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>> reporter: but by all accounts, jermeir stroud loved denita dearly. it didnt make sense that he would kill the woman to whom he had just proposed. they were planning a big wedding. now after speaking with detectives, jermeir headed back home to greensboro, his life changed forever. and then, two hours after the murder, detectives got a lead. >> durham 911, where is your emergency? >> at campus crossings apartments. >> reporter: they discovered a second 911 call that had come in around the time...

She waited so long to tell it? >> when i asked her, where was this story when i arrested you? her exact words were, "he had threatened my children in the past. i was scared for their safety. he knew how to get to my children." and i asked her, whats changed? he still knows where your children are. he still knows how to get to them. he could still hurt them. >> reporter: and her answer? >> she just looked at me. >> everything ive told you is the truth. >> but you lied the first time we talked. >>...

Over here, she heard it too and shes like upset and shaking and stuff like that. >> she was covering her face and she went and got into her truck and started driving away. >> reporter: this woman looked frightened or -- >> he said like she was distraught. she had her hands over her face and moving quickly. >> reporter: like theyre horrified by what theyve seen. >> correct. >> reporter: so more witness than perpetrator maybe. >> thats exactly what he thought. >> reporter: then, according to the m...

>> i didnt know what he had done, and i didnt know what he was going to do to me. >> reporter: its often considered risky for a murder defendant to take the stand. but shannon crawley insisted on telling her story that she was a victim and not a killer. >> how do you know now that jermeir did it? >> well, for one hes told me since that he did. >> and youre trying to tell the jury that then you had no idea what might have just happened there? >> i didnt see anyone. >> just to hear how she present...

And he says let me call the police. and then she pulls off and takes off out the complex. >> reporter: what do you make of that? >> thats kind of like make the hair on the back of our neck stand up. >> reporter: so now police called jermeir stroud, who was on his way back home to greensboro, and asked one simple question. >> do you know anyone that drives a burgundy ford suv?" and he said, "oh, my god. im turning around now." >> reporter: a secret affair. >> they start having a relationship that...

>> jermeir didnt say anything. jermeir cried. we all cried. he didnt really say a whole lot. >> reporter: jermeir and denita had met back in college and became the "it" couple on campus. >> they had been dating for a few years. and you know, before i even met him denita spoke very highly of him. >> reporter: whatd she say? >> like hes a gentleman, hes intelligent. hes active, involved, well-rounded, hes kind, he respects me. he protects me. hes loving. >> reporter: the perfect guy? >> the perfec...

He said she did it. she was saying he did it. shannon had been charged with murdering smith and thats when she shared a new version of events claiming he was the real killer. authorities were intrigued but skeptical. shannon captured a series of recordings that she was sure proved her innocence. what would investigators make of this tale of the tape? it is rare for women to murder. more often they convince their men to do it for them, a kind of homicidal honey-do list. that was exactly what in...

>> reporter: the caller was the apartments maintenance supervisor whod been working near denitas unit. >> when he heard the shot, hed looked up in that direction and he told me he saw a female that was about 510", hair in a ponytail, and had some kind of emblems on her clothing. >> the young lady that stays over here, she heard it too and shes like upset and shaking and stuff like that. >> she was covering her face and she went and got into her truck and started driving away. >> reporter: this w...

If shannon had a story that proved her innocence, why had she waited so long to tell it? >> when i asked her, where was this story when i arrested you? her exact words were, "he had threatened my children in the past. i was scared for their safety. he knew how to get to my children." and i asked her, whats changed? he still knows where your children are. he still knows how to get to them. he could still hurt them. >> reporter: and her answer? >> she just looked at me. >> everything ive told you ...

She embodied everything that was positive and about supporting people. >> reporter: there was no one who didnt like her? >> right. she was well respected and well loved. >> reporter: especially by her fiancé, jermeir stroud, who appeared devastated by denitas death. >> jermeir didnt say anything. jermeir cried. we all cried. he didnt really say a whole lot. >> reporter: jermeir and denita had met back in college and became the "it" couple on campus. >> they had been dating for a few years. and,...