Snapped: Women Who Murder - Crystal Magnum

Episode Date: July 16, 2023

A notorious citizens of Durham finds herself under scrutiny after her boyfriend is stabbed.Season 24 Episode 07Originally aired: October 7, 2018Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mike Williams set off on a hunting trip in a North Florida lake, where it was thought he met his fate in the jaws of a vicious alligator, except that's not what happened. And after the uncovering of a secret love affair, the truth would finally be revealed. Binge all episodes of Over My Dead Body, Gone Hunting, right now, ad-free, on One Drey Plus. What does it mean to be black in America?

An NPR's black stories, black truth, What does it mean to be black in America? An NPR's Black Stories Black Truths, a collection of stories that's varied, nuanced, and dynamic as black experiences, you'll hear. It means everything. Search NPR Black Stories Black Truths wherever you get your pockets. In the city of Durham, North Carolina, her name was synonymous with scandal. She was involved in one of the most notorious cases that we'd ever seen. She could never get away from the spotlight. Although for one man, none of that mattered.

And it very quickly turned into a romantic relationship. They seemed like the perfect pair. But that second chance ends in tragedy. 9-9-1-1. My uncle just got stabbed. It was a steak knife buried to the hilt. It was a real deep, nasty wound. The investigation leaves detectives struggling to determine the truth.

She claims he tried to choke her. It's hard to say who was the aggressor. But with her infamous reputation, will the facts of the case ever see the light of day? This was vindication for a lot of people. It was almost like we didn't get you for the first thing, but we're going to get you now. April 3, 2011. 2.30 AM.

It's a peaceful night on the south side of Durham, North Carolina. But events are unfolding that will bring a notorious case from the city's not-so-distant past, roaring back to life. It starts when 40-year-old Carlos Wilson gets an unexpected knock on his apartment door. I immediately ran to the door to see who it was because I don't get that kind of disturbance in that time of night. As I looked through the people I saw that it was my own correction, so I immediately opened the door. 46-year-old Reginald Day lives just a few doors down, but he hasn't dropped a buy for a late night chat. He's come for help.

He's bleeding from the side. Up on his arm between his real blades. He's been stabbed. He's bleeding. And the nephew is trying to figure out what's going on. Reginald was bleeding a whole lot. It wasn't like it was pouring out, but it was too much at that time for trying to figure out what's going on. Reginald was bleeding a whole lot. It wasn't like it was pouring out, but it was too much at that time for him to be losing. I tried to keep him as conscious as I could,

and I talked to him, tried to calm him down. Carla's wants to call 911. Reggie says, I'm not that bad. I don't need to go. He didn't think it was that serious, but I had to inform my uncle that this is deep and it's between your ribs. You don't know if a longest puncture or anything. You need to go get help. Carlos calls 911 and waits for help to arrive.

There are 911 words, there are most. I need to ambulance my uncle just got stabbed and his knee is long. I help Reginald's room talk to, trying to get him to calm down. They didn't want his heart rate to exceed so much way with pump all the blood. You know, he was bleeding, forciutely. Is your weight? Yeah, but he's, he's, he's, he's, he's up bad.

I were getting up on the way. Someone else is disfacin' the police. And I hear him at that. Durham Police Department shows up, and then you first respond as which would be the fire department. They wasted no time doing what they needed to do loading them up and taking them to the hospital. While Reggie is transported to the hospital,

questions remain for police. Who could have done this? And will Reggie live to tell his story? Born in 1964, The The The The The The The The The The The

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The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The Reggie never went to college. Instead, he supported himself with his passion, painting houses. You like to paint. He was just so thrilled about painting, you know, just beginning from the prepping of the wall to the finished product. And he always told me that you can never go wrong with learning to trade, no matter what to trade, maybe. He was somebody that enjoyed helping other people. He was kind, had a pretty simple life,

and he just wanted someone to share it with. He wanted a long-term relationship. He didn't want that fly by tonight. He was tired of that. He wanted to settle, and that's what he was looking for. Reggie's chance would come in January of 2011 when a friend hired him to do some work around her house, which is how he first met his friend's niece, 32-year-old Crystal Mangum.

Reggie Day definitely had a soft spot for pretty ladies. 14 years younger than Reggie, Crystal was a city girl, but there was nothing fancy about her upbringing. She did grow up in Durham. Her dad was a truck driver. Her mom was a homemaker. She was one of three children. Her family didn't have a lot. They weren't rich, and they didn't have money

to afford her, you know, all of the things in life. But she had a family that did love her. Growing up poor made Crystal long for a better life, but it also meant that she couldn't afford college. She left and went into the Navy. She served in the Navy for three and a half years. I think she enjoyed the Navy. I think that was her way of improving herself.

While in the service, Crystal met the man she believed she could spend the rest of her life with. She got involved with a gentleman in the Navy. And as a result, she had a son in the daughter by him. While the relationship produced two children, it ultimately didn't last, namely because the father of Crystal's children had been hiding a big secret. He was married at the time, so, you know,

that's not looked upon favorable when you're in the Navy. And that spiraled into her actually being discharged, but she wasn't dishonestly discharged. She was honorable discharge. So, you know, it was what it was. Once out of the Navy, Crystal returned to Durham. She moves back to Durham to be near her family, to be closer to her father and a mother, you know,

so she could have a support system, because she did have two small children. With her parent support, Crystal not only made a home for her children, she even managed to earn a college degree. She went to North Carolina Center and got her undergrad degree in psychology, and then was working on her masters. While pursuing her masters, Crystal met another man she thought might be the one. She ended up having this second man in her life. Though it did produce

another child, Crystal's third, this relationship was also short-lived. She now had three children. She was trying to go to school, and she was struggling. In an effort to keep her head above water, Crystal moved in with her aunt in May of 2010. That's when Crystal met Reginald Day. Reginald was at her aunt's house where she was staying doing some painting or some maintenance work, some handyman work.

She started talking to him, and he was nice to her, and she started opening up to him about her situation. Crystal had enjoyed staying with her aunt, but she felt it was a burden on her. There was quite a few people in the house, so it was a little congested and a little crowded, and I think Crystal had got a little anxious. Reggie told Crystal not to worry.

She and the kids could stay at his place. At the time, he was having some problems with his rent, where he was living at. It seems like the perfect situation. He's looking for a roommate to help share the rent. She's looking for someone to help her and her three children. Crystal left at the offer, and within days of meeting Reggie, she and her children moved into