Sandra Bridewell

Case record: Sandra Bridewell

Other names and aliases

Sandra Bridewell used multiple names and aliases, including Sandra Camille (Powers) Bridewell, Camille Bridewell, Camille Bowers, and “Camille Moseley”.

Background

Sandra Camille (Powers) Bridewell was born April 4, 1944, and was adopted as an infant by Arthur and Camille Powers of Sedalia, Missouri.

Sandra’s adoptive mother, Camille, was killed in an auto accident when Sandra was about three years old. Arthur Powers later remarried and relocated the family to Oak Cliff, Texas, a Dallas suburb.

Arthur Powers managed and ran a Dr. Pepper bottling plant. He later worked as a cemetery plot salesman.

Sandra had a troubled relationship with her stepmother Doris. Sandra said that Doris regularly locked her in a closet, refused to send out birthday party invitations, and told her that nobody wanted her.

After graduating high school in 1962, Sandra began seeing a series of men and attended one year of junior college.

Sandra’s deception about her background was described through multiple accounts by friends. Friends described her as using “poor helpless me” routines and as telling different stories about her past, including claims that her adoptive parents had been killed and claims that her parents were Irish aristocrats. She was also described as telling a story about a West Point boyfriend who had shot himself while he sat in the car with her. One friend said she used a number of different aliases.

Friends recalled that Sandra claimed she attended SMU, with a registrar’s office having no record of her taking any course there. On her 10-year high school reunion questionnaire, Sandra wrote that she attended TCU, and the school registrar’s office said she never enrolled at TCU. It was stated that she attended Tyler Junior College for a year after high school and was a member of the Sans Souci sorority.

It was documented that she later lived in North Dallas in the 1960s, including living at the Windsor House Apartments near the Upper Greenville area by 1966.

The offence

Identity theft and related conduct involving Sue Moseley

In 2006, Sandra Bridewell surfaced in North Carolina under the name Camille Bowers. That September, she moved in with Sue Moseley, a 77-year-old woman who lived in a million dollar home on the Carolina coast.

Bowers had an arrangement with Moseley’s son, Jim. In return for managing the housework, Bowers received free room and board.

As Bowers integrated into the community and spoke for local women’s groups, she took over Moseley’s finances. She collected tax records, rerouted Moseley’s Social Security payments to a new account, siphoned off mortgage money, ran up credit charges, and used Moseley’s bank account to help fund spa treatments and nice shoes.

Jim Moseley grew suspicious and, in early 2007, found a lengthy newspaper story in the Dallas Observer that chronicled Bowers’ life. Working with the police, Jim played the front man in a police sting.

On March 2, 2007, Bowers was arrested in a cafe in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Later in 2007, Bowers was charged with identity theft, fraud, mail theft, and Social Security fraud.

The arrest sparked renewed interest in Rehrig’s death, and the Oklahoma City police agreed to put new resources and manpower behind the investigation.

Sandra Camille Powers pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft in February 2008.

At sentencing in September 2008, Powers was ordered to serve two years in prison and was issued a $250,000 fine. She was also ordered to pay more than $1,600 in restitution to the Moseley family.

A plea bargain was described as dropping four charges in return for the identity theft guilty plea.

Statements in court regarding the plea

The plea included a statement by Bridewell: she said in a high, feminine voice, “I am guilty”.

Terms and conditions described for the plea

In exchange for pleading guilty to one count of identity theft, Bridewell agreed to a sentence of two years in prison and two years of supervision, along with a $250,000 fine.

Investigation

Links drawn to the Rehrig death

After Bridewell’s arrest in Charlotte, North Carolina, in March 2007, interest in the death of Alan Rehrig increased, and Oklahoma City homicide police agreed to put new resources and manpower behind the investigation.

Federal agent Frank Maroney investigated the case further after it was learned that Bridewell might have committed Social Security fraud.

During the federal proceedings, it was said that Bridewell used other aliases, addresses, and ages.

