasts anywhere! https://anchor.fm/mattcox Check out my prison story books here! https://www.amazon.com/Matthew-Cox/e/B08372LKZG Support me here! Paypal: https://www.paypal.me/MattCox69 Cashapp: $coxcon69
Chapter 1: What is Chad Hower's story about?
People I went to school with that are maybe not friends that think I captured and killed a kid. Because that's how it's framed. I have the biggest Netflix documentary, the biggest story that should be everywhere, and I can't get it covered because the FBI keeps calling people up. They will never, ever bring this to trial.
I guarantee you everything I have left, this prosecutor will never allow this to come before a jury. I'm dying and I'm begging for help because the FBI keeps intimidating me. My life is on the line here and they've destroyed my career. They destroyed my health. They destroyed my finances. I mean, everybody in the island knows I'm wanted. I've been front page news down here numerous times.
Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen of the jury and your respected judge. I just want to let you know that I said this child was born in Pennsylvania, but oops, he's actually born in Tennessee. Who knew? And Mr. Howard was not in the United States in November, so he couldn't have taken him. Oops. Who knew?
And oh, by the way, on the FBI website where it says he's a former Titusville man, he's never lived in Titusville. He's never even spent a night there. That's where his ex-wife ran and kidnapped and hid the child with.
Yeah, he's better off just having you stay there and dying. That's his plan. Hey, this is Matt Cox, and I'm going to be doing an interview with Chad Hauer. He is currently in St. Kitts. He lives in St. Kitts. He has been falsely accused of a crime, which he's not guilty of, and we're going to get into his story. It's super interesting, and check it out.
I kind of start at the beginning, like I'll just talk a little bit about, like, you know, where you were born and raised. I know... Who were you working for when you were arrested, by the way?
When I was arrested, I was still contracting for Microsoft. So I have been a Microsoft employee. I had been a Microsoft contractor. I was a Microsoft regional director. I was a Microsoft regional developer advisor. I had a variety of roles at Microsoft from software development to government liaison to public speaking. I had a senior position at Microsoft.
But by the time I was arrested, my ex was already causing a lot of issues. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. That was just a quick question. I was just curious. I remember I was like, I was like, who is a big company like Ford or but anyway, Microsoft, I'm sorry. I want to I want to kind of start at the beginning. Sorry. I want to like where you were born. Were you born, kind of raised, like how you, you know, were you in the military? Did you, you know, like what brought you to working there?
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Chapter 2: How did the FBI contribute to the case?
And Eastman was one of the largest chemical companies in the world at the time and still is. They're like the size of, you know, Dow Chemical, I think was the only one that was larger. And their world headquarters is in Kingsport, Tennessee. And so they had hired me and paid for us to move to Tennessee. And I worked at Tennessee Eastman for a while.
And then it was a very nice company, very nice people. But the work was, I found to be rather boring. So I started to look for other job opportunities and I started working for the companies that I would start to travel. So I think the first company I worked for was in Connecticut. So I would go to Connecticut one week and then come back to Tennessee for a week.
And my wife at the time, who I call Vecna, that's my nickname for her. I don't know if you watch Stranger Things or not. But Vecna is basically the demon in Stranger Things. And I say it's to protect her privacy. So I'm not publishing her name all over the internet, although it's all in the court documents. So I call her Vecna.
Right.
All right. So, you know, we had a house in Tennessee, 10 acres. She had, she was in the horses. I bought her four miniature horses and we bought a horse farm and I commuted to Tennessee Eastman. And then after that, I said, I started working in Connecticut. So I'd go to Connecticut for a week and then I'd come home.
So I'd go to Connecticut for five days, come home for nine, go to Connecticut for five, home for nine, that kind of arrangement. And then I ended up leaving that company, but I kept that similar arrangement. I ended up working for a company in South Carolina and I would drive cause it wasn't that far. It was like two and a half hours to South Carolina. And it was the same type of arrangement.
Gone for five, home for nine, gone for five, home for nine. And then I did the same thing for a company in Texas and then Arizona and until 2001, when I left the United States. So in early 2001, she and I separated. It was really a marriage that should never have happened. We got married at, uh, 19 and, um, my son was born when I was 21.
So it was really just a marriage that shouldn't have happened. Uh, we didn't really hate each other, but we were more friends than anything else. And, but by 2001, there were some, some cracks up here and it just wasn't going to work again. I didn't feel like we hated each other. So I was just like, well, you know, this just ain't working no more. Right.
I said, let's just, let's call it quits and let's not put any more into this, you know?
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Chapter 3: What led to the custody battle?
And so there had been some issues of concern, but at that point, now this did change, but at that point, I never really had any concerns for his welfare. And so I just felt that she was really, at least at that stage, the best option. And so I thought, well, I was still traveling back to the U S a lot because I had conferences in the U S too.
