This is breaking me. She pretty much gave her whole life just trying to raise me right. Being a mom was who she was. Who would shoot crystie . Whats going on here . That was our question. Police zeroed in on the men in her life. One, two, three, of them. Were trying to find out who would have the motivation to do this. To help find crystals killer, her anguished sisters would turn amateur detectives. I couldnt even sleep. I needed an answer. That was my sister. My baby sister. The twist that stopped everyone cold, there had been another attack on another pregnant woman. She was assaulted and her neck was cut. Who was targeting momstobe . And this life or the next, youre going to pay for what youve done wrong. I couldnt believe what i was hearing. How does this happen . In the mega sprawl of los angeles county, the city of hawthorne occupies about 6 square miles. None of them especially glamorous. For decades, local pride centered on the beach boys. They grew up here and quickly left. Nowadays, its tech giants like spacex with headquarters at the local airport, but the heart and soul of hawthorne was and is working families. Strivers who stay close and look out for each other. This is a story about one of those families. They faced ups and downs like everyone else and always worked through them together. Until one moment. One morning. One bullet came to tear them apart. Growing up, sisters crystal, michelle, and Monica Taylor were always there are if each other. We have this tradition of having a Family Support group. It was their mother known as momo who set the tone. I thought it was the most wonderful family there was. You know, my mom and i were best friends and my little sister were best friends, you know, so i thought life was great. Im the oldest. Michelles the middle. Crysties the baby and she was every bit the baby. Shes my moms baby. Crystal taylor was the youngest by six years and both older sisters thought momo loved crystie a little extra. Spoiled her, too, say michelle and monica. They talked every day and she would just immediately start whining as soon as she talked to my mom. She could be, like, being a grownup. As soon as the phone rings, she went right back to 8yearold, all the time. Tia, her niece, remembers crystie as both a home body and a romantic dreamer. She wasnt flashy. She wasnt someone, who, like, shopped a lot. She was just a really down to earth, simple, just happy to be at home watching movies. She watched the same movies all the time over. She loved love stories. Hope floats, ever after, love, jones. Those are all stories of women who find love in improbable ways and end up happy. Right. Is that what she wanted . Yes. I know she wanted love. She wanted a fairytale life. I know she always talked about it but, you know, she was happy with the life that she had. The life she had working, being with family, and raising a son who was born the very day she turned 17. I went in and she was singing it never rains in Southern California in labor, like shaking the bed it never rains in like, what is she doing . Crystal called her little boy javonte against the wishes of the boys father. He came in the room, we were in there, he was like, i wanted his name to be junior. In labor. Stop labor. No. Crystal told me, well, no, im not marrying him, if i get married to somebody else, i dont want to have two juniors. She already made the decision she was having the baby and not going to be his wife. She wasnt going to be his wife. That was crystie. She made a decision, there was no changing in her mind. Wrapped in the blanket of her big family, crystal knew she and javonte would do just fine. Were baby whisperers in a spen sense. Anybody say thats too young to be having a baby . No, we all had babies young. We still said it, it would still be said, but it also be followed by you want to finish school, life isnt over, you made your bed harder but youre going to lay it in and were going to love this baby. Those were rules set down by momo. Everyone stafinished school, started a career, and raised their children on their own successfully. As javonte crew, crystie grew up. She took care of r her baby, brought her launch, she never spent any money. If she went to the movies with her son, no, he knew not to ask for snacks. She just wouldnt spend any money. Money was for important things like javontes education. Tashe always talked about dr woods. Prom. What she wanted him to do with his life. She took her mojob as a mothe e seriously. They were living in separate apartments in the same Apartment Building in hawthorne. Even momo lived there until her health began to failer a moved to texas where her sisterinlaw, a nurse, could take care of her. Soon came word, momos in bad shape. Come quick. That day was easy to remember. It was september 11th, 2001. They couldnt fly. No one in the u. S. Could. So they drove from hawthorne to texas. Crystie wouldnt leave momos side the entire time they were there. Crysties like, im sorry, but i came here just to see mom. She wasnt leaving her room. Like, she was just focused on her. If she can get next to my mom, shes going to be and that worked. Your mom kind of rallied. Oh, yeah. After two weeks the family drove back to los angeles, arriving in the middle of the night on september 23rd. Two days later, this family learned a difficult truth. No matter how much you love and how much you care, sometimes