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doesn't have a deep voice. >> doesn't have, exactly. he disguised his voice. >> reporter: you think he can disguise his voice that well? >> yeah. >> apparently, he can. >> well, he did it. he did it. >> reporter: you're convinced that was jermeir. >> oh, it was jermeir. >> reporter: so whose voice would ultimately ring true? a three-year investigation was now in the hands of 12 people. two families now waited anxiously inside the durham county courthouse. as did assistant d.a. david saacks. >> i'm never confident when a case goes to the jury. >> reporter: you've been slapped in the face by juries before. >> too many times. that's the lesson here, you never know. >> reporter: then, after just one day, the jury reached a decision. shannon's family was encouraged. >> i didn't feel that the d.a. proved his case. there were some damaging things, yes, but there was no preponderance of evidence, and i thought that she was going to be acquitted. >> reporter: for shannon crawley it all came down to this decision. would it be a life of freedom or life in prison?
offered shannon crawley a deal. plead guilty to denita smith's murder and be sentenced to a maximum of 12 years in prison. denita's mother, sharon, was not happy. what'd you say? >> no. >> reporter: don't let her off? >> uh-uh. no. my words were "my daughter didn't get to plead for her life that morning, so no." no plea. >> reporter: she needn't have worried. shannon crawley was not going to take a deal. she insisted she wanted to clear her name and would now take her chances in court. >> coming up -- >> shannon would look at me with this smirky look. >> shannon on the stand. >> for one he's told me since that he did. >> versus the man she says is jermeir on tape. >> you're going to kill me too?
>> cops will protect other cops regardless of what department they're in. there are always that few, not many. >> reporter: to the contrary, assistant district attorney david saacks, who was assigned to prosecute, says he was extra careful in building his case against shannon precisely because jermeir was a police officer. >> i needed to make sure that everything was done by the book and we vetted everything as well as we could, and delved into everything as deep as we could because he was a cop. >> because if you clear him, you know you're going to get that criticism. >> absolutely. we ended up having to have several different interviews with jermeir. and each time we would get maybe a little something more. and so it took a little while sometimes to pull all that stuff out. >> reporter: investigators say he appeared devastated. jermeir stroud insisted he had no idea that his secret romance might place denita in danger. but detective pate still thought jermeir was not entirely
one big conspiracy? >> i hate to make it sound like that. >> it sounds like it. it sounds like it. >> reporter: assistant d.a. david saacks says the rape was properly investigated and seemed to be nothing more than a hoax. which also, for him, finally answered that lingering question of who was stalking whom. >> everything was pointing to her and the only thing that was pointing to jermeir was that he was in this affair with shannon. i do not believe he was involved in the murder. i do not think he was involved in the planning or the execution of this murder at all. >> reporter: and even if jermeir wanted denita out of his life, what could possibly be his motive to kill her? >> and this is exactly what i thought. why? all he had to do is call denita up and say, "it's over." >> reporter: there's no property. >> no property. >> reporter: there's no alimony. >> and it doesn't make sense. >> reporter: he seems genuinely crushed by what happened. >> absolutely. >> reporter: as the trial approached, the d.a. facing a circumstantial case with a seemingly credible defendant,
>> it could turn the entire case on its head. >> she is not a murderer. >> it's not in her nature, not in her character. >> if i thought that she was lying about it, no, i wouldn't be on camera saying -- i wouldn't be sitting here waving a flag for her if i thought she had anything to do with this. >> reporter: in may of 2007 shannon crawley was out on bail. she and her attorney walked into the durham police station. this wasn't just another interview. shannon was prepared to share all new information with the potential to change the whole focus of the case. assistant d.a. david saacks. >> she just wanted to give her side. and we certainly wanted -- allowed her to do that. >> reporter: and her idea, or her attorney's idea was and then you'll drop the charges after you've heard this? >> i think that certainly was her idea. so if they don't say anything we're going to keep going on the path we're already on, which is
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slug might provide a lead on who pulled the trigger. >> what kind of gun killed denita smith? >> all we could say is that the bullet itself was in the family of -- it had enough weight to be a .38-caliber round. >> reporter: by now denita's death was big news across durham. >> durham investigators say the shooting was not a random act. >> reporter: assistant district attorney david saacks was keeping a close eye on this now high-profile case. one that he might actually prosecute if a killer was ever caught. >> it was so obvious that it was not a robbery. and so if she was targeted for some reason, there was a very, very, very limited number of people who would target denita for something like this. and jermeir certainly could have been one of them. >> reporter: jermeir stroud, denita smith's fiance. on the day of the murder, stroud had revealed to police his romance with shannon crawley, the woman who owned an suv similar in model and color to
approached, the d.a. facing a circumstantial case with a seemingly credible defendant, offered shannon crawley a deal. plead guilty to denita smith's murder and be sentenced to a maximum of 12 years in prison. denita's mother, sharon, was not happy. what'd you say? >> no. >> reporter: don't let her off? >> uh-uh. no. my words were "my daughter didn't get to plead for her life that morning, so no." no plea. >> reporter: she needn't have worried. shannon crawley was not going to take a deal. she insisted she wanted to clear her name and would now take her chances in court. shannon on the stand. >> for one he's told me since
who was telling the truth and who wasn't? >> it was clear we were down to two people. it was one of these two people. and they both had the same allegations about the other one. >> reporter: there was only one way to sort it out and make sure that denita smith received the justice she deserved. >> if we can ever prove who was stalking whom, i think we have our case solved. >> reporter: and soon something would provide that very answer. >> all of a sudden then the rape allegation happens. >> she came crawling into my bedroom, hysterical. >> reporter: shannon reports a crime, and this time she says was the victim. >> who did she say had raped her?
all new information with the potential to change the whole focus of the case. assistant d.a. david saacks. >> she just wanted to give her side. and we certainly wanted -- allowed her to do that. >> reporter: and her idea, or her attorney's idea was and then you'll drop the charges after you've heard this? >> i think that certainly was her idea. so if they don't say anything we're going to keep going on the path we're already on, which is she's already charged. >> before we ask any questions, you must understand your rights. >> reporter: tape rolled as shannon calmly began telling a new story surrounding the death of denita smith, and in this version shannon said she'd been framed. >> she did show some emotion. but not a whole lot. she was very matter-of-fact, and talked a lot. i think the interview went on for hours and hours and hours. >> reporter: shannon said the trouble began after she and jermeir broke up, that he was upset that she had aborted the pregnancy, and that jermeir began harassing and stalking