So wherever I was, they would fly me to the U S and I figured, well, when I come into the U S several times a year, I'll just book some extra days. I'll fly to Tennessee or drive to Tennessee, depending wherever I am. And in the summers I'll come and I'll spend time with him as I can. And as he gets older, I thought, okay, well, he can come with the summers with me.
And I was really just quite naive about who she was. because pretty much immediately she started interfering right away. So initially the divorce didn't happen right away. It took a little more than a year to get the divorce to go through because I was not living in the U.S. and divorce in the U.S. is a state law. And so when you're not a resident of any state, it makes it a little bit difficult.
So I found a lawyer in Knoxville who would assist me. And I had to have her basically file for the divorce because I couldn't because I was no longer in the state. And things started right away because we put together a parenting, a draft parenting plan. And it was basically along the lines of, you know, I'll call and, you know, she'll just let me on the phone.
And when I come in the country, I'll give her, I don't remember the exact details of the original parenting plan, but it was something like, I'll give like two weeks notice when I'm coming in the country. And as long as it doesn't interfere with his schooling, then I would have certain visitation rights where I could pick them up and take them. Um, for certain amounts.
And it was like, there, there were certain time periods. Like I could take him for 48, 72 hours. There were, there were certain regulations, right? But I was just trying to work things out. I wasn't trying to, you know, cause any problems. And she just started right away with, um, interfering. I would call and they would never be there.
It would always go to the, the answering machine, or she'd only let him talk for a minute. And there were already problems from the get go. And Tennessee requires you to, When you get a divorce and you have a child, you have to go to arbitration to try and resolve things instead of having to fight it out in the courts and waste the court's time. And that's a good thing. Right.
So we went to arbitration. And I remember this very clearly because the arbitrator was a woman. And she was just about to retire. This had been a career. I remember how long she'd been in arbitration, but it was a long time. It was decades. And she was retiring and we were one of her very last cases. And we were in arbitration and the arbiter asked her to leave the room.
And the arbiter talked to my lawyer and I, and she says, she says, I have never in my entire career, which spans decades, met someone so intransigent. And that's the word she used intransigent as your ex-wife. And she says, I'm going to do something for the first time in my entire career, which span decades. I'm going to tell the judge there is no arbitration and send you straight to the court.
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Chapter 4: What happened during the divorce proceedings?
And they're just like, well, she told us you were going to kidnap him and all this other stuff. And they were just, they continued to be hostile, but they did let me speak with him, but he really wouldn't talk to me. He just wouldn't say much. So I'm like, uh, you know, I, I said, I need his address and they wouldn't give me a school file. They wouldn't give me anything.
And eventually, I don't remember how it worked out, but I, I basically convinced them that they had a right to see his school file. And so I opened a school file and the first page is his address. So of course I wrote that down. Now I have a place to serve her. Right. So we go back to the judge and all this stuff.
And now we get, um, so Tennessee is now issued an order finding her in contempt for not showing up to the court hearing. And they've, they've held her in contempt and they tell her basically we're, we're asked, we're at another proper legal term, but they're, they're, they're calling her to court again. They're saying you didn't come to the first one. You are in contempt.
You need to come to Tennessee before the court and answer for your contempt. And if you want to move, go through the procedures. Right. And she was like, no, I'm in Pennsylvania. You judge her in Tennessee. I mean, literally, it was just like that. So we go to the Pennsylvania judge. Pennsylvania judge communicates with the Tennessee judge.
He calls him, gets him on the phone, goes back and forth, and he issues an order. ordering her to go back to Tennessee before the judge. And she told the Pennsylvania judge, she told him, I mean, she didn't actually do the finger. I'm dramatizing a little bit here, but she told the Pennsylvania judge, no. So the Pennsylvania judge said, okay, you want to play, do you?
So the Pennsylvania judge gave me custody, temporary custody. And she again said, so the judge is like, you really want to play, do you? So he called the Vandenberg County police again and had them remove him from the house under her protest. So they've gone into her house and taken him out with her screaming at the police.
Now, she wouldn't let me go near the house, so I agreed to wait down the road. They have all these ice cream shops, and it was winterish, so it was closed. So I'm like, okay. I told the police, I'm not trying to create any drama here. I'll park up the road. I met the police there, and they're like, okay, we're going to go get your son now. Just wait here. I'm like, okay. So I wait there.
They go up the road. They take him out of the house against her will, against her protest, bring him to me. Now he's mine, right? Right. So now I've got him for that was by the time all this happened, that was December. That was just before Christmas. It was like December. It was a few days before Christmas. I can look at the exact date, but now we're in December just for Christmas 2004.
