Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘Murder, Modesty, and the Pastor’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Fatal Vows,’ Corrine Behl Stoudt’s murder case is covered in a detailed manner, including the complicated investigation that ensued. When her remains were discovered, the detectives lacked enough evidence or clues to obtain significant leads in the case. However, upon digging deeper into Corrine’s life, they were led to the perpetrator with a dark, secretive past.
Corrine Behl Stoudt Was Found Dead Inside Her Owensboro Home
Corrine Danielle Behl Stoudt came into the lives of Albert L. and Norma Behl as a little bundle of joy on December 11, 1959, in Carlinville, Illinois. She was raised in Shipman, Illinois, alongside her three brothers, Douglas, Brent, and Craig, and two sisters — Natalie and Shallene. After attending Carlinville schools, she went to Ohio County High School and graduated with flying colors in 1977. As she grew into an empathetic and caring woman, she became a certified nurse’s aide at Owensboro-Daviess County Hospital. In her free time, Corrine loved spending time tending to her garden and exercising. The religious woman also frequently visited the church. Her first marriage to a man in the Navy ended in a divorce and she was left with the responsibility of raising three sons, Sean, Colt, and Tristan.
As her sons grew up and left the home to pursue higher studies, Corrine began feeling lonely in her empty nest. That’s when her father, who worked at a car dealership in Owensboro, Kentucky, introduced her to one of his colleagues, Calvin Andrew Stoudt. As sparks flew between them, they got into a long-distance relationship, with Calvin visiting her in Illinois every now and then to spend weekends with her. A few months later, she relocated to Kentucky to be close to Calvin. Not long after, she also landed a job as a nurse’s aide at a hospital and settled into her new life. Due to her Christian values and beliefs, she didn’t live in with Calvin, who lived with his roommate and longtime friend, Dave, and worked as a car detailer.
Less than a year later, the couple made their relationship official in a small wedding ceremony on March 22, 2003, in Calhoun, Kentucky, surrounded mostly by the family and friends of Corrine. A few years later, in June 2006, fate soon intervened as Corrine met her untimely demise, leaving behind her three children. On the fateful evening of June 25, 2006, after 7:30 pm, the police received a 911 call from her husband, Calvin, who told the dispatcher that he found 46-year-old Corrine dead in their home at 1735 Lee Court in Owensboro. As the police arrived at the scene, they noticed that the bedroom was turned upside down, but there was no sign of forced entry, murder weapon, or noticeable defensive wounds on the deceased. The cause of her death was determined to be strangulation.
Corrine Bell Stoudt’s Killer Had a Dark History of Sex Crimes
As part of the investigation, the police interviewed Corrine Bell Stoudt’s family, friends, and neighbors, in order to learn more about the circumstances surrounding her death. During his interview, Calvin Stoudt told the police that on the fateful day, he and Corrine returned home from church for lunch. He claimed that he left for the church again around 4:30 pm to attend a meeting. As per his account, when Corrine didn’t show up for service as planned, he became concerned and got back home, finding his wife dead on the floor. His version of events sounded suspicious to the detectives as the coroner had concluded that Corrine had been dead for about eight hours before her remains were found.
The investigators then interviewed Calvin’s close friend, Dave, who told them that the two knew each other for 15 years. He claimed that they first met in prison when Calvin was serving time for child molestation. It turned out that Calvin was a registered sex offender, with multiple charges of sex crimes against him. Dave was cleared as a possible suspect after his alibi checked out and polygraph came clean. In August 2006, the police collected a DNA sample from Calvin, who was considered a person of interest. Finally, in the afternoon of October 2, 2006, the Owensboro Police Department arrested him for killing his wife, Corrine, and held at the Daviess County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond. It was theorized that on June 25, 2006, the couple got into a heated argument, which led to Calvin strangling her to death and staging the scene as a burglary.
Calvin Stoudt Died While Serving His Two-Decade Sentence
More than two years later, in February 2009, Calvin Stoudt avoided trial by pleading guilty to killing his wife, Corrine Behl Stoudt, for a lesser sentence. A few weeks later, on April 2, he was ultimately sentenced to 20 years in prison for his involvement in the gruesome crime. However, the killer only served about seven years out of the 20 years because on June 2, 2016, he passed away in prison, reportedly of heart problems.
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