Page 4 - Everything Kind News Today

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 ...

The vehicle. he said, "yep, thats the vehicle that i saw." >> reporter: and that wasnt the only thing the witness noticed, says assistant d.a. david saacks. >> he remembers a patch or some kind of something, you know, on the shirt. >> reporter: a patch like on the uniform shannon wore as a 911 dispatcher. and there was more. investigators discovered shannon clocked in at about 10:00 a.m., some two hours after denita smith had been murdered. more than enough time for the 55-mile drive from durham...

At each other, eyeball to eyeball, and she still has her hands over her face. and he says, "maam, did you hear a shot or something?" and she shakes her head up and down yes. and he says, "whered it come from?" and she points her head in one direction and he says, "why are you nervous?" and shes like, "you heard the shot." 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...

>> yeah. >> and thought her life was certainly headed in the right direction. >> absolutely. >> yes. >> reporter: shannon worked in greensboro as a 911 operator at the emergency call center where she was often in close contact with law enforcement and was by all accounts a model employee. >> her supervisors really liked her. she was dependable. she came to work. she did what she was supposed to do, did it in a professional manner. no complaints really. >> reporter: detective shawn pate also foun...

Out the dismissal and i put the reasons why. im not going to do it just because she says she didnt do it. >> reporter: shannon and her attorney were emphatic that jermeir was the killer and also said that even now, months after the murder, he was making threatening phones calls to shannon, telling her to stay silent about his role. >> i told them that im more than willing to look at anything they have if they want to bring me something. but i cant just accept her word for it. thats the problem i...

>> reporter: but he didnt hold back? >> no, he really didnt hold back. the story is out. so you have to go ahead and tell the truth because if you dont you look like a liar now. >> reporter: so in that sense, jermeir did do the right thing? >> he did. >> reporter: the defense argued shannon was being framed for a murder jermeir alone committed. >> shannon crawleys lawyer was trying to paint jermeir as a crooked cop, you know, everything kind of elevates shannon crawley as she couldnt do anything...

>> 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 ...

Lipstick, keys, that kind of thing. all coming down the staircase. and first thing im wondering is, was there a struggle? >> was her wallet there? >> the wallet was there. >> and money in it? >> there must have been because at first we didnt think it was a robbery. >> reporter: edythe, who knew none of this, now rushed to denitas building, where she hoped to find her close friend but instead was greeted by several of the universitys professors. >> i was like, "what are you all doing here?" and t...

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. >>...

>> oh, yes. >> yeah. >> and thought her life was certainly headed in the right direction. >> absolutely. >> yes. >> reporter: shannon worked in greensboro as a 911 operator at the emergency call center where she was often in close contact with law enforcement and was by all accounts a model employee. >> her supervisors really liked her. she was dependable. she came to work. she did what she was supposed to do, did it in a professional manner. no complaints really. >> reporter: detective shawn pa...