I burst did in tears because that, to me, is a true example of humanity. Two families torn apart by one devastating crime. A young mom named Crystal Taylor murdered on her way to work, five months pregnant. This is breaking me. She gave her whole life just trying to raise me right. Being a mom is who she was. Police zeroed in on the man in her life. One, two, three of them. We were trying to found out who would have the motivation to do this. To help find crystals killer, her sisters would turn amateur detectives. I couldnt even sleep. I needed an answer. Bye that was 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 is targeting moms to be . In this life for the next are going to pay for what youve done wrong. How does this happen . In the mega sprawl of los angeles county, the city of hawthorne occupies about 6 mi. 2. One of them, especially glamorous. For decades, local pride ce
michelle and monica couldn t resist going back to prowling the streets, looking for clues. cagney and lacey shift their focus to derek? we never thought he should get away with it. when the police said, come in. we want to talk to you, we re going to reopen the case, i have a notebook now. i m like, oh smyers. so i wrote it down, and then i go back and i found, like, businesses they had. reporter: they also figured out where derek lived. you re regularly driving by his house? no, we were, you know, back on the job. making sure since the case was reopened, we, they had enough evidence this time. reporter: 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
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 everything about him right now. the detective learned crystal and derek had a quick fling. it only lasted a month or so. they d met at anderson park, which is near both their jobs. by now, it was lunch time. derek wasn t in his office. so williams drove to the park. bringing crystal s work friends with him. and one of them immediately noticed something. she points out a car that derek drives. reporter: his car was easy to spot. it had vanity plates that said my whip, slang for a fancy car. then crystal s friend pointed out derek. and detectives brought him in for a talk. go ahead and compose yourself. what is your last name, sir? smyer. and your first name, sir?
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and according to traci, it was just the beginning. and that wasn t the last time she was assaulted while she was pregnant? no, it wasn t. reporter: traci told police that in 2002, when she was pregnant with their second child, she was attacked again. she was knocked to the ground. and the assailant tried to kick her in the stomach. that person was never caught? right. and whoever cut her throat in the previous incident was never caught? that s correct. reporter: traci now told the cops she believed derek was behind both attacks. she also said in both cases he wanted her to have an abortion, but that she had refused. after you re pregnant by one guy and you get lured to the back of your apartment building and then somebody tries to kill you, why you continue your relationship with that guy? you have to understand mr. derek smyer. and one thing he is is, he is a manipulator of women. reporter: cops saw a pattern. one that was reinforced by