her close friend and classmate edythe kearns. >> denita just always knew what she wanted. she always had a vision and a goal. and she would make a plan and stick to it and take it step by step until she met that goal. >> reporter: denita lived in the campus crossings apartments, near the university. around 8am, a 9-1-1 call came in from another student at the same complex. >> durham 911, where is your emergency? >> i think this girl just fell down the stairs. she's at the bottom of the stairs, head busted up and blood everywhere. >> okay, is she responding to you at all? >> she's not even moving. do you want me to get her id out of her pocket? >> if you can. >> her name is denita monique smith. >> okay. >> denita monique smith. denita! she ain't moving man. >> reporter: denita seemed to have perhaps lost her balance and fallen down the stairs. police and paramedics rushed to the complex. the college was quickly notified, as was denita's y family. >> "miss smith, denita fell. she's unconscious, but they're f trying to revive her." he said, "are you coming to durham?" and i'

denita's close friend, edythe kearns, spoke at the funeral. >> the home going was an emotional day.me sadness. but we were trying to, you know, be happy and think about her spirit and life legacy and the way that she would want all of us to go on. but at that time, i think it was just too much and it was overwhelming. >> reporter: denita's fiancÉ, jermeir stroud, was there as well. >> jermeir was sad and he was crying. and he appeared -- clearly, he was devastated. and i think reality was starting to sink in and that it hit him that the love of his life was no longer with us. >> reporter: it was of little comfort to denita's family and friends that the woman accused of killing her was sitting in the durham county jail. shannon crawley had been arrested the day before and charged with first-degree murder. now her family was mourning, too. >> it's devastating, the fear that you have at that point for your child. >> and no one can convince me that my child did that. i know her. >> reporter: shannon's dad, himself a former deputy sheriff, was convinced his daughter was a victim of a sho