protect your pet with the #1 name in flea and tick protection. frontline plus. trusted by vets for nearly 20 years.

frontline plus. yes. this moving thing never gets any easier. well, xfinity makes moving super easy. i can transfer my internet and tv service in about a minute. wow, that is easy. almost as easy as having those guys help you move. we are those guys. that's you? the truck adds 10 pounds. in the arms. ok. -yep. transfer your service online in a few easy steps. now that's simple, easy, awesome. xfinity makes moving easy with two-hour appointment windows, even on nights and weekends. go to xfinity.com/moving to get started.

denita smith. shannon crowley and jermeir stroud were involved in a lovlo triangle before denita was shot to death in her complex. police wondered if shannon was obsessed with jermeir. shannon's family is emphatic that jermeir was the one who wouldn't let go. harassing shannon with phone calls at all hours of the day and night. >> he called constantly. >> he was obsessed. >> he would threaten her. he would ask her questions. what are you doing up there? just he got to the point where she didn't want to answer the phone. >> he wanted her to come back to

him? >> he wanted her to come back to him and she didn't. he was so possessive, she just didn't want that type of relationship. >> reporter: police coaxed more details from jermeir, and he insisted shannon had been demanding more and more attention. the woman he really wanted to be with, he said, was denita. but shannon wouldn't go away. >> he complained on her, you know, her coming around the house, keep calling, we had a relationship. she keeps calling. we agreed not to do this. >> jermeir insisted shannon wouldn't take no for an answer. and it got to the point where he needed help. >> he had filed an internal affairs complaint against her. >> well, i don't know if it was actually official. he had a buddy in the internal affairs department. >> but he disclosed that to somebody. >> he did. he did say she just keeps calling me and i told her we're over. she just won't let it go. >> reporter: as far as detective pete could determine, it all came to a head on christmas eve.

jermeir walked into his greensboro church with denita on his arm and a diamond ring on her finger. he had proposed and denita was over the moon. >> she walked into church prime as a peacock. feathers just completely on display. showing that hand to anyone who would look and shannon was in the back of the church at the time and saw that. >> we heard that was the first time shannon realized that they were engaged. >> shannon's family says the da and the detective heard wrong. >> the day that you're referring to, the church, shannon wasn't there. we were there. >> less than two weeks later, denita smith would still be wearing that engagement ring as she lay dead at the bottom of her apartment steps. d durham police thought she had the right person sitting in lockup. they had arrested shannon crowley and charged her with the

murder of her ex-boyfriend's new fiancee, denita smith. but investigators hadn't completely taken their eyes off j jermeir stroud, the man who was involved simultaneously with both women. shannon crowley's father keith, her margt another anne, and herr keith jr., never doubted her. >> is it possible that you guys don't want to believe that she's a murderer? >> no. she is not a murderer. >> no. it's not in her nature. not her character. if i thought? she was lying about it, no, i wouldn't be on camera saying, you know, i wouldn't be sitting here waving a flag for her. if i thought that she had anything to do with this. >> in may of 2007, shannon crowley 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 da david sachs. >> she just wanted to give her side and we certainly allowed her to do that. >> and her idea or her attorney's idea was and then you'll drop the charges after you've heard this? >> i think that was certainly her idea. and 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. >> tape rolled as shannon calmly began telling a new story surrounding the death of denita smith. and in this version, shannon said she had been framed. >> she did show some emotion. but not a whole lot. she was -- she was very matter of fact. and talked a lot. i think the interview went on for hours and hours and hours. >> 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 her. >> he would continuously call me on my cell phone at work. he would interrupt the radio. ro

