FILE 229 / 24 June 2021 / 171 MIN / full

Chief Horny The Ladykiller

Tea, South DakotaListen

The town

N ↑Public placePublic placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
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We're going all the way to Tea, South Dakota... It's in southeastern South Dakota... It's in Lincoln County. about 0:05:52

History, in brief

1894

The town was laid out in 1894 as Byron, but the postmaster said there was already a Byron, so it needed another name.

about 0:09:10

Town note

The town fathers wanted a short name; the community produced nine names and could not think of a tenth, and afternoon tea was a tradition in the German-based community, so Tea was added to the list and chosen.

about 0:09:42

1903

Henry Hearin, thought to be his brother, was the first male rural mail carrier, starting in 1903, and was dead by 1906.

about 0:10:31
All 6 history facts

1894

The town was laid out in 1894 as Byron, but the postmaster said there was already a Byron, so it needed another name.

about 0:09:10

Town note

The town fathers wanted a short name; the community produced nine names and could not think of a tenth, and afternoon tea was a tradition in the German-based community, so Tea was added to the list and chosen.

about 0:09:42

1903

Henry Hearin, thought to be his brother, was the first male rural mail carrier, starting in 1903, and was dead by 1906.

about 0:10:31

Town note

Henry's wife Flora took over his mail bag and carried the mail for the next 30 years.

about 0:10:50

Town note

The town motto is 'Tea, a growing tradition'.

about 0:07:18

The figures, as told

Religious

42%

Biggest faith: Lutheran, 19%

about 0:18:24

Who lives here

White 96.3% · Black 0.5% · Asian 0.0% · Hispanic 2.9%

Ethnicity can overlap race.

Crime / national average

Property crime
▼ about one third under

about 0:25:35

Violent crime
▼ about half

about 0:25:55

Money

Median home value$195,900
Two-bedroom rentabout $960 a month
Median household income$79,978
Cost of living92

For sale

$685,000

Four-bedroom three-bath house on two acres

about 0:21:47
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2021

Population

"302"

Comparison: "in 1970". No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:16:11

Population

"4,866"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:16:16

Population growth

"up 519%"

Comparison: "since 1990". Direction: above.

As told in 2021 about 0:16:29

Median age

"28 and a half"

Comparison: "usually about 38". Direction: below.

As told in 2021 about 0:16:38

Married population

"68%"

Comparison: "normal 50-50". No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:17:03

White residents

"96.3%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:17:19

Black residents

"0.5%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:17:28

Asian residents

"0.0%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:18:05

Native American residents

"0.0%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:18:05

Hispanic residents

"2.9%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:18:21

Religious population

"42%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:18:24

Voted Democrat

"37%"

Comparison: "last election, Lincoln County". No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:18:51

Voted Republican

"60%"

Comparison: "last election, Lincoln County". No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:18:51

Independent voters

"2.5%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:18:58

Unemployment rate

"0.5%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:19:19

Median household income

"$79,978"

Comparison: "national average about $57,000". No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:19:33

Cost of living

"92"

Comparison: "100 is average". Direction: below.

As told in 2021 about 0:19:52

Housing cost index

"84 out of 100"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:19:54

Median home cost

"$195,900"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:19:57

Average two-bedroom rent

"about $960 a month"

No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:20:20

Three-bedroom one-bath house

"$144,900"

Comparison: "1,226 square feet". No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:20:55

Four-bedroom three-bath house

"$315,000"

Comparison: "1,903 square feet". No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:21:26

Four-bedroom three-bath house on two acres

"$685,000"

Comparison: "3,571 square feet". No direction stated.