you cant help your loved one when harm is headed their way. 911. Yes, id like to report a gunshot. Theres a woman, shes shot. Shes laying on the floor in the garage. Soon after, a neighbor of crysties called tia with some brutal news. They just said that she was shot. I remember saying, who would shoot crysti . Uhhuh. Coming up she screamed the most harrowing scream. A family in anguish. I broke down crying. I just cried myself to sleep that night. And the first clues to the mystery. Her purse was still intact, her clothes appeared to be intact. So what was going on here . That was our question. When with the oone moment. Os proof i can fight psoriatic arthritis. With humira. Proof of less joint pain. And clearer skin in psa. Humira targets and blocks a source of inflammation that contributes to joint pain and irreversible damage. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections. Serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening Heart Failure. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. 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I was at my desk and received a call from my patrol units that they had a young lady who was unresponsive and appeared she may have suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Williams arrived and quickly sized up the scene. There was officers already trying to revive her. Shes laying down in the lobby area of her apartment complex. That leads from the upper stairs which are the apartment into the garage area. And her stuff is sort of scattered around here. There was a set of keys in her hand and appears to be the car keys or house keys. Just like we would come out of the house, getting ready to go into your car, and her purse was there. Then we just started getting into the processing of a crime scene. Making sure that we identify as many witnesses, if theres also other victims. But the only obvious victim was crystal. Shed been shot in the head. Paramedics took her to the hospital and detective williams got straight to work finding witnesses. Because this is early morning, theres kids walking io school, theres people preparing themselves for their day of work. A lot of people were up, a lot of people reported hearing the gunshot. A father making breakfast for his kids looked out the kitchen window when he heard a shot. He saw a man running. An 11yearold girl on the sidewalk in front of the building also heard it and saw a man holding a shiny object. He jumped a fence and ran north. Anybody actually see the shooting . No. And there was no surveillance cameras that captured it, either. But the crime scene was talking to detective williams. Was she robbed . The evidence doesnt support a robbery. Her purse was still intact. The amount of time between someone hearing a shot and someone else seeing someone running away from the crime scene, didnt necessarily support a robbery. Was she sexually assaulted . No evidence supported that she was sexually lly assaulted. Her clothes appear to be intact. You go into her apartment. Yes. Anything amiss in her apartment . No, it didnt appear there was a conflict, no sign of any type of physical confrontation. So whats going on here . That was our question. It was the first of many questions detective williams would have c. Crysties family was gathering at the hospital. Later, theyd have questions, too, but right now they were all in shock. I got there first. They were, like, go in this room that was off to the side. Well, i had already been to the hospital a lot with my mom so i knew that they took the family to a side room so i told them like, no, no, no, i dont want to go in there, i just want to go see about my sister. So then the doctor came out, he told me, he was like, well, she didnt make it. And im driving on the freeway and all of a sudden i just feet like she wasnt here. I hadnt talked to anybody else. I literally started i got in the carpool lane and started screaming in the car like no, no, this is not happening. The news that theyd lost their baby sister was unbearable. Crystal taylor was just 27. When i got in, michelle was on the floor and im just like, looking at her, i tried to hug her. Now they had to tell their ailing momo her baby was gone. When i had to call my mom to say, somebody killed crystie, she screamed the most harrowing, just, scream, i just knew, this is going to kill momo, too. Theres nothing worse than burying your kids, i mean no. Especially when youre already so sick. So sick. I remember when i was talking to my mom, i was like, dont you leave me because i saw her i saw my mom just give up and if it wasnt for javonte, mine, i she loves all her grandkids. She was fighting to make she would be all right. Telling crystals 10yearold son was harder. Sat next to him he crossed his arms like this. He just kind of leaned back. My poor little mama. Your mom died. They didnt say how. You all kind of shielded javonte from what had happened. Yes. Howd that work . And when hed say, what happened, what would you tell him . He never really asked. He said, i dont have mom anymore. I dont have a mom anymore. We we were older and couldnt gasp what had happened to her so why give it to him in detail . He didnt need that then. So in one day, his whole world goes away. Goes away. No more mom, no more home, no more life as he knew it. Nothing. He taught himself to just be like, not even talk about it. You dont even