Investigation of the Alan Rehrig death (Oklahoma City)

Oklahoma City police had not been able to notify Sandra when they called her after Alan Rehrig’s death. Sandra asked, “Is it bad news?” When they said it was, Sandra did not ask what had happened and told them to call Alan’s friend in Oklahoma, Ron Barnes, before hanging up.

When Barnes called her, Sandra became hysterical. Phil Askew went to her home and said she wept throughout the night.

The next day, a couple she knew from the Bobby Bridewell days came to see her. They recalled Sandra threw her arms around the husband and said, “No one is going to love me again.”

In the funeral period, Sandra’s behavior baffled friends. She ordered the cheapest casket available for Alan, and it was said that she told people she had forgotten to bring her checkbook and could not pay for the funeral, with others taking care of it. Nearly 400 people came to the funeral in Edmond.

It was stated that Oklahoma City detectives Steve Pacheco and Ron Mitchell visited Dallas after the funeral and learned that Sandra had already hired an attorney who advised her not to talk to the police. It was also stated that the children would not talk with them, and that Sandra refused to provide hair and fingerprint samples.

Sandra’s attorney was described as Vincent Perini. Perini wrote to Oklahoma City detectives demanding that they never again try to talk to Sandra or her children. Perini also hired the private investigator Bill Dear to look into the case. Dear was described as the same investigator Sandra had talked with weeks before Alan’s death.

Sandra told Dear that she believed Alan was associating with drug dealers and that she feared for her life.

Conflicting accounts of timing and whereabouts

Investigators retraced Sandra’s steps and had conflicting statements about the time she called Phil Askew and when she was at home. Askew told police she called him from the Garland mini-warehouse at 6:15, while Barbara Franks said Sandra called between 6 and 6:30 at Sandra’s home to firm up a dinner engagement.

The Austin couple, Alan Franks and his wife Barbara, said that after dinner with Sandra, the three went to see the movie White Nights.

Police were still trying to verify Sandra’s precise whereabouts on Saturday night and following Sunday.

Polygraph examinations

It was stated that Perini asked Sandra to submit to a polygraph test. It was reported that she took one test on December 23 and another on December 30. A friend said Sandra walked out of the polygraph examination office teary-eyed and said she had failed two key questions.

Probate court and allegations regarding Alan Rehrig’s estate

Gloria Rehrig, Alan’s mother, was described as seeking to move against Sandra in Oklahoma City and Dallas County court proceedings due to the lack of progress finding Alan’s killer.

In May 1986, Gloria came to Dallas to pass out leaflets in the Park Cities bearing pictures of herself, Alan, and Sandra, along with a picture of the Ford Bronco. The leaflet asked if anyone had seen Alan on the weekend he disappeared.

Gloria said that when she went by Sandra’s home to ask for Alan’s personal items, Sandra slammed the door in her face.

In July 1986, Gloria took her case to court and sought that Sandra be removed as administrator of Alan’s estate, saying she was “suspected of having complicity” in Alan’s murder. Gloria argued she did not want Sandra to have insurance benefits.

It was stated that Sandra was to be the primary beneficiary of $220,000 in insurance policies on Alan’s life. Texas law was described as allowing denial of life insurance proceeds only if the beneficiary was convicted of murdering that person.

After legal maneuvering, an August 1986 hearing in Oklahoma was described as a time when Oklahoma detectives Pacheco and Mitchell were prepared to testify that Sandra was their suspect. The hearing was postponed.

Later, Sandra resigned as administrator of Alan’s estate. Sandra’s attorney noted in a court document that she “has been subject to a series of accusations, which are both false and unfounded in fact.”

Half of the insurance money was described as going into Alan’s estate (some of it used to pay $32,000 in bills that Sandra and Alan owed), and the other half as remaining in escrow until questions about Alan’s murder were cleared up. Sandra filed suit in California demanding that the money be given to her, and a hearing was described as scheduled later that year.