>> reporter: in her first police interview in greensboro, shannon deni denied ever owning a gun. now, detective pate challenged her on that changing story. hat y she felt compelled to buy a weapon from a co-worker because, she said, jermeir threatened, not only her but, her children. >> i'll protect them at any cost. he knew that. >> and she said jermeir used that fact against her when he forced her to drive with him to denita's apartment. >> and he said i'll make it real simple. either your children die or you die for your children. >> shannon told detective pate that on january 3rd, the day before the murder, jermeir coerced her to drive with him to

durham to case denita's apartment. then the next day, she said, jermeir forced her, at gunpoint, to drive back there again. >> when we left on the 4th, i never expected to come back home. >> shannon said after they pulled up to denita's apartment, jermeir got out. she stayed in the suv. >> he went up the stairs. i sat there. a few more minutes passed and i heard him arguing. him yelling at someone. i got out of the car. started up the sidewalk to the breezeway. and i heard a gunshot. >> moments later, said shannon, jermeir rushed past her and got in the driver's seat, which would explain how gunshot residue was found there. >> he got out of the driver's seat by sliding up over the back seat. and got into the back seat and just told me to get in. i got in the driver's seat. and i started to leave. >> she says that's when she encountered the maintenance man, who according to shannon, didn't

see jermeir hiding in the back seat. soon after they left the apartment complex and drove back to greensboro. >> i kept asking what happened? i was crying. he was yelling at me. >> she wasn't rehearsed and she wouldn't rush to answer a question. it was i'd ask a question. she'd give it a moment. she'd respond. not too long to make me think she's making something up. >> and in the back of your mind, even though you may not want to admit it, you knew jermeir did this. >> yes. >> wow. that's a story that sort of fits all the facts and kpexonerates her. >> it does. >> and in it, shannon is not guilty. >> exactly. so when she's telling this story, i'm thinking, wow, this actually sounds pretty decent so far. but then i'm thinking, wait a minute, wait a minute, back up. >> pate raised an obvious question. if shannon had a story that proved her innocence, why had she waited so long to tell it? >> when i asked her where was this story when -- when i

arrested you? her exact words were he had threatened my children in the past. i was scared for their safety. he knew how to get to my children. and i asked her what's changed? he still knows where your children are. he still knows how to get to them. he can still hurt them. >> and her answer? >> she just looked at me. >> everything i've told you is the truth. >> but you lied the first time we talked. >> yes, i did. >> the second time you talked. >> the second time i talked, i did not lie to you. after i was arrested, i did not lie to you. i told you i didn't do it. that wasn't a lie. i told you that he did. >> he was jermeir stroud. shannon's story made him the guilty party. but her story also badly needed to be checked out. >> that's just a fantastic kind of story. if i'm going to dismiss her case, i need to make sure i'm filling out the dismissal and i'm putting the reasons why. and i'm not going to do it just

because she says she didn't do it. >> shannon and her attorney were emphatic that jermeir was the killer. and also said that, even now, months after the murder, he was making threatening phone calls to shannon. telling her to stay silent about his role. >> i told them, you know, i'm more than willing to look at anything they have if they want to bring me something but i can't just accept her word for it. that's the problem i'm having. i need some kind of proof to back her up. >> so the prosecutor challenged shannon. bring me proof. he could not have imagined what was coming next. sex. lies. and audiotape. and maybe shannon crowley's ticket to freedom. >> coming up. a killer conversation. now, says shannon's father, there's no question that his daughter is innocent. >> how much more proof do you need? >> when "dateline" continues. need >> when "dateline" continues

[coughs] kim is now demonstrating her congestion. save it, slimeball. i've upgraded to mucinex. we still have 12 hours to australia. mucinex lasts 12 hours, so i'm good. now move- kim nooooo!! mucinex has a patented tablet that lasts 3x longer, for 12 hours.

and mine super soft?

with the sleep number 360 smart bed, you can both adjust your comfort with your sleep number setting. but can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both effortlessly comfortable. and snoring? no problem ...and done. so, i'll wake up ready for anything? oh, we've got your back. so, you can really promise better sleep? not promise. prove. and now, save up to $900 on select sleep number 360 smart beds. plus, 0% interest for 48 months on all smart beds. only for a limited time.

