The Murder of Denita Smith
For this case I watched an episode of Hear No Evil. It’s season 1 episode 3, titled ‘Sex Lies and Audiotape.’
This case involves a murder, a love triangle and jealousy. But is the right person really in jail for this young woman’s murder?
Background
Denita Smith
There are three people who are involved in this case, Denita Smith, her fiance, Jermeir Stroud and Shannon Crawley, the woman who was eventually convicted for the murder. This episode focuses more on Shannon and Jermeir than it does on Denita. However, I will talk about all three of them and how they are all connected.
Denita Smith was a 25 year old woman at the time of her death. She was a popular graduate student at North Carolina Central University. She met her fiance Jermeir, at school. Jermeir moved 60 miles to Greensboro, North Carolina to became a police officer. However, while living in Greensboro, Jermeir was not faithful to Denita, and he had an affair with a woman named Shannon.
Denita (top), Shannon and Jermeir Stroud
Shannon Crawley
Shannon Crawley worked as a 911 operator at Guilford Metro. Shannon and Jermeir met when their paths crossed at work.
Shannon’s parents, Anne and Keith, were interviewed and they said they didn’t know Jermeir because Shannon thought of him as more of a friend. However, their relationship did become intimate and Shannon was pregnant with her third child. Shannon’s parents said Shannon was the one who didn’t want to have another child, so she terminated the pregnancy. This made Jermeir really upset, and their relationship ended.
Shannon’s parents said Shannon was afraid of Jermeir, and he began stalking her. There were several phone calls at all times of the night, and Jermeir was angry that Shannon ended their relationship.
The Murder of Denita Smith
On January 4, 2007, a 911 call came in from a man in Durham, North Carolina. He said he was at his home at the Campus Crossings apartment complex, and a woman had fallen down the stairs. He said their was blood everywhere, and she wasn’t moving.
Detective Shawn Pate of the Durham police department arrived at the scene. He said the woman’s keys, purse and wallet were all over the place. There was still money in her wallet, so robbery was ruled out. Denita Smith was identified as the victim from her ID in her wallet.
Denita’s cause of death was a gun shot wound to her head, she had been shot with a .38 caliber revolver.
There were many witnesses, including a groundskeeper, that said they saw a woman running away from the scene. The woman was described as being 5’10, light skinned, and the witnesses said she drove away in a burgundy truck. The groundskeeper even said he pulled his car right next to the woman’s car, and asked if she was okay. The woman had her hands up to her face, but nodded and then drove off.
Investigation
While the police were at the scene, a man said he wanted to talk to Detective Pate. The man’s name was Jermeir Stroud, he was Denita’s fiance. The police asked Jermeir if he knew anyone who drove a burgundy truck. Jermeir said yes, his ex, Shannon Crawley.
One day after the murder, the police went to Shannon’s work to question her. Shannon told the police that she and Jermeir dated, but broke up when she didn’t want to have a baby. The police asked Shannon if she knew Denita Smith. Shannon said that was Jermeir’s ex-girlfriend, and she never met her, but saw a picture of her once. The police asked Shannon one more question, if she had a gun. Shannon said no. However, this turned out to be a lie.
Shannon did have a gun, she had gotten one from a co-worker, for protection against Jermeir. This co-worker came forward after he heard about the case. The gun was a .38 caliber revolver, just like the murder weapon.
Two days after the murder, Jermeir was brought in for questioning. Jermeir was asked about his relationship with Shannon. He admitted he had an affair, but that it was stupid. The police asked Jermeir if he was stalking Shannon, and about the phone calls. Jermeir said it was the opposite. Jermeir said Shannon was the stalker and that she was the one who wanted to have a baby with him, but that he broke up with her after that.
Jermeir was ruled out for the time being, and was free to go. The police were now very suspicious of Shannon.
Evidence and Arrest
The police obtained a warrant for Shannon’s house and truck, as well as her phone records.
Shannon’s phone records said she was in Durham the day of the murder, and that her phone pinged off a tower a quarter mile away from the Campus Crossings apartments.
The police also tested Shannon’s car for gun shot residue, especially the steering wheel. It came back positive for gun shot residue and the police were confident that they had a case.
