Page 2 - Guy Crystal News Today

Served. you feeling any better about the beginning of the second trial than you were at the beginning of the first trial? >> i did. i think because we kind of knew what to expect, we knew what they were going to say, we knew what we had. >> and what you didnt have. >> right. and we had hoped that, you know, whatever mistakes were made from the first trial theyd learn from them and prepared for them and do better. >> reporter: two big differences this time around. first, skyler moore, aka c-style...

Pause, and a gunshot. it is absolutely inconsistent with a hired hit. >> reporter: if not a hit, then what happened? the defense had a theory. it involves this photo of crystals son javonte found near her body. >> its obvious that miss taylor was holding that picture when she got shot. >> reporter: schneider wasnt allowed to directly spell out his theory for the jury. he did for us. >> i think she was confronting her killer saying, the only thing youre going to see is a photograph of your son un...

For the taylor family, history had been split in two. there was "before" when they had crystal and life was good. and then there was "after." >> people kind of started treating us like, "are yall still talking about that?" >> and they just kind of want you to move on. >> everybody wanted us to move on. >> and you say, i cant really move on. >> i cant move on. >> cause you start feeling like, "well, who life is this?" because you want me to go back to what life? this is my life. i dont have a lif...

It, but, um -- i told him asap. as soon as i got the opportunity. >> reporter: police once again arrested derek smyer for the murder of crystal taylor. and this time they thought they had the goods. a jury, though, would have other ideas. coming up -- a bombshell from the defense, did someone else kill crystal? >> witnesses testify to hearing an argument. she was confronting her killer. >> thats when she was shot? >> absolutely. >> was this murder a hit at all? >> this is breaking me. >> when ...

A father of two who had no reason to commission a murder just because he got someone pregnant. but detectives were still investigating. and what they heard made them more convinced than ever that derek had crystal killed. they spoke with traci, the mother of dereks children. early on in the case, she had avoided the cops. now she was eager to tell them what she said happened in 1998 when she was pregnant with dereks first child. >> she got lured to the back of her apartment on the promise to be ...

Was afraid to tell derek she was pregnant. so jana told him for her via email. >> after you sent the e-mail, peoples 51, to derek smyer, did you get a phone call? >> yes, i did. >> reporter: it was derek smyer, jana said, and he wasnt happy. >> he just didnt want no kids. he didnt want her to have the baby. >> did he say anything to you about trying to do something with crystal? >> yeah, he just said if i can get her to get rid of the baby, he said he will do whatever he can, but he dont want to...

>> derek. >> do you have a middle name, derek? >> paul. >> he freely answered your questions? he didnt ask for an attorney? >> no. no, he -- he never requested an attorney during our interview time with him. >> when was the last time that you saw her at her apartment that you can recall? >> last time was not recently. >> okay. >> i havent seen her physically in about -- lets see, a couple months. >> about two months? >> longer than that. >> he kind of discounted it as "yeah, we were on and off r...

Monday, the morning michelle saw a suspicious man on the stairs of the apartment building. she warned crystal who went a different way to the garage which might have saved her life for 24 hours. what they didnt learn until much later was that crystal left work crying on that last day of her life. she didnt say anything to her family that night, but she did act differently. >> she went around the room and she hugged everyone. >> and she never did that. >> i think she just didnt wanna worry anyone...

Verdict on all counts. thank you very much. >> reporter: crystals family was worried. they could only hope the jury believed c-styles video confession, and not his recantation of it. the wait for a verdict was agonizing. >> that was painful. >> reporter: one day passed. then two. three days in. >> im nervous. i dont want to do this again. i cant do this again. its not easy. >> reporter: then it was a week. then one week turned into two. >> im like im just praying. i just keep praying, no matter ...

>> and im driving on the freeway, and all of a sudden, i just felt like she wasnt here. >> reporter: the news that they lost their baby sister was unbearable. crystal taylor was just 27. >> when i got in, michelle was on the floor. im just, like, looking at her. i try to hug her. >> reporter: now they had to tell their ailing momo her baby was gone. >> when i had to call my mom to say, "somebody killed crystie," and she screamed the most harrowing just scream. i just knew this is gonna kill mom,...