>> reporter: shannon crowley had told her story. but the da wanted her to prove it. prove that her former lover jermeir stroud had killed his own fiancee denita smith. and that he used threats and intimidation to bring shannon along as an unwilling accomplice. shannon told investigators jermeir was still harassing her while she was out on bail. so with their blessing, she bought a tape recorder. and conducted a do-it-yourself sting operation. a do-it-yourself sting operation. shannon's family members say they can corroborate many of the calls. >> i'd say 99% of the phone calls, i was a witness to it. i was on the other phone.

>> you would also see shannon's reaction to these phone calls. >> yeah. >> this was not somebody who was play acting. >> exactly. >> no question that was jermeir. >> i know it was him. >> and, they say, it did not take long for jermeir to incriminate himself. >> was she afraid? >> oh, sure. >> you could tell watching her? >> yeah, she was afraid. >> all told, more than 30 minutes of conversations were put on tape. >> did you think this is the evidence that's going to -- >> oh, yeah. >> turn it around. >> oh, yeah. because that was -- that is the whole purpose. >> once police and prosecutors hear this, they're going to drop th the charges. >> yeah. >> and i think there's one -- one part of the conversation where he said i killed her and i kill you, too. >> yeah.

>> how much more proof do you need? >> to her family and to shannon, this was an audio smoking gun. that should convince the da to exonerate her and prosecute him. >> you know, god is all seeing and all knowing. remember that. how many times did i pray with you? >> every day. >> you remember that. >> the da's office would now listen carefully to those phone tapes to see if they were the conclusive evidence shannon said they were. while that was happening, investigators were looking at one other phone call. this one, especially intriguing because it happened on the day denita was murdered. shannon had arrived at the 911 call center for her shift when a personal call came in for her, from a man who did not identify himself. >> he asked to speak to shannon. when they said hold on, shannon said hello? and the phone went click.

i asked jermeir. i said did you make that call? and jermeir said yes i did. why did you make that call? i wanted to know where she was. >> so he suspected. >> so he told me that he did think she was capable of doing it. he tells me that he did make that call to make sure she was at work. this is before we had said anything about a burgundy suv. but there was nothing in the past where she ever indicated that she would do harm to denita. that -- that doesn't add up. >> why would jermeir need to know shannon's whereabouts just after he found out denita was killed? investigators considered a variety of scenarios. but whatever it was, jermeir wasn't volunteering much. >> sometimes when you tell people, you know, a lie of omission is still a lie, some people you have to ask the correct question to get the answer you're looking for. if you don't ask it, you're not getting it. >> 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. >> 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. >> and soon, something would provide that very answer. >> all of a sudden, then the rape allegation happens. >> coming up. >> she came crawling into my bedroom hysterical. and i'm asking what's wrong? what's wrong? >> shannon reports a crime. and this time, she says, she was the victim. >> they tested her clothes. everything they could. >> who did she say had raped her? when "dateline" continues. when "dateline" continues.

allegra helps you say yes with the fastest non-drowsy allergy relief and turning a half hearted yes, into an all in yes. allegra. live your life, not your allergies. when they bundle home and auto with progressive. wow, that's... and now the progressive commercial halftime show, featuring smash mouth. ♪ hey now, you're an all star ♪ get your game on, go play thank you! goodnight! [ cheers and applause ] now enjoy the second half of the commercial! even renters can bundle and save! where did that come from? the kitchen. it was halftime. e where did that come from? competition

and we broke through. you've tried retinol, but you have never tried one like this. olay's retinol24 complex hydrates better than the #1 retinol. visibly smoother brighter skin in just 24 hours. a skin upgrade? crushed it. new olay retinol24. face anything. olay. now available with retinol serum and retinol eye cream.

i'm bdara brown. >> all democrats voting against sending the bill to the floor. minority leader schumer indicated the senate could overcome remaining disagreements in the next 24 hours. senator rand paul announced that he has tested positive for coronavirus. the ken condition senator is being criticized by some colleagues for using senate facilities while waiting for his results. now back to "dateline." >> reporter: it is rare for women to murder. more often, they convince their man to do it for them. a kind of homicidal honey-do list. that was exactly what investigators were debating in june 2007. it had been six months since denita smith's murder. and sitting on the desk of assistant da david sachs, was a series of phone recordings that

shannon crowley and her family insisted were jermeir stroud copping to the crime and trying to cover it up. >> police were not present when shannon recorded the calls. but they were able to trace where they originated from. a pay phone. so there was no way to confirm jermeir had made them. assistant da david sachs listened carefully to the tapes. and soon came to his own conclusion. >> is there any way that can be jermeir's voice on the tape? >> not that i can see. he would have to clearly be disguising his voice to make it sound that way. it just did not sound like him at all. >> why are you whispering? >> you know why. you got somebody listening? >> no. >> if he's calling to intimidate

her, what's the point in disguising his voice? >> correct. was just no way in my mind that that was jermeir because when i heard these tapes, i knew i had the right person. >> the crowley family was infuriated. they were certain the calls cleared their daughter. and revealed jermeir as denita's killer. they also insist jermeir was lurking in the charlotte neighborhood where shannon was staying. >> what we went through in charlotte with him stalking her because he was -- to me, he was stalking me as well. honestly, i believe that -- that his intention was to -- to kill both of them. i do. i think they both rejected him. and he was going to kill both of them. >> then something happened that seemed to bear out their worst fears. shannon was out on bail and living with family in charlotte, some 100 miles from greensboro where jermeir stroud still lived and worked for the police

department. one night in july 2007, around 2:00 a.m., shannon says she took her dog for a walk in the backyard. >> she came crawling into my bedroom hysterical. and i'm asking what's wrong? what's wrong? >> shannon told her mother she had been raped. >> who did she say had raped her? >> she said it was him. >> jermeir? >> jermeir. yeah. >> charlotte police were alerted and rushed to the scene. shannon was bleeding and appeared traumatized. she was taken to a hospital for treatment. and given a rape kit exam. >> no witnesses. >> no. >> none of your neighbors. >> no. i think there were maybe four people that lived in the -- in the neighborhood at that time. >> word of shannon's reported rape traveled quickly to durham. where detective shawn pate and assistant da sachs were now

preparing for her trial. they wondered if shannon was certain that the attacker was jermeir. >> i asked her, well, how do you know you were going to be walking a dog at 3:00 in the morning? and i guess he just stalked the house and saw his opportunity. so for four hours, he raped her. so if it was 3:00, then when does the sun start to come up? four hours. you know, you're looking at 7:00. >> it would have been daylight then. >> yes. dog doesn't bark. anything like that. >> shannon said she was sure and then added one more horrifying detail. jermeir had used a knife to rape her. it would take ten days for the rape kit results to come back. so in the meantime, police, of course, questioned jermeir stroud. he insisted he was in greensboro that morning. nowhere near charlotte. >> when you go to jermeir and say, shannon says she was raped by you, what's his answer?

>> he says no, that's preposterous. you can check my phone. you can check my -- my work logs. you can see where i was. i'll do whatever you need me to do. >> but shannon told police all the evidence they needed just might be sitting in jermeir's garbage can, which was where she suggested he stashed the knife. >> and sure enough, jermeir's going out to put his garbage in his can and sees the knife in there. and he immediately calls his police department and that's when they find the neighbors who said yeah, they saw some other car come up and heard a thump. somebody throwing something in his can and leave. wasn't shannon. no identification was made about that. >> just a dark figure in a hoodie. >> that's correct. >> was the knife planted? there's no proof either way but it was tested and there was nothing that connected it to jermeir. as for his whereabouts at the time of the alleged rape. >> he actually was on the phone and didn't get off the phone until like 6 in the morning. we know he was in greensboro at