On January 9, 2007, Shannon Crawley was arrested for the murder of Denita Smith.
Shannon Crawley
Shannon’s Story
While Shannon was in jail, she told her attorneys she wanted to speak and tell her side of the story.
Shannon’s interview was played in this episode. Shannon said the day before the murder, she and her kids woke up, and she found Jermeir in her room. He told her to be quiet, and she told her babysitter to take the kids somewhere safe.
She said they talked all night, and Jermeir was calm sometimes, and then became angry that Shannon left him. At 5am, Jermeir told Shannon that she was going somewhere with him. She said she had to go to work, but he said either she would die or her kids would die if she didn’t. They left in Shannon’s car.
Shannon said Jermeir made her drive to an apartment complex. She said he took her keys and phone. Shannon said she waited for quite awhile, and then suddenly heard him fighting with a woman. She said she didn’t hear the argument, but got out of the car to see if she could hear better. She then heard a gunshot, and then saw Jermeir running towards the car. He told her to drive, while he hid in the backseat. The groundskeeper approached her car, and Jermeir told her to drive off.
The police believed her story was plausible, but were still suspicious of her. Shannon was released on bail until her trial, and she moved to Charlotte with her kids and parents.
The Recordings
Shannon’s parents said that Jermeir started calling Shannon again, and that they came up with a plan to have her record their phone calls.
These recordings were played in the episode, and at her trial. Jermeir is heard asking “who have you been talking to?” Shannon said she wasn’t talking to anyone, and Jermeir said he knew she was talking.
Shannon asked why this was happening, and Jermeir told her it was because of her, Denita found out about her and was pulling away.
Jermeir kept threatening Shannon, and said if she kept talking, he’d find her. Shannon said “what, you’ll kill me too?” Jermeir said “you know I’ll do it again.”
Shannon and her parents thought they had enough evidence to get Jermeir locked up. They gave the tapes to Shannon’s attorneys, and they made copies.
Trial and Conviction
On February 8, 2010, Shannon’s trial began. It was a he said, she said case. The prosecution said Shannon was the stalker, and her defense said Jermeir was, and that he was the real killer.
Shannon at trial
On February 11, Jermeir took the stand. Jermeir said he was so surprised when the police asked him if he knew of anyone who would want to kill Denita, and that the witnesses saw a burgundy truck fleeing the scene. Jermeir said he knew that Shannon was stalking him, but never thought she’d murder Denita.
On the last day of Shannon’s trial, her secret recordings were played. The prosecution said Jermeir had a very unique and deep voice, and that the voice on the tapes were very high pitched. Many of Denita’s friends and family also thought the voices were different, and they started thinking that Shannon was manipulating everyone. Many people and the police said Shannon probably hired someone to “play” Jermeir, and that they were trying to set him up.
Shannon Crawley was found guilty of the murder of Denita, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Denita’s mom said this in court:
“Because of what Shannon did there is a void. You took her away from me. Someday I may forgive you, but right now I don’t and I hope you rot in hell. You’re vile. You don’t deserve to be a mother.”
Other
At the end of the episode, the on screen text said, no evidence was ever discovered linking Jermeir to Denita’s murder or to the harassment of Shannon. No murder weapon was ever found.
Shannon still maintains her innocence, and so do her parents.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is definitely a crazy case, but I’m not 100% sure I’m convinced that Jermeir isn’t involved. I will agree that the voices of the tapes and Jermeir’s voice is different, the voice on the tape is very high pitched. It could be easy for anyone to change their voice, and it sounds like the man is whispering, so maybe that could explain the high pitched voice. I also don’t know if I believe the killer was Shannon, however several people said they saw a woman fleeing the scene. I think this case comes down to who you believe, do you believe that Shannon was crazy jealous and killed Denita because she was in the way? Or do you believe that Jermeir was the real killer and set up Shannon?
Sources
https://heavy.com/entertainment/2020/07/denita-monique-smith-murder-death/
https://heavy.com/entertainment/2020/07/shannon-elizabeth-crawley-denita-smith-trial-sentence/
https://murderpedia.org/female.C/c/crawley-shannon.htm
https://abc11.com/archive/7290609/