As told in 2021 about 0:21:47

Property crime

"about one third under"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2021 about 0:25:35

Violent crime

"about half"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2021 about 0:25:55

The reviews

4.3 / 5 · average of 3

5 stars

“The town has been an amazing experience; the community is close, friendly and respectful and feels like a family, supporting local businesses and the school, and the town loves its sports.”
about 0:11:52

5 stars

“The reviewer has lived in Tea all their life, had two amazing jobs and a group of lifetime friends, calls the people warm and welcoming, has never locked their car, and has never had a bad day there.”
about 0:12:41

3 stars

“Tea has the small town feel while remaining a good size, with good public schools and caring teachers, but the number of attractions and businesses could always be improved.”
about 0:15:30

In South Dakota

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  3. Body Part Scavenger HuntEmerson, Nebraska · 10 July 2026131 km / 81 miShow on map
  4. Sex, Deception, Death... And A PigVerdigre, Nebraska · 25 June 2020137 km / 85 miShow on map
  5. A Deviously Hypocritical KillerWolsey, South Dakota · 27 September 2017170 km / 106 miShow on map

The story

Barbara Creteau was born on 27 June 1946 in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, the eldest child of Bob and Marie Creteau. Her father was an insurance agent and the family was devoutly Catholic; Barbara was raised in Catholic schools and grew up conservative and religious. She graduated from Assumption High School in 1964 and went on to the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point.

He spent much of his childhood with his father, a gambler, at race tracks. At sixteen he came to Chatham, New Jersey with his family; he worked six years as a mechanic and then as a security guard from 1970 to 1972. He divorced his first wife in 1972, one ground being his affair with another woman, and married Barbara on 2 June 1972.

Barbara worked as a librarian for the Veterans Administration, reading to emotionally damaged Vietnam veterans before moving to the medical library. A promotion took the couple to Amarillo, Texas, and later to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Their daughter Heather was born in 1975. Barbara became chief medical librarian and helped found the South Dakota Health Sciences Library Association. She had cancer in 1979 and underwent surgery, but barely mentioned it at work.

A co-worker, Jeanine Elifson, said he received constant calls from women and told her in 1975 that his wife had helped him get citizenship and provided a pay cheque, and that perhaps she would have a hunting accident. In 1981 he had the finance officer Shelly Amado forge Barbara's name on a loan application.

The third plan used the city's old .38-calibre revolver, kept in a safe at the Tea police station.

He said his only alternatives were to leave or kill himself. He loaded the revolver, showed her how to fire it, told her to ride a bicycle because a car would be noticed, to hide the gun afterwards, and to shower and wash her clothes to remove gunpowder residue. He would be at the dog track, with betting slips as an alibi.

She asked Barbara to make coffee, waited until Barbara was at the kitchen sink with her back to the stairs, put the gun close to the back of her head and fired. She cycled home and hid the weapon under the front seat of her car.

When the sheriff arrived, Barbara, 37, was on the kitchen floor covered with a blanket, a sailor-style tie pulled over her face with the knot between her eyes. Everyone said nobody had touched the body. County coroner Donald Anderson and Sioux Falls forensic pathologist Dr Brad Randall suggested she might have slipped on a throw rug and hit her head on the stove handle. Albers noticed the handle was undamaged and asked for an autopsy, which found a small entry wound and a single bullet lodged in her brain between her eyes.

Albers told her he knew she had done it; she replied that she had no access to guns and had not left her house. On 20 July she sought him out and claimed she was being blackmailed over a drunken encounter at a convention in Pierre, that she had paid $1,000 in December 1981 and another $300, and that the demands had risen to $5,000 in 1983, which was why she took money from Elite Uniforms.

A handwriting comparison looked similar. Ballistics matched the bullet to the .38 revolver from the Tea police safe.

The state announced it would seek the death penalty. She said she still loved him.

The case

Murder of Barbara McDowell

Victims

Barbara Creteau McDowell (37). wife of the Tea chief of police, medical librarian at the Sioux Falls VA hospital

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 24 June 2021.

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Heather McDowell. Barbara and daughter, eight or nine at the time; staying at the s' house the night of the murder and testified behind closed doors
James McDowell. brother, in the house after the body was found
Linda McDowell. sister-in-law
Ken Albers. Lincoln County sheriff who investigated
Donald Anderson. county coroner who first thought the death could be accidental
Dr. Brad Randall. Sioux Falls forensic pathologist who also thought it could be accidental
Shelly Amado. finance officer who forged Barbara's name on a loan application at request
Woody Schroeder. Tea mayor
Jeff Maston. prosecutor
Bob and Marie Creteau. Barbara's parents, who took custody of Heather
Lorraine Arnold. Barbara's friend from Assumption High School
Jeanine Elifson. co-worker who said got calls from many women and spoke of a hunting accident
Michael McDowell. uncle, involved in the bookmaking plan