the time that call was placed. so to be involved in the rape just seemed a physical impossibility. >> then came the results of the rape kit. >> there was no semen on the vaginal swab and the rectal swab. nothing that would be conclusive proof that the rape had occurred. >> it just wasn't there. >> it just wasn't there and they tested her clothes. everything they could. all the medical personnel confirmed they did not see that kind of injury to her that would have occurred. >> there were knife cuts on her body. but -- >> they were superficial. >> the crowley family was outraged all over again. that once again, shannon's version of events was dismissed. while the charges against her stood. >> police basically accused shannon of making up the rape. >> yeah. yeah. yeah. >> i believe they did that after they talked to prosecutor. >> yeah, he called down there and -- >> changed the story. >> everything changed. everything changed. >> this is, what, one big conspiracy? >> it sounds like it.

it sounds like it. >> assistant da david sachs 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 execution of this murder at all. >> and even if jermeir wanted da nay ta 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. >> there's no property. there's no alimony. >> and it doesn't make sense. >> he seems genuinely crushed by what happened. >> absolutely. >> as the trial approached, the da facing a circumstantial case with a seemingly credible defendant, offered shannon crowley 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. >> 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. >> she needn't have worried. shannon crowley 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 little smirky look on her face. like she knew she was going to get off. >> shannon, on the stand. stand >> well, for one, he's told me since that he did. >> versus the man she says is jermeir on tape. >> you gonna kill me too? >> you keep talking. >> who would the jury believe?

when "dateline" continues. when "dateline" continues. aleve it. aleve is proven stronger and longer on pain than tylenol. when pain happens, aleve it. all day strong.

they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the amazing services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again!

>> reporter: men have always been better at starting relationships than ending them. we don't like to break up. to be the bad guy. and when confronted with a woman's tears, we sometimes yield to the urge to tell her what she most wants to hear. whether it's true or not. is that what jermeir stroud did? and did he unknowingly bring shannon crowley and denita smith together that dreadful day in 2007 when denita was murdered? now, three years later, two families filed into the durham county courthouse. one family, hoping for a

conviction. the other, an acquittal. reporter john mccan covered the trial for the durham herald sun. >> the tone was definitely, you know, somber. shannon's family here and, you know, you got da nenita's peopln the other side. tense is a good word for it. >> especially tense for denita's mother sharon, who for the first time, made eye contact with the woman accused of murdering her daughter. >> shannon would look at me with this little smirky look on her face. she's very cocky like she knew she was going to get off. no remorse. she didn't feel she had done anything. >> only been engaged two months. >> assistant da david sachs, an experienced, savvy prosecutor, would now square off against a younger, court-appointed defense attorney named scott holmes. >> it's important, i think, to try to see the world -- try to

see the world -- from the eyes of shannon on the days that led up to and -- and the day that this happened. >> the whole trial was basically us saying that shannon crowley committed this murder. and the defense saying jermeir stroud did this murder. that was basically the trial. >> detective shawn pate worried shannon crowley could walk. after all, the case against her was largely circumstantial. her dna was not at the crime scene. there was no murder weapon. and she hardly looked like a killer. >> i thought she might be able to sell the story. i figured she'd be dressed real conservative. probably coming in looking like she just landed off the mayflower and that somebody would be sympathetic. >> from the beginning, the prosecution portrayed shannon as a woman scorned, who couldn't have jermeir stroud to herself. so she made sure denita smith wouldn't either. shannon suggested prosecutor sachs was either carrying fa

torch for jermeir or trying to burn down his whole world by killing his fiance and pinning it on him. >> for whatever reason, she couldn't handle the situation between jermeir and denita. and to resort to this just, to me, speaks of desperation. >> the prosecution's star witness. jermeir stroud, whose courtroom testimony was broadcast on local tv. >> i kind of thought -- >> jermeir confessing under oath the shameful sin he'd kept hidden for so long. his office affair with shannon crowley. he even revealed that when he heard something had happened to denita, he immediately suspected shannon. >> and one of the things that popped in my head based on my recent interactions with shannon was that maybe she had done something. >> he told everything on the stand. >> but he didn't hold back. >> no. he really didn't hold back. the story is out. so you have to go ahead and tell the truth because if you don't, you look like a liar now.

