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>> 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? denita's mother braced herself
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even know jermeir, looked away from a murder committed by a guy who worked for another department in another city? they're risking prison time for this guy they don't even know? >> 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.
>> reporter: as the trial 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.
>> 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?
your children. >> it could turn the entire case on its head. >> in the back of your mind even though you didn't want to admit it -- >> yes. >> but was she telling the truth? >> she wasn't rehearsed and she wasn't rushing to answer a question. shannon crawley's father keith, her mother anne and her brother keith jr. never doubted her. is it possible you guys don't want to believe she's a murderer? >> she is not a murderer. >> it's not in her nature, not in her character.
if you don't ask it, you're not getting it. >> reporter: investigators had two wildly different stories. he said, she said. 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.
>> 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?
>> reporter: as the trial 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.
police now hoped that mangled 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