Evidence described from the Bronco

The investigation described possible incriminating evidence from the Bronco where Alan’s body was found. Some hair and bits of fingernails were collected. It was stated that the trajectory of a bullet hole in the driver’s seat confirmed that Rehrig was shot while sitting in the driver’s seat by someone sitting in the passenger’s seat.

Hamburger wrappers were described as found in the truck, from which fingerprints were reportedly lifted. Autopsy results were described as showing some of the hamburger was still lodged in his throat when he was shot.

Since the body was discovered frozen, it was said that the medical examiner could not pinpoint the precise time of death. A private investigator reported that he saw the Bronco by an electrical substation while taking his girlfriend to the airport at 7:30 on Sunday morning, the day after Alan Rehrig disappeared in Dallas.

Arrest

Sandra Bridewell was arrested on March 2, 2007, in a cafe in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Trial and sentencing

Bridewell did not proceed to trial on the identity theft plea.

At sentencing in September 2008, Powers was ordered to serve two years in prison, received a $250,000 fine, and was ordered to pay more than $1,600 in restitution to the Moseley family.

A federal judge was named in connection with the hearing as James C. Dever III of the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Other alleged involvement: deaths of husbands and a close friend

Suspected hand in the death of at least one husband and a close friend

Bridewell was described as suspected of having a hand in the death of at least one husband as well as a close friend.

First husband: David Stegall

David Stegall was described as Sandra’s first husband. It was stated that he shot himself to death in 1975. It was stated that in February 1975 David attempted suicide again and succeeded, with Sandra telling police that she awakened to find David lying in his bed in a pool of blood after she had been sleeping in another wing of the house.

Police found David Stegall with his wrists slashed and a bullet wound to his left temple, and it was stated that a .22-caliber pistol was in his hand.

It was stated that the gun Stegall used to kill himself had apparently been stolen from one of his patients.

After David’s death, Sandra sold the home for $147,500 and got $160,000 in life insurance. It was stated that David’s dental practice sold for less than $15,000. It was further stated that even after paying off all the bills, Sandra and her children had enough money to live comfortably.

A psychologist and psychiatrist who examined David Stegall days before he died were described as concluding he was not suicidal.

The account described Sandra’s financial management after the death, including paying the bills and using life insurance.

Quotes included:

• “She had a way,” recalled one friend of Sandra.
• “She was phenomenal to the rest of us,” recalled Kathy Woodson.

A specific quote attributed to Dr. E.T. Stegall Sr. was included: “They loved the idea of being rich. David liked rich things, and so did Sandra. But, being young, or whatever, they had no idea about money.”

Second husband: Bobby Bridewell

Bobby Bridewell was described as Sandra’s second husband, and his death was described as occurring after a cancer diagnosis. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1980. It was stated that Bridewell died two years after diagnosis, and the age at death was described as 41, with his death occurring on May 9, 1982.

During the period of his illness, Sandra remodeled the couple’s Highland Park home and forced him to move in with a friend, and he never returned to his house.

After Bobby Bridewell’s death, Sandra was described as leaving for a Hawaiian vacation with her three children.

Quotes included:

• “Here you are, a housewife worried about carpools and working at the school cafeteria, and along comes Sandra talking about someone throwing knives at her. None of this had ever happened to us.” —Frances Shepherd, Highland Park mother

Other quotes included in the Bobby Bridewell narrative:

• “That winter before he died, the heat didn’t work in their home,” says a woman who was close to Bridewell.
• “Oh, that’s a crock,” says Barbara Crooks in defense.
• “Okay. Sandra’s actions might not have been the most appropriate thing to do, but it wasn’t like she was being immoral,” says another lifelong Highland Park resident.

A friend also described that Bobby remained in a motel room until late April and then spent the last two weeks at Baylor University Medical Center.

Close friend’s death: Betsy Bagwell

Betsy Bagwell was described as Sandra’s close friend and the wife of Dr. John Bagwell.