>> so in that sense, jermeir did do the right thing. >> he did. >> the defense argued shannon was being framed for a murder jermeir, alone, committed. >> shannon crowley's lawyers trying to paint jermeir as a crooked cop. you know, everything kind of elevates shannon crowley as she couldn't do anything like this. it has to be this bad cop over here. >> i didn't know what he had done. and i didn't know what he was going to do to me. >> it's often considered risky for a murder defendant to take the stand. but shannon crowley insisted on telling her story. that she was a victim. and not a killer. >> how do you know now that jermeir did it? >> well, for one, he's told me since that he did. >> and you are trying to tell the jury then that you had no idea what might have just happened there? >> i didn't see anyone. >> just to hear how she presented the information, her poise, and her demeanor and all

that kind of stuff, she's a credible witness. i mean, she tells a credible story. >> and the defense did have those phone conversations shannon recorded. in which she insists jermeir threatened her and incriminated himself. ncriminated himself. but shannon's defense attorney ultimately chose not to play them. instead, they were presented by the prosecution as proof that shannon's story was all one big lie. >> you gonna kill me, too? >> you keep talking, you know i will. >> the jury had already heard jermeir testify with his deep, gravelly voice. >> i'm -- it's possible but i don't recall the amount of times i called. >> now, they listen to the tapes. was this the same guy? >> if they find out i shot a man, that's life right there. >> you heard jermeir testify. and you heard the tapes.

does anybody really believe that that's jermeir talking on these tapes? >> i know but you got a better shot than me. >> to me, they sounded like michael jackson. he had this high-pitched voice. it just clearly was not jermeir's voice. and it clearly was not something j jermeir would say or how he would say it. it just was obvious to me that it was fake. >> the jury laughed. that's the first trial i've ever been on where i heard jury members snicker. >> but the crowleys, who were in court when those tapes were played, were not laughing. they say they had heard many of those calls firsthand and believed they were the real thing. >> the jury had heard jermeir testify. he has a deep voice. >> yeah. >> and the person on the tapes doesn't have a deep voice. >> exactly. he disguised his voice. >> you think he can disguise his voice that well? >> he did it. >> you're convinced that was jermeir? >> oh, it was jermeir. >> 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 da david sachs. >> i'm never confident when a case goes to the jury. >> you've been slapped in the face by juries before. >> too many times. that's the lesson here. you never know. >> then after just one day, the jury reached a decision. shannon's family was encouraged. >> i didn't feel that the da proved his case. there were some damaging things, yes, but there was no preponderance of the evidence. i thought she was going to be acquitted. >> for shannon crowley, it all came down to this decision. would it be a life of freedom? or life in prison? denita's mother braced herself as she stared at the woman accused of killing her daughter. >> i really think all the way to the end, that shannon thought

she was going to walk away. >> we, the jury, return the unanimous verdict as follows. guilty of first-degree murder. >> she didn't think she would hear what she heard. guilty. >> how'd she look when that verdict came in some. >> like all the life just drained out of her. like she seen a ghost. >> across the aisle, shannon's family was also stunned. and then furious. >> and now, my daughter, who is the perfect victim for someone like jermeir stroud, is -- is -- has now been convicted of a murder that he committed. >> of course, ms. smith's family still in pain, too, i'm sure. and we prayed for them constantly. that he have lost a child but so have we. >> nearly five years after that verdict, shannon herself has a lot more to say about jermeir stroud and about what happened the day denita died. >> coming up.