She's had him in Pennsylvania for a little more than two months. She's had him there illegally. Okay. He's not been in Pennsylvania legally. He's been there in Pennsylvania about two months. And already the Pennsylvania judge is already starting to get along. A lot of the dates wrong in his court order. He's already starting to make a lot of mistakes.
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Chapter 5: How did the international aspect complicate the case?
My medical report makes it very clear I needed an air ambulance. Two, guarantee me the medical care in the United States. Okay. And three, agree to abide by the Speedy Trials Act and not file for any extensions, which is 70 days. Right. Okay. Now, if this case had been going on for 17 years, you would think he has all his ducks in a row.
There should be no reason for him to file an extension and be like, I need to investigate this. In court, before a judge, we finally forced a petition, and he told the judge, no, I will not agree not to file any extensions. So, and on top of that, oh, I forgot to, I got sidetracked.
He said, the only way for me to turn myself in is either fly somewhere and get arrested and agree to extradition because he will not try and extradite me from St. Kitts another time. He will not try because it's already been turned down. Or I can turn myself into the U.S. Embassy in St. Kitts. Problem, there is no U.S. Embassy in St. Kitts. And the prosecutor knew that ahead of time.
And even though my lawyer told him in front of a judge, there is no U.S. Embassy in St. Kitts, he's like, well, it's not my problem then. Now, why is he doing all this? Here's why. Because he's the same prosecutor that made this mess with the FBI agent. So if you were to bring me to trial, would you really want to be the prosecutor?
Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen of the jury and your respected judge. I just want to let you know that I said this child was born in Pennsylvania, but oops, he's actually born in Tennessee. Who knew? And Mr. Howard was not in the United States in November, so he couldn't have taken him. Oops. Who knew?
And oh, by the way, on the FBI website where it says he's a former Titusville man, he's never lived in Titusville. He's never even spent a night there. That's where his ex-wife ran and kidnapped and hid the child with. So, oops. This prosecutor has been a federal prosecutor for 20 years. He was a state prosecutor prior to that.
He's only done 12 trials in his 20-year career, and you really think that's the case he's going to bring to trial? Would you want to be that prosecutor? Now, he could dismiss at any time, and he has admitted that he could dismiss this case, but he explicitly refuses. Because I can sue the Department of Justice, and he can be charged with prosecutorial misconduct.
Yeah, he's better off just having you stay there and dying. That's his plan. Right.
And I haven't even told you everything yet. So I could tell you more, but it gets wilder beyond this.
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Chapter 6: What role did the FBI play in the aftermath?
And he's a former federal prosecutor. And we gave the last bit of our money. Our finances are running out. We have serious financial problems. We didn't have the money we gave that lawyer. That was another $100,000. And we're out. We are millions of dollars into this thing. Not counting my lost income. I mean, I am... At some point, I don't know what's going to give out first.
I'm in a race to a heart attack, kidney failure, stroke, financial failure. I don't know what. But I'm desperate and I don't know where to turn because the FBI keeps intimidating people. How do... I mean, how... I don't understand why I have this story. I mean, I see all these documentaries on Netflix that are just ridiculous. And the FBI's normal excuse is, he's a fugitive.
You can be in trouble for talking to a fugitive. That's what they tell the reporters. They tell them, if you talk to a fugitive, that could be considered aiding and abetting. And that's a criminal charge. And that's what they tell them. And then the reporter's like, well, no for that. I had a CNN producer on my live for more than an hour. And I interviewed with him.
And he's ghosted me since he talked to the FBI.
Well, listen, I'm gonna wrap it up. I appreciate you talking to me. We'll stay in contact. I will let you know when we're gonna post this. By all means, post it. Let's do something, a connection where you can post something simultaneous on your TikTok. Try and direct people to it. Yeah, of course.
What kind of time frame are you looking at? What are your plans? Give me some kind of hope here. A week? I'm just desperate. I'm begging for my life. I don't know what to say. I still have two kids under 18. I'm begging for my life.
Hey, I appreciate you guys watching. Do me a favor. Look in the description box and click the link for... for the TikTok that we talked about, for his YouTube channel, for everything across the board. If anybody does know anybody that can help out, by all means, contact me. I will put you in contact with Chad. Or you could go to his... TikTok or YouTube channel.
I can give you his email if you contact me. I'll actually, I'll put his email in the description box also. Telegram is actually the best way. Telegram. Telegram. Okay. I'll put a link to Telegram. Telegram is the best way. So to contact him, I appreciate you guys watching. If you like the video, do me a favor, subscribe, hit the bell, leave me a message. Thank you guys very much. I appreciate it.
I don't know if you guys know this or not, but when I was locked up, I wrote a whole bunch of true crime books. And all of the books are on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Audible, their e-books. Check out the trailers.
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