Crystal Dupuis Grebinger

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Lafayette Police Department (LA)

Missing From:

Lafayette, Louisiana

Summary:

Crystal Dupuis Grebinger, a 32-year-old mother of four, was last seen in Lafayette, Louisiana on February 7-8, 2013, leaving a shelter for abused women where she was staying during a divorce from her estranged husband of sixteen years, Sean Grebinger, from whom she had obtained a protective order in November 2012 after he allegedly sexually assaulted her and attempted to strangle her. Sean was arrested in Brazil in February 2020 on an Interpol warrant for her suspected murder, but was found hanged in his cell days later in what authorities believe was a suicide. Crystal has never been located.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Crystal was last seen in Lafayette, Louisiana on February 7, 2013, and was living in a shelter for abused women at the time. She left the shelter on February 7 and was last seen the following day. She failed to attend several child custody court dates later that month and was reported missing on February 18. She was last seen wearing a black jumpsuit and black sparkly/sequenced shoes with a tattoo on the small of her back reading 'property of Sean Grebinger'. Crystal married Sean Karl Grebinger in the 1990s and lived in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. They had a stormy sixteen-year marriage and were estranged at the time of Crystal's disappearance. In November 2012, Crystal had obtained a protective order to keep him away from her and their four children; she wrote that he had sexually assaulted her and on one occasion tried to strangle her, and she was afraid for her and her children's lives. On January 14, Crystal filed for divorce. She disappeared three weeks later.

Additional Details:

Sean dropped out of sight two weeks after Crystal's disappearance, and his whereabouts were unknown for years. Sean took a flight to São Paulo, Brazil two weeks after the disappearance of his American wife, and eventually remarried a Brazilian woman and obtained a residence permit. He reportedly obtained residency there after falsely claiming that he was an American Special Forces agent facing political persecution in the United States. On January 31st, 2020, Sean was arrested in Brazil after assaulting his wife. He was released on provisional release without bail, but at that point, investigators in the United States learned about his location. In February 2020, it was announced that Sean would be extradited to the United States to face murder charges in Crystal's disappearance. American law enforcement obtained 'substantial evidence' of Sean Grebinger's involvement in his wife's disappearance and potential homicide. Grebinger was arrested and was being held in the Pouso Alegre prison awaiting extradition to the United States. Local media in Pouso Alegre and GloboNews reported Grebinger was found dead in his cell, with the Justice and Public Safety Bureau confirming he was found dead in his cell Friday morning around 8:30 a.m. local time while guards were delivering breakfast to inmates. Grebinger was found with a makeshift rope tied around his neck and attached to the bars of his cell, constructed from pieces of fabric. A regional official for the Civil Police said strong indications point to suicide and that Grebinger left letters behind. He left farewell letters to family and friends, speaking a lot about his children in the letter to his mother, and asking his friend to take care of his children. The only trace of her that has been found is a shoe that she was believed to have been wearing on the day of her disappearance, found near Lake Fausse Pointe, a swamp park area approximately 20 miles away from Lafayette. A sequined Sperry shoe was found at Lake Fausse Point by the water, and it was identified as belonging to the missing woman.

Case Last Updated:

Nov 15, 2026