Betsy Bagwell was described as found dead in her Mercedes-Benz in an airport parking lot. It was stated that police discovered her on June 16, 1982, and that she was 40 years old.

It was stated that she was shot in the head and that the death was later ruled a suicide. The weapon was described as a stolen .22 caliber pistol that Bagwell held in her right hand.

It was stated that Sandra was the last person to see Betsy alive.

It was stated that there were questions about the suicide ruling, including the lack of a suicide note and a private investigation suggesting Betsy’s death might not be a suicide, but that police refused to reopen the case.

Dallas County Medical Examiner ruling: suicide.

The weapon narrative included:

• The .22-caliber pistol that Bagwell held in her right hand.
• It was stated that the gun was a stolen “Saturday Night Special,” described as a cheap pistol registered to a deceased Oak Cliff man.

Quotes included:

• “Of all the interviewing I did, with all her closest friends, I could not find anyone who could think of a reason Betsy would have to shoot herself.” —Bill Murphy, private investigator
• “it looked a little unusual how quickly she tried to get close to [John].”
• “No one is going to love me again.” —Sandra, recalled by a couple who visited after Alan’s death

Also included were statements attributed to Sandra’s denial of the letter:

• It was stated that Sandra denied the existence of the letter to Dallas police.

Third husband: Alan Rehrig

Alan Rehrig was described as Sandra’s third husband.

It was stated that Sandra and Alan Rehrig married in December 1984. It was also stated that Alan was 29 and Sandra was 40.

Alan Rehrig’s death was described as occurring in Oklahoma City. It was reported that he was found on December 11, 1985, shot twice with a .38-caliber pistol, with the frozen body inside a Ford Bronco with Texas license plates. Police found him parked next to an electrical substation on the city’s southwest side.

It was stated that the cause of death was gunshots to the head and chest.

The account said the body was driven to Oklahoma. Sandra was described as a suspect but that nothing could be pinned on her at the time.

In connection with Sandra’s contact with police after the death:

• Police were described as puzzled by Sandra’s initial actions when she asked “Is it bad news?” and told them to call Ron Barnes.

During the investigation period, it was stated that Sandra left Oklahoma for Dallas hours after the service.

A key attorney-related action included Perini’s letter demanding no further police interviews.

The narrative included conflicting statements about where Sandra was at 6:15 to 6:30 and included a movie White Nights.

Investigators were reported to have taken hair and bits of fingernails from the truck. It was reported that the trajectory of a bullet hole confirmed Rehrig was shot while sitting in the driver’s seat by someone in the passenger’s seat. Hamburger wrappers were described as found in the truck, with fingerprints reportedly lifted. Autopsy results were described as indicating some hamburger was lodged in his throat when he was shot.

A private investigator reported seeing the Bronco on Sunday morning while taking his girlfriend to the airport at 7:30.

A quote included about Alan’s arrest of the investigation:

• “Sandra is sweet and wonderful, but, look, she’s a bit of an airhead. She’s not smart enough to mastermind a crime.” —Suzanne Sweet

Quotes about Sandra and the relationship included:

• “Alan’s mistake was that he wanted money fast. His mistake was thinking he could quickly become a part of Dallas’ high society — and that left him gullible.” —Bill Dodd, lifelong friend

Quotes about Sandra’s pregnancy claim and wedding included:

• “Sandra’s pressing for a wedding, and I need time.” —Alan, as remembered by Phil Askew
• “Sandra had a hysterectomy before she met Alan. She told me that she sat him down before they ever got married and told him she couldn’t have children. She felt it was important that he knew that.” —Barbara Crooks

Quotes about Sandra’s statement during the plea included:

• “I am guilty” —Bridewell

Appeals

No appeal information was described.

Outcome and current status

Sandra Bridewell was never convicted of murder.

She pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft in return for a sentence of two years in prison on February 28, 2008, with sentencing described as occurring later in September.