The timeline

  1. June 27, 1946 Barbara Creteau is born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, the eldest child of Bob and Marie.about 0:45:21
  2. September 12, 1948 is born in Bells Hill, Scotland, the oldest child of a Scottish coal miner.about 0:50:41
  3. 1964 Barbara graduates from Assumption High School. (Assumption High School)about 0:47:03
  4. the late 1960s or early 1970s Barbara's car breaks down; she takes it to a garage and meets the mechanic .about 0:48:18
  5. 1969 family returns to Scotland; he stays behind in the United States, already married.about 0:53:57
  6. June 2, 1972 marries Barbara Creteau, soon after his divorce from his first wife.about 0:56:30
  7. 1972 first marriage ends in divorce; one ground was his affair with another woman.about 0:54:45
  8. 1975 Barbara and daughter Heather is born.about 1:03:52
  9. 1975 Co-worker Jeanine Elifson says got constant calls from women and told her his wife might have a hunting accident.about 1:02:16
  10. 1978 is hired as a police officer for Hartford, South Dakota. (Hartford police department)about 1:05:33
  11. 1979 The McDowells move to Tea while is still with the Hartford police; Barbara has cancer surgery.about 1:05:39
  12. August 1980 has her colon removed and says her husband stops wanting her physically.about 1:15:05
  13. March 1981 is hired as Tea police chief and becomes the town finance officer the same day. (Tea City police department)about 1:06:38
  14. 1981 gets Shelly Amado to forge his wife's name on a loan application.about 1:07:20
  15. August 4, 1981 and begin their sexual relationship at a Sioux Falls motel. (Sioux Falls motel)about 1:17:15
  16. December 1981 says a blackmailer telephoned demanding $1,000, then another $300.about 1:47:36
  17. 1982 and 1983 travels to Sioux Falls three times, poses as Barbara and forges her signature on loans at two finance companies.about 1:50:25
  18. April 21, 1983 and Barbara Ristraffer travel to Abilene, Kansas to pick up a greyhound and have an affair.about 2:01:48
  19. June 15, 1983, about 2 p.m. picks up and tells her she must kill his wife that day or he will leave or kill himself.about 1:31:13
  20. June 15, 1983, about 10 p.m. rides her bicycle to the McDowell house with the city's .38 revolver in a cowboy boot and shoots Barbara in the back of the head at the kitchen sink. (McDowell house)about 1:33:18
  21. June 15, 1983, about 11.45 p.m. telephones from a truck stop near the Tea exit on Interstate 29 and tells her to wash her hands and hair with gasoline. (truck stop near the Tea exit)about 1:36:25
  22. June 16, 1983, about 12.10 a.m. returns to Tea, locks the post office and stops at the s' home for coffee. ( home)about 0:40:56
  23. June 16, 1983, about 1.10 a.m. finds Barbara on the kitchen floor, calls Sheriff Ken Albers, then his brother and the s. (McDowell house)about 0:43:44
  24. June 16, 1983 Sheriff Albers arrives, finds Barbara covered with a blanket, and the coroner and pathologist suggest she slipped and hit the stove handle. (McDowell house)about 0:30:00
  25. June 16, 1983 An autopsy finds a small entry wound and a single bullet lodged in Barbara's brain between her eyes.about 0:39:06
  26. June 17, 1983 Sheriff Albers interviews and ; both deny involvement.about 1:42:41
  27. July 9, 1983 tells officer Dennis Johnson he hopes the murder weapon proves to be a .22 calibre pistol.about 2:12:50
  28. July 20, 1983 seeks out the sheriff and claims she was being blackmailed, which is why she took money from Elite Uniforms.about 1:46:20
  29. September 6, 1983 Barbara Ristraffer arranges a meeting between and at her mobile home in Sioux Falls. (Barbara Ristraffer's mobile home)about 2:02:17
  30. 1985 files to have the racketeering suit thrown out, and a judge refuses to dismiss it.about 2:23:17

Places and phrases

N ↑Public placePublic placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode