Warning: This article includes discussion of suicide, drug abuse and descriptions of graphic violence.
Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Unsolved Mysteries volume 3, episode 7, "Body in the Bay."The "Body in the Bay" episode of Unsolved Mysteries volume 3 details how the friends and family of Patrick Mullins came to believe that Damon Crestwood was connected to Mullins' death. Patrick Mullins disappeared on Sunday, January 27, 2013, and was last seen taking his boat out on the river near his home. Mullins' boat was discovered two days later, but another week would pass before Mullins body was found tied to an anchor in another location on the opposite side of Tampa Bay from where his boat was found with the engine still running.
While the Netflix true-crime series does not accuse Damon Crestwood of murdering Mullins, it does detail the strange circumstances of Mullins death and Crestwood's equally strange reaction to it. This builds a compelling case that Crestwood, if not responsible for Mullins' death, may have had some secret knowledge regarding the truth of it. Additionally, there is some physical evidence in the case that may tie Crestwood to Mullins' disappearance.
Damon's Erratic Behavior After Patrick Mullins' Death
The chief reason that Patrick Mullins' family and friends believe Damon Crestwood was connected to Mullins' death lies within the intensity of Crestwood's reaction to Mullins' disappearance. While Crestwood was known to the Mullins family, he was more closely associated with Patrick's brother, Gray Mullins, than with Patrick. While Patrick Mullins was a popular teacher and librarian in his community, Crestwood's sorrowful reaction to his death struck many as disproportionately strong, given that they were better described as acquaintances than friends.
Unsolved Mysteries season 3 interviewed several members of the Mullins family, who recounted Damon Crestwood's odd behavior in the days following Patrick Mullins' disappearance. Patrick's wife, Jill Mullins, recalled that Damon had told her of looking out on the Manatee River and how he would cry and sob for hours. Gray Mullins likewise recalled that Damon would "break into tears and then uncontrollable sobbing" whenever Patrick was mentioned. While this sort of reaction might be expected from a spouse or child, it seemed a little strange coming from a casual friend.
Damon Crestwood's behavior became even more erratic after Patrick Mullins' body was found. He began to ask his friends if they would still be his friend "if something happened," and if they would be there for him, without specifying what he meant. This coincided with Damon having annual mental breakdowns every January, around the anniversary of Patrick Mullins' death.
Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries revealed that Damon Crestwood also began abusing crystal meth following Patrick Mullins' death. This contributed to his increasingly paranoid and impulsive behavior, making his friends more and more suspicious regarding what he might know about Mullin's death. Unfortunately, Damon Crestwood died from a meth overdose on April 5, 2017, before his friends could get him the help he clearly needed.
The Memorial Day Rope Trick
One particular incident occurring on Memorial Day 2013 stands out among all the stories of Damon Crestwood acting strangely following the death of Patrick Mullins. Patrick's son, Miles Mullins, recalled how Crestwood showed up at a gathering of family and friends and tied a rope to his dog. He then tied the rope around his own body, in perfect imitation of the strange configurations of knots used to tie an anchor to Patrick Mullins' body. While it's possible this was some kind of tasteless joke, the Unsolved Mysteries case study "Body in the Bay" seems to imply that Crestwood may have been trying to confess to something without speaking. Whatever the reasoning, it was incredibly odd and prompted Crestwood's friends to ask if there was something wrong with him mentally or emotionally.
Paint On Damon's Boat Matched Marks On Patrick's Boat
One of the oddest aspects of the case of Patrick Mullins' death is how little physical evidence exists apart from his body. The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office determined that Mullins was killed by a shotgun wound to the head, and theorized that he shot himself after tying an anchor to his body, so he would be dragged overboard while his boat moved on. The chief problems with this theory, however, are that there was no evidence of any blood splatter on Patrick Mullins' boat and no evidence that he had ever owned a shotgun. Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries also noted that Mullins' body was in remarkable condition when it was recovered, showing no signs of having been partly eaten by the aquatic wildlife in the bay. Despite this, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office were still quick to write Mullins' death off as suicide. However, there is one bit of physical evidence which throws the suicide theory into question and may place Damon Crestwood at the scene of Patrick Mullins' death.
Miles Mullins discussed how he found red paint markings on the side of his father's boat shortly after it was recovered in the Unsolved Mysteries season 3 episode "Body in the Bay." Damon Crestwood owned a red-stripped boat which was docked off the Manatee River, near the opening into Tampa Bay, where Patrick Mullins' body was found. These facts, coupled with Crestwood's strange behavior, caused many to start considering the possibility that Patrick Mullins was murdered and that Damon Crestwood was connected to the crime. Unfortunately, Crestwood denied the requests of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office to take a paint sample from his boat to test against the paint markings on Mullins' boat, and they lacked the evidence to request a warrant to search Crestwood's boat.
After Damon Crestwood's death in 2017, his daughter took ownership of his boat and agreed to let the paint be sampled. The paint from Crestwood's boat proved to be a perfect match for the red paint markings that Miles Mullins had discovered on his father's boat. However, the significance of this finding was dismissed by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. Rabun Moss, a Lieutenant with the Manatee County Sherrif's office, explained in the Unsolved Mysteries episode "Body in the Bay" that the red paint in question was common enough that it could not be conclusively used as evidence that Damon Crestwood's boat had come into contact with Patrick Mullins' boat, much less that Crestwood had been involved in Patrick Mullins' disappearance and death. While the matching paint marks might not be enough evidence to tie Damon Crestwood to the death of Patrick Mullins legally, Unsolved Mysteries makes a point in highlighting how suspicious Crestwood's refusal to let his boat be tested was in hindsight.
Unsolved Mysteries volume 3 is now streaming on Netflix.