Inside Peter Chadwick's brutal murder of college sweetheart wife Q.C. and the international manhunt

August 22, 2024

A MILLIONAIRE'S wife was found dead in a dumpster after he told investigators the location of her body, sparking an international manhunt.

The murder of Peter Chadwick's wife, Quee Choo "QC," is being revisited on a new episode of 20/20 airing on October 21 at 9pm.

The murder investigation began in 2012 when the two children of Peter and QC Chadwick were spotted waiting for their parents at a bus stop after school.

This behavior seemed unusual for the family as the Chadwicks picked their children up from the bus stop daily.

"The Chadwicks are not the kind of couple who forgets an obligation to their children," Newport Beach Police Press Information Officer Jen Manzella told 20/20.

"So she [the neighbor] immediately pulls over, scoops them up and takes them home."

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When the neighbor arrived at the family's home, it was empty.

The Newport Beach police were alerted of their disappearance, searched the home for a welfare check, and found blood in the master bathroom.

They also found that the family's safe was open and empty.

There was no trace of Peter or QC Chadwick.

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Investigators had no further details about the disappearance until Peter called 911 from a pay phone the following day and told officers that his wife had been murdered and that he had been kidnapped.

Officers soon learned that Chadwick was located at a gas station a few miles from the Mexican border, just two hours from Newport Beach.

While investigating the murder and kidnapping, Manzella said: "One thing was noticeably lacking.

“And that was any concerns about his children.”

CRACKS IN HIS STORY

Chadwick told investigators that he had hired a man for a paint job, and he killed QC in the couple's bathroom while Peter was home.

He claimed that he heard screaming and when he went to see what caused the yelling, the man held a pocketknife to Peter's neck.

The husband said he was forced to wrap up his dead wife's body, put her in the car, and drive toward the Mexican border.

But investigators started to notice cracks in his story.

They began to direct their attention to Peter and believed he was the number one suspect.

"It becomes clear that, whatever the other details may be, QC has been killed and her husband Peter was involved," said Manzella.

'SHE PUT UP A GOOD FIGHT'

On October 11, Peter was arrested and charged with homicide.

One week after the murder, Peter's attorney said that he would cough up the location of where QC's body was hidden.

Peter told the police that her body was in a dumpster in Wildcat Canyon near San Diego.

After searching, they were able to find her body in the dumpster.

"She had extensive wounds," the medical examiner in the case, Dr. Robert Stabley, said.

"My initial impression is that she met with some kind of trauma shortly before her death."

While doing the autopsy, Stabley said that she had been strangled.

"I believe she put up a good fight, was significantly traumatized with blunt force injuries, and then the ultimate assault was strangulation," the doctor said.

Chadwick pleaded not guilty and paid his bail of $1,000,000.

'HE WAS VERY CONTROLLING'

A friend of QC said that the couple's marriage was declining.

"She wanted to please him," Karen Thorp said.

"But he was very controlling."

"He is in Santa Barbara staying with his dad," ABC News Contributor and crime reporter Pat Lalama said of Chadwick after he was arrested.

"He has a relationship with his kids. And for two years he shows up for hearings.

"He's making his court appearances," Manzella said.

“Until one day, he does not.”

This was in January 2015.

Emptying his safety deposit box, Chadwick fled to Mexico again, but he could not be tracked this time.

MOST WANTED LIST

Six years after the murder of QC Chadwick, a podcast was launched by a new sergeant at the Newport Beach Police Department, Court Depweg.

After the first episode of "Countdown to Capture" in September 2018, the police began receiving tips about Chadwick's disappearance; they even offered a $100,000 reward for his capture.

Peter Chadwick was placed on the US Marshall 15 Most Wanted list.

At the end of the last podcast episode, Depweg sends a final message to Peter, who had been on the run for more than three years.

“Peter, end this now,” Depweg said.

“We are coming for you. This begins your countdown to capture.”

After receiving tips and using their solid investigative background, the US Marshalls and the Mexican Federales learned that Peter ran to Mexico.

Police were able to track down his location after Peter made a call from Cholula, Mexico - 2,000 miles from Newport Beach, California.