know javontes in a room. Like, he learned to just i dont know, he just shut down. Even now, javonte seems almost numb when talking about the worst day of his life. That night i pretty much, i broke down crying. I just cried myself to sleep that night. You remember that . Yes. You remember what she looked like. Yes. I heard you cant remember the sound of her voice. I cannot remember what she would sound like, no. Does that bother you . A bit. Yes. This family tragedy would only get worse because crystal taylor wasnt the only one killed by that bullet. Coming up police drill down in the search for a suspect. We tend to focus on relatives or relationship partners. The men in crystals life, one, two, three, of them. Were trying to find out who would have the motivation to do this. When one moment continues. Okay. Okay safe drivers save 40 guys guys check it out. Safe drivers save 40 safe drivers save 40 safe drivers save 40 thats safe drivers save 40 . It is, thats safe drivers save 40 . Hes right there. Its him hes here. Hes right here. Hi hi. Hey thats totally him. Its him thats totally the guy. Safe drivers do save 40 . Click or call for a quote today. Safe drivers do save 40 . Im a verizon engineer. And im part of the team building. A powerful 5g experience for america. Its 5g ultra wideband, and its already available in parts of select cities. Like los angeles. And in new york city. 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And oftentimes, you know, a civilian like she was not involved in any criminal enterprise, we tend to focus on relatives or relationship partners the 11yearold girl whod seen the shooter running told cops that just before the shot rang out, she heard a man and a woman arguing. Was that a clue . Detective williams learned crystal had a boyfriend named dino. Just a hardworking guy. Was in a relationship with crystal on and off. And this is coming from the family and friends that knew about dino. And there was kenneth woods. Father of crystals 10yearold son, javonte. Javontes father has got to be somebody youre going to look at. Most definitely we did, trying to identify if there was an ongoing conflict. Kenneth wasnt helping with javonte and thered been conflict over Child Support in the past. Crystal had obtained a court order requiring kenneth to pay. So, two possible leads and a third surfaced when willaiams went to crystals office. We get to her place of employment, we talk to several young ladies that identified themselves as being her friend, and theyre shocked that this has happened. They told him the day before she was killed crystal received a phone call at work that seemed to upset her. And then they dropped a bombshell. That, a, she was pregnant and, b, the person that she was pregnant by did not want her to be pregnant any longer. You couldnt tell crystal taylor was pregnant when you saw her lying on the ground . I couldnt tell. I couldnt tell. In fact, she was five months along. Her unborn son died when she did. Crystal had told friends the father of her child was a guy named derek smyer. So you want to find out where derek is. Most definitely. We want to find out everything about him right now. The detective learned crystal and derek had a quick fling and only lasted a month or so. Theyd met at Anderson Park, which is near their both jobs. By now, it was lunchtime. Derek wasnt in his office. So williams drove to the park bringing crystals work friends with him a, and one of them immediately noticed something. She points out a car that derek drives. His car was easy to spot. It had vanity plates that said, mywhip. Slang for a fancy car. Then crystals friend pointed out derek and detectives brought him in for a talk. Go ahead and compose yourself. What is your last name, sir . Smyer. First name . Derek. Do you have a middle name, derek . He freely answered your questions. He didnt ask for an attorney . No, he never requested an attorney during our Interview Time with him. Whens the last time you saw her at her apartment that you can recall . Last time was not recent. I okokay. I havent seen her physically in about, lets see, couple months. Two months . Longer than that. Discounted it, we were within and off really quick. Did derek offer a theory of what might have happened with crystal . At some point in the interview he talked about her being involved with other people. Did she mention this other boyfriend at all . She mentioned sometimes he would pop up at her apartment. Sometimes she would say hes trying to get back with me. At least thats the impression. Right. It might be true. Trying to make me jealous or something. I dont know, you know what i mean . People say things. Theyre not always the truth. You know what i mean . Did he acknowledge that crystal was pregnant with his child . He acknowledged that she was pregnant but came short of acknowledging that the child was his. Youre the father of her child or she thinks you are . Well, anyway you had a basic description of someone that witnesses saw running from the scene. Yes. Africanamerican male wearing a darkcolored hoodie with a scarf around hisdkerchief around his head. Small build. Wearing dark clothing with light facial hair. That description resembled derek smyer . It does. We initially authored a search warrant for r for his house. Find anything in his house . No. No murder weapon . No murder weapon, no ammunition, no clothing that mat