i didn t know what he had done, and i didn t know what he was going to do to me. reporter: it s often considered risky for a murder defendant to take the stand. but shannon crawley 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 re trying to tell the jury that then 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. reporter: and the defense did have those phone conversations shannon recorded in which she insists jermeir threatened her and incriminated himself. you know i already got away with murder once. you think i can t do it again? i m sure you can. reporter: but shannon s defense attorney ultimately chose not to play them.
i really do. because that implies that there is someone else that you would like to have a child with. reporter: maybe someone like jermeir s fiance, denita smith. detective pate now thought shannon crawley had the means, the opportunity and the motive to commit murder. and it got to the point we thought, this is all we re going to get right now. and it s more than enough. reporter: well, was it enough? police had no dna, no fingerprints, no murder weapon and no forensics at the crime scene that linked shannon to denita s murder. but detective pate was also thinking about denita s family. the family is suffering. let s go ahead and give them a little peace right now. reporter: five days after denita smith s murder, detective pate drove back to greensboro with a warrant to arrest shannon crawley. she and her children were staying at her sister s house
murder and be sentenced to a maximum of 12 years in prison. denita s mother, sharon, was not happy. what d you say? no. reporter: 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. reporter: she needn t have worried. shannon crawley was not going to take a deal. she insisted she wanted to clear her name and would now take her chances in court. shannon looked at me with a smirk. like she knew he was going to get off. shannon on the stand. for one he s told me since that he did. versus the man she says is jermeir on tape. you re going to kill me too? keep talking. whom would the jury believe?
bought a tape recorder and conducted a do-it-yourself sting operation. i spent four months in jail because of you. because you lied. man, i told you all you had to do was shut the [ bleep ] up, man. jermeir, just tell the truth, please. don t do this to me. reporter: shannon s family members, who had always supported her, say they can corroborate many of the calls. i d say 99% of the phone calls i was a witness to, i was on the other phone. reporter: you would also see shannon s reaction to these. yeah. reporter: phone calls. this was not somebody who was play acting. exactly. reporter: no question that was jermeir no. i know it was him. reporter: and they say it did not take long for jermeir to incriminate himself. you know i already got away with murder once. think i can t do it again? i m sure you can. someone like you, i m sure. trying to keep my ass out of jail. and what about me? i didn t do anything here. better you than me. and they ain t try
decision. shannon s family was encouraged. i didn t feel that the d.a. proved his case. there were some damaging things, yes, but there was no preponderance of evidence, and i thought that she was going to be acquitted. reporter: for shannon crawley 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. reporter: how d she look when that verdict came in? like all the life just drained out of her, like she d seen a ghost. reporter: across the aisle shannon s family was also