>> i never knew that he had a girlfriend. had i known, it wouldn't have ever escalated to anything else. >> her very first interview. >> i don't know jermeir but the voice on the tapes does not sound to me like him. >> i don't know who else would be calling me nonstop, threatening to kill me, threatening to kill my children. it's him. that's all i can tell you. it's him. >> and, believe it or not, denita's mother has an apology for shannon. >> being the god-fearing woman that i am, i know that was wrong. i never should have said it. >> when "dateline" continues. >> when "dateline" continues t, to protect your dog from fleas and ticks for a full month. it's the #1 vet recommended protection. and it's safe for puppies. nexgard. what one little chew can do. whose idea was once again commandeered by brad. while he droned, her bladder dripped. but, she keeps it together. because ella has poise. poise under pressure and poise in her pants. ♪

it takes poise. before discovering nexium 24hr to treat her frequent heartburn, marie could only imagine enjoying freshly squeezed orange juice. now no fruit is forbidden. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn?

for all-day, all-night protection. i can't believe it. that chad really was raised by wolves? which one is your mother? that's her right there. oh, gosh. no, i can't believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on my car insurance with geico. it's really great. well, i'm just so glad to have met your beautiful family. and we better be sitting down now. believe it! geico could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

>> reporter: the north carolina correctional institution for women in raleigh. it's where you will find shannon crawley today. after weeks of discussions, she finally agreed to talk with us behind bars. >> still not too late to say you don't want to do this.

>> you went through a lot of trouble. >> but as our cameras rolled, shannon began to tell the story of her relationship with jermeir stroud. >> he was charming. he was very nice. we got along. we had a lot in common. >> were you in love with jermeir? >> no. >> shannon insists she had no idea that her boyfriend jermeir was also seeing denita smith. >> i never knew that he had a girlfriend. had i known, i never would have given him my phone number. it wouldn't have ever escalated to anything else. >> she admits it did escalate. >> started off fairly normal. but he would call nonstop. he would show up unannounced. he would want to know where i was, who i was with. he would leave messages. 30, 40 phone calls. >> why'd you keep seeing a guy

like that? >> i guess, initially, i didn't really take it that seriously. i didn't really think that he was dangerous. he would mask it as concern. >> eventually, shannon became pregnant. but says she and jermeir ended the romance before she had the abortion. but now, her story is slightly different from what she first told detectives. >> we talked about it. there were some complications, which is why i decided to terminate. >> the story is that he said to you, i don't want to have a baby with you. and the with you part hit you very hard. >> no. >> that conversation never happened? >> no. >> one of the things that popped in my head, based on my recent interactions with shannon, was that maybe she had done something. >> shannon and jermeir's differing stories are most in conflict when it comes to the day denita smith was murdered. shannon insists he forced her,

at gunpoint, to take him to denita's apartment. >> he told me that i was going with him. if i didn't, his exact words to me were, either you die for your kids or the kids die for you. what's your choice? and i knew he had his gun. >> after arriving at the complex, shannon sticks by her story that jermeir went up to denita's apartment, leaving her behind in the suv. >> i got to the sidewalk and i heard a shot. >> you think jermeir killed denita. >> i absolutely believe that he did. >> what would possibly be his motive for? >> i don't know. >> i mean, if he didn't want to be with her anymore, they weren't married. they had no property or kids together. he could have just broken up with her. >> i don't know. i don't know. i don't think he had a plan at all. i think he just -- he acted in the spur of the moment. but i don't believe that he set out to deliberately go there and shoot her. i believe that he was -- he was after me.

that was how he made me feel. when we left my house that day, i never expected to come back home. i honestly believed that he was going to kill me. >> shannon says the investigation doesn't support her conviction. >> i don't feel that there is any evidence that can conclusively say that i shot and killed anyone. my dna is nowhere at the scene. i have no fingerprints at the scene. i admit that i was there, but i was not there by myself and i certainly didn't shoot anyone. >> and shannon insists all those phone calls are real. and they prove what she is saying. saying >> why doesn't it sound like jermeir on those tapes? >> i don't know. i recognize his voice. i know him. >> the jury sure didn't seem to believe that. >> by the time the recordings were played, he had already

testified. i don't know whether or not they could remember his voice from when he testified to later on but it's him. it's him. >> i don't know jermeir but the voice on the tapes does not sound, to me, like him. >> it's him. that's all i can tell you. it's him. i don't know who else would be calling me nonstop, threatening to kill me, threatening to kill my children. >> well, the allegation is that nobody did and you faked all of that. >> how could i fake a phone call? >> you get some friend of yours to call you from another phone. >> and put my family through all of that? is th it wasn't just me. it was my children. my mother. >> as for shannon's story about the sexual assault outside her mother's house, she insists the police investigation wasn't done properly. and that the rape really happened. >> why wouldn't jermeir's dna be found? >> he is a police officer. he made sure that his dna would not be found. >> his cell phone records put him on the phone at the time that you say this assault was going on. >> and i don't believe that he was ever talking to anyone on the phone. i know where he was that night.

>> prosecutor david sachs says the rape allegation was thoroughly investigated and jermeir was cleared. sachs also says shannon could have taken a plea deal that might have gotten her out of prison as soon as the year 2020. her sentence, now, is life without parole. she has exhausted her appeals. her family still believes shannon is innocent. and hopes to find an independent expert who will confirm it was jermeir's voice on those tapes. but the odds are that shannon will die in prison. after years, maybe decades, to ponder what happened on that chilly morning when denita smith was murdered. >> could i have done things differently? absolutely. i made the decision to go with him at the risk of him hurting my family. i don't regret that decision at all. because it may have saved my childrens' lives. and i just wish that he would tell the truth.

that's it. he created this situation and it's completely his fault. but i didn't kill her. i didn't. and i've lost my life, too. >> at shannon's sentencing in 2010, denita's mom sharon was allowed to speak. and all that rage, sorrow, and pain just came pouring out. >> i hope you rot in hell. because you took something from me. >> the one thing that i said and i have since regretted, and i never should have said it. is that i hope you rot in hell. >> i don't think there's a person who's going to watch this who doesn't think that's completely understandable. >> being the god-fearing woman that i am, i know that was wrong. and if i ever get the opportunity to talk to her, i will apologize to her for that.

>> in fact, sharon had something even more remarkable to say to shannon. >> i do forgive her. >> how do you do that? >> i have to forgive her because i want god to forgive me for whatever sins that i may do. >> reporter: jermeir stroud was never charged in the case. but the trial judge did say it was jermeir's behavior that created a perfect storm of events. bringing victim and killer together. jermeir declined our request for an interview. but in a statement, he denied any involvement in denita's murder and all the allegations that shannon crawley has made against him. investigators say jermeir fully cooperated and was completely exonerated. >> he didn't ask, pay, coerce anyone to do this. he didn't pull any trigger. >> and he didn't know it was going to happen?

>> he didn't know it was going to happen. at the end, it comes down to the person who pulls that trigger. >> on the campus of north carolina central university, they still remember denita smith. in the journalism department where she made such an impact, the school newspaper office has been named in her honor. >> she's touched so many lives from people who used to go to school with her. and they say, you know, i still think about denita or i owe that to denita. that was part of her legacy. that's the essence of her. >> reporter: who knows what denita smith would have become. the dreams she would have fulfilled. the career and family she would've had. her mother sharon is slowly making peace with all of that. >> denita wouldn't want me to be bitter or sad. denita's with me spiritually. i don't have to worry about shannon. i don't have to worry about jermeir. because when i lay down at

night -- >> love you. >> -- i get a peaceful sleep. i don't know if they do.

this sunday, america ° shutting down. >> roughly 1 in 4 americans are being told to stay at home. >> talking about tightening the valve more. if the number doesn't slow down, close the valve. we're closing the valve. >> schools, restaurants, businesses closing. airports empty. unemployment claims soaring. congress working on a plan to send checks to millions of families, but how much and how soon? >> we need help now. now. give us answers. >> new cases and deaths spiking. here at home -- >> this is one of the greatest emergencies our nation has faced in generations. >> and around the world. military vehicles needed to cart off the dead in italy. testing kits and medical