The Murder of Edwin Daniels
For this case I watched the latest episode of Snapped on Oxygen. It aired on March 7, 2021.
A 35 year old father is killed in his home in Florida.
Background
Edwin Daniels
Edwin Daniels was born on October 26, 1982, and was born in Brooklyn, New York. In 1994, when Edwin was 12, he moved with his family to Florida.
In 2002, he had a son named Jordan with his high school girlfriend, but the relationship didn’t last. Edwin had a passion for technology, and got a job at Verizon. He was described as a loving and devoted dad, and did everything for his son and his family.
Latoya Woodard
Edwin was busy with his family and work, but he also made time for his faith. He also volunteered at church, and helped out with the media and technology.
One day at church, he met a 23 year old named Latoya Woodard. Latoya had been in the Navy, but was discharged. She also had children of her own from a previous marriage. Edwin’s family said they really hit it off, and eventually had two daughters of their own, and got married in 2016.
The couple in happier times
After their wedding, they decided to buy their first home together in Deltona, Florida. They were very excited, and they even had an extra bedroom, so Latoya invited her friend Crystal Lyde to stay with them. Edwin was open to having Crystal stay with them, and Crystal would help out with their daughters who were 7 and 9 years old at this point.
Everything seemed great, but one day in 2018, everything changed.
The Murder
On April 13, 2018, at 10:17am, Crystal Lyde called 911. She told the dispatcher that her roommate had been stabbed by an intruder and wasn’t moving. Crystal also said there was blood everywhere. Latoya was also with Crystal in the room, and she handed the phone over to her. Latoya was distraught, and the dispatcher told the two women that the police were on their way.
The police arrived soon after, and saw Crystal and Latoya outside waiting for them. When they walked in there was in fact blood everywhere. They had to be careful about where they walked because the blood was all over the floor.
The children were also still in the house, and they were woken up by the police and carried outside. They were eventually taken to CPT (Child Protective Team) to be interviewed.
The police observed that Edwin wasn’t breathing at all, and he was declared dead at the scene. Latoya was hyperventilating and she was rushed to the hospital to be looked at. Crystal was taken to the police station for a formal interview.
The Investigation
With everyone out of the house, the police began to process the scene. Edwin had been found in the hallway, near the kitchen and living room. There were french fries, fast food and a receipt found near his body, and the evidence was showing that he had most likely been ambushed when he walked through the front door.
Edwin had numerous wounds to his head and neck, his corotid artery had been transected. There was clothing and a rastafarian hat found underneath his body. The items were collected and sent in for evidence.
There were no signs of forced entry, and nothing was taken from the home. The police didn’t know what the murder weapon could have been, but they did collect various knives, including a cheese knife that was found in the kitchen sink.
The next step was to interview Latoya and Crystal back at the police station.
Who’s Telling the Truth?
Latoya was cleared from the hospital, and was transported to the police station. Latoya and Crystal were both interviewed separately.
When the police interviewed Latoya, they noticed she had a cut on her knee, and they took photographs of it. They also collected her clothing as evidence. The police first asked Latoya about her relationship with Edwin. She said they had a normal relationship, but fought sometimes. They asked Latoya if she had a boyfriend, and she said no. They asked her what she did during the day. Latoya said she had been at work during the day, and was tired, so she asked Crystal to pick up her kids from school and went home to sleep.
Latoya said she heard a commotion that sounded like the garage door. She said she knew Edwin would come into their room if she didn’t meet him at the door. A few minutes passed and Edwin didn’t come upstairs, so she went down to check on him. She said that is when she found Edwin laying on the floor. She said he wasn’t breathing, and she told Crystal to call 911.
Now, the police wanted to ask Crystal about the events from that night. Crystal confirmed that she did pick up the girls from school. She said they arrived home, and Latoya wasn’t home yet, which already contradicted Latoya’s story. Crystal said Latoya got home around 7:30pm, and she left to run to Walmart. She said she returned home 15-20 minutes later, put her groceries down, and that’s when Latoya told her to call 911.
The police asked Crystal if she had heard Latoya and Edwin fighting, and she said yes, they had a small fight. Crystal had also contradicted herself. In her 911 call, Crystal said she never heard anyone fighting, but was now saying there may have been a small fight.
All the evidence was now pointing to Latoya, and when she was confronted Latoya called Crystal a liar. At that moment, there was no evidence to point to either woman, so they were both released.
The Autopsy
On April 16, Edwin’s autopsy was performed. The autopsy showed that Edwin had been stabbed 34 times. He had wounds to his head, neck, esophagus, tongue, abdomen and hands. He also had a depressed skull fracture. The evidence showed that whoever killed him had a lot of anger towards him, and it probably wasn’t an intruder.
The police looked into Crystal’s alibi first. They went to Walmart, and confirmed she was there. Her receipt also proved that, and this was believed to been around the time that the murder took place. Crystal Lyde was ruled out as a suspect.
A Tip
On April 18, five days after Edwin was killed, two of Latoya’s friends came forward with some shocking information. They said Latoya had a boyfriend named Allan Roberson. They also mentioned the rastafarian hat that was found under Edwin’s body was Latoya’s, and it had been a gift from Allan. The police had never released that piece of information to the public.
Allan Roberson was 26 years old, and worked at the same sandwich chain that Latoya did. The police contacted Allan’s manager, and the manager said on the day of the murder Allan had a melt down at work. This information wasn’t really talked about much further in the episode, but it was definitely interesting to the police.
The police went to Allan’s work to interview him. He wasn’t cooperative at all. The police tried several times, even buying food from him. Allan wouldn’t talk to them, so they gave up.
Re-Examining the Evidence
Detective Peter Bethea truly believed that Latoya was their killer. He wanted to be sure though, so he went over every piece of evidence that they had.
On Edwin’s clothing that he had been wearing that night, there was a circular pattern. It matched the cheese knife that was found in the sink. The knife also had some prongs at the end of it, and those matched the wounds as well. The pattern also matched the injury that Latoya had on her knee.
Det. Bethea consulted with a blood spatter expert, and together they looked at Latoya’s clothing that had been collected when she was interviewed on the night of the murder. The expert said that she would have had to have been in the vicinity of the crime when it occurred. The blood was also tested against Edwin’s, and it was a match.
The police believed that Latoya ambushed Edwin when he returned home, and attacked him. Edwin had fought back, but was ambushed and caught off guard. The police believed that Latoya killed Edwin to be with Allan.
The police obtained Latoya’s phone records, and discovered she and Allan had called each other 91 times from April 1-14. They also texted everyday, said they loved each other and talked about children and a miscarriage.
This relationship wasn’t the only motive though. Edwin had a life insurance policy of $100,000 through work. Latoya had called to try to claim it just days after the murder.
Allan Roberson
The police really wanted to talk to Allan, so they had a plan. They would subpoena him and give him immunity.
On September 6, 2018, Allan agreed to talk, but he wasn’t helpful, even after he was told he would be given immunity.
Allan told the police that he and Latoya were just friends with benefits, he completely minimized there relationship even when he was confronted with the text messages. The police believed Allan was trying to protect her.
Allan told the police that on the night of the murder he was with his mom and sister. They confirmed this, and so did his phone and Google records. Allan was not involved in Edwin’s murder and was cleared as a suspect.
The police still had plenty of evidence against Latoya, and on November 15, 2018, a warrant for Latoya’s arrest was issued.
Trial and Conviction
On February 4, 2020, Latoya’s trial began.
The prosecution said that Latoya killed Edwin to be with Allan, and collect his life insurance policy. They also said Allan and Latoya were still in contact, even while she was in prison.
The defense pointed the finger at Allan, and said Latoya was innocent. However, Allan’s alibi was 100% checked into and it proved he was not the killer.
Edwin’s family had to sit in the court room while the graphic photos of his injuries and the crime scene were shown. His mom said she couldn’t be in the court room during this.
On February 7, 2020, Latoya Woodward was found guilty of second degree murder. She was sentenced to life in prison, and Florida law doesn’t offer the possibility of parole.
Latoya Woodard
Edwin’s family was overjoyed, but they all said they wished it never would have happened. They’d rather have Edwin with them.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Another crime that occurred because someone doesn’t want to be with their spouse. IT’S CALLED DIVORCE PEOPLE! There are now several children without their mom or dad, all because Latoya thought killing Edwin was the better option.
I believe she and Allan talked about it together, but the evidence clearly showed that Allan wasn’t at the actual murder. Did he tell her to do it? I don’t know. Did she do it on her own? This is what the evidence shows.
I’m happy that Edwin’s family got the justice they deserved, but they’re right, it doesn’t bring him back to them.
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