Devoted wife forgave husband for attacking her but he strangled her on the way home from court

US: It was the ultimate act of forgiveness by a devoted wife who was blinded by love. Andrea Crew, 31, had called the police on her husband Caleb after he’d poured motor oil over her head in a terrifying attack.

But once Caleb was in court on charges of domestic violence, Andrea had a change of heart. She couldn’t face sending the father of her children to prison – so she dropped all the charges and they drove home together to try again.

Sadly, Caleb didn’t share the same level of mercy shown by his wife. Just hours later, he strangled the mother of his two children to death.

Caleb, 26, was a ex-marine who’d served time in Afghanistan. He lived in Fairfax County, Virginia, with his Columbian born wife Andrea, 31 and their two daughters, aged four and 11 months. They made an attractive couple, but behind the smiles, their marriage was strained. Friends and relatives later claimed Caleb was abusive towards his wife and they argued about money.

Domestic abuse

In July 2013, police received an emergency call from Andrea claiming Caleb had poured engine oil over her head. He was arrested and charged with domestic violence. Andrea was considering taking her daughters to South America for a fresh start. Tensions were high, but Andrea just wasn’t ready to walk away from her marriage.

On August 7, Caleb put on his suit to appear at Fairfax County Courthouse, but before the case could be heard, Andrea changed her mind and dropped the charges. The case was dismissed and the pair walked out of court hand in hand.

Did Andrea think they could put their troubles behind them? Was she trying to keep her family together? One thing’s for sure, it wasn’t long before their problems started up again.

As the couple drove home together, they started to argue and Andrea threatened to call the police and report him again. Caleb was angry and when they stopped outside a local bank their fight escalated. He pulled Andrea into the back seat of the Jeep and, in a rage, Caleb strangled her with his bare hands.

When he felt she still had a pulse, he stuffed his suit jacket in her mouth and wrapped the tie he’d worn to look smart in court around Andrea’s neck, pulling it tight. "Goodbye," he said, as the life drained from her face.

He dumped Andrea’s dead body in local woods and went to pick up his daughters from their babysitter. That night, he put them to bed and returned to the woods. He stuffed his wife’s body in a bag, along with a backpack weighed down with granite and dumbbells. Caleb drove to a bridge where he rolled Andrea into the Occoquan River.