he put a knife to my throat. did he cut you with the knife? yes. and then during her second pregnancy, a second attack. somebody came and socked me in the face. and i went on the side of the car, and somebody stomped me on my stomach and my face. then derek s own daughter took the stand against him. she didn t testify in the first trial, but she told this jury that derek seemed to hate being a father. he would come during major occasions, um, birthdays and things like that. he was very ill-tempered. he didn t spend much time with me when he did. it just seemed like it was kind of for show, you know. when people were around, he d behave a certain way. and when those people left, he
after you sent the email, people s 51, to derek smyer, did you get a phone call? yes, i did. it was derek smyer, jana said, and he wasn t happy. he just didn t want no kids. he didn t 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 don t want to have a baby. and jana recalled that the day before crystal was murdered, her first day back to work after the trip to texas, derek called again. could you hear anything with respect to the conversation she was having? no. the only thing i heard is before she hung up the phone she was like, whatever. because she was crying and she was like, whatever. she got up from her desk. when she got up from her desk did you see where she went? she went to the bathroom. and when you followed her in the bathroom, what was she doing? crying.
prosecutors then had to connect c-styles with derek smyer. for that they relied on two eyewitnesses. detective williams told the jury he was pretty sure c-styles was with derek at the park on the day crystal taylor was ambushed and murdered. it wasn t until you actually saw him in person that you were able to remember that he resembled the person you saw at the park? objection, leading. it s overruled. yes. as before, crystal s friend and co-worker jana poletto left no doubt with her definitive testimony. as you sit here today, did you see both of those individuals in the park? yes. jana also told the jurors that while crystal was excited to have another son, she was afraid to tell derek she was pregnant, so jana told him for her via email.
house? no, we were, you know, back on the job. making sure since the case was reopened, we they had enough evidence this time. by then, detective lopez at the sheriff s homicide bureau had pulled out the old files and read everything. police reports, forensic reports, interview notes. and what he read lined up with what c-styles had told him. the description of the place. the description of meeting the victim s sister the day prior. the way he ran out of the place, all those things were, you know, matched what he was telling us. and we were able to corroborate. with all that information, lopez decided to take a chance. arrest derek, apply some pressure, and see if he would crack. so nine years and ten months after crystal taylor s murder, derek smyer once again sat in a police interview room. he felt like he had to control everything that happened in the interview. he would answer a question, but
26th, 1998. and you were there for the birth, correct? of course. derek told the jury he was a loving and devoted father to his two girls. how would you describe your relationship? while they were growing up it was strong, in my opinion. and he was adamant. he had nothing to do with the attacks on traci while she was pregnant. didn t you have her attacked because you wanted the kid killed? you wanted her to have an abortion? no, i did not. in fact, at that time i had already dropped out of school, i was working, i was buying bottles, i was very much invested in the well-being of my daughter. derek told the jury he was a good dad to his children with traci and planned to treat crystal and their child the same way. weren t you angry that ms. taylor was going to keep this child? no, sir. wasn t this going to ruin your life? no, sir. weren t you worried about having to pay child support for 18 years? no, sir. why not? because i was prepared to take care of