1995 The Murder and Kidnapping of 12-year-old McKay Everett (Conroe)

Nancy Guthrie’s missing status since January 31, 2026 from her home in Tucson, Arizona reminded me of this horrible story about the 1995 Kidnapping, Torture, and Murder of McKay Everett in Conroe, Texas. His tormentor and murderer? A family friend named Hilton Crawford.

Paulette, McKay, and Carl Everett

Hi, it’s Brenda from Vintage Texas Crimes.

I decided to do my video and article this week about McKay Everett, but when I started researching the case, I found two sources that discouraged me from doing my usual longform content because they were so good.

I am going to go ahead and give you a short version, and I will point you toward a top notch podcast, a book, and a video (done documentary style) by J.E. Hebert, if you want to dive deep into this dark piece of Conroe’s history.

To the Story …

Hilton Crawford

In 1995, security company owner, Hilton Crawford, felt like he was entitled to more … mainly because he was an evil sociopath. Crawford had gambling debts to pay, to the tune of about $450,000, and he wanted a new house on Lake Conroe. He concocted a scheme to kidnap a child and get the money he wanted through a ransom.

His friend, Carl Everett seemed to have money, so he decided to extort the money from the Everetts. Carl, who had just co-signed a loan for Hilton Crawford, was generous, and he would pay anything to get his son back … that much Crawford knew.

So Crawford tricked 12-year-old McKay Everett one night. It happened was while Paulette and Carl were at a meeting. Crawford lured McKay out of the house and into his car, probably by telling him his parents had been in an accident. Crawford was a longtime family friend. McKay called him “Uncle Hilty.” Hilton Crawford hired a woman, an ex-employee, named Irene Flores to call Carl that night around 11 p.m. and demand a ransom of $500,000.

By 2 a.m., Crawford had killed McKay.

McKay realized Crawford had lied to him and he was probably asking questions. Carl got frustrated with McKay and put him in the trunk. McKay was yelling and screaming; he was trying to escape. It scared Crawford and he beat him with a large metal flashlight. He drove to a deserted area in the Atchafalaya River Basin and pulled McKay out of the trunk and shot him in the back of the head twice.

After he beat and murdered Paulette and Carl Everett’s son; he left his body in a Louisiana swamp. On September 18, 1995, McKay’s body was located and brought home.

Ultimately, Flores got 25 years for her part in the crime. She served 23 of them.

Hilton Crawford was found guilty of capital murder in 1996; he was put to death by lethal injection on July 2, 2003 at age 64. He was the second oldest prisoner on death row in Texas at the time.

This case strikes close to home for me. I grew up south of Houston and I have spent a good bit of time in and around Conroe, and I love this small town. The case is also nostalgic because McKay was close in age to my own boys, and so much about McKay reminds me of them, and of course, that makes me think about how on earth his parents could have gotten through this. The crime endured by McKay and his parents, Paulette Everett-Norman and Carl Everett, shouldn’t be forgotten.

Can we ever trust anyone with our children? It will definitely make you think.

Dig Deeper into this Case

“Deadly Betrayal,” a book by Paulette Everett-Norman

I have this book and it is excellent.

Deadly Betrayal by Paulette Everett-Norman

Deadly Knot (J.E. Hebert)’s documentary-style video on YouTube

Great work by a local videographer who records historical places and stories.

Ransom: Position of Trust Podcast 9 Episodes

You can listen to Ransom at the official website or where you usually get your podcasts. This is an amazing deep dive into this story.

If you want to see all my sources in one place, check out my Trello Board – the McKay Everett Collection. This is experimental. I have been organizing my materials for stories and no one ever sees them again. I decided to share them this time to see if followers found them helpful or useful.