world under the worst of circumstances. just a week earlier denita s mother, sharon, was starting to plan her daughter s wedding. now she was attending denita s funeral. no parent wants to see their child laying in in a casket. and denita s life was it was snatched from under her, stolen. reporter: it seemed the whole town turned out on that january day in 2007. denita s close friend, edythe kearns, spoke at the funeral. the home going was an emotional day. it was definitely some 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: denita smith probably never saw it coming. one shot, a clean hit from behind. the killer was apparently lying in wait on the apartment s second floor landing as denita walked down the stairs from her third floor unit, said durham police detective shawn pate. there were four apartments on that landing. i think that someone was there pretending they were knocking on the door or fumbling for keys. reporter: so denita probably would have had to walk right past the shooter? probably good morning, how are you, then turn and go down the steps. reporter: bang. and that s it. reporter: denita murdered. executed in broad daylight. it made no sense. her bff edythe says denita simply didn t have any enemies. denita was a light in this dark world. she had a beautiful spirit. she was loving. she was kind. she was supportive.
mother, sharon, was starting to plan her daughter s wedding. now she was attending denita s funeral. no parent wants to see their child laying in in a casket. and denita s life was it was snatched from under her, stolen. reporter: it seemed the whole town turned out on that january day in 2007. denita s close friend, edythe kearns, spoke at the funeral. the home going was an emotional day. it was definitely some 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.
broke it off. they did. reporter: a year before denita was killed? a year. reporter: now after the murder, word of jermeir s two-timing spread quickly. denita s mother, sharon. i m angry. i m mad. because it never should have happened. you were in a serious relationship. you know, why you felt you had to step out, don t understand. you don t hurt the ones you love. reporter: the divorce rate in this country would suggest that we hurt the ones we love all the time. that s true. but it s kind of bad when you going into the marriage being foul. not saying that it s okay once you re in it. but you would just like to think, you know, you re starting things off right. reporter: edythe kearns was barely beginning to process the loss of her close friend, and now had to cope with something else she had never imagined. i was just sad. and i was hurt. and i was in shock. just disbelief. because i had nothing bad to say about him. reporter: this wasn t jermeir?
stroud, denita s fiance, a police officer who worked in greensboro, much closer to durham. and i said, jermeir, i need you to get to durham now. denita has fell. she s unconscious. they re trying to revive her. so he said okay. because i knew from greensboro to durham he would be there before i would. could you tell whether he had any idea of this? he didn t let on like he was aware. reporter: word spread fast that something had happened at the apartment complex. the apartment complex.. edythe called to check on denita. and she wasn t answering. which was you know, after i call your phone several times as a best friend, you know, somebody s going to call you back. so i was like, that s strange. so my instinct just said call jermeir really quick just to touch bases with him. reporter: by now jermeir stroud had left work and was racing to durham. i spoke to jermeir. and i m like, have you made contact with her? but i felt like i didn t get a definite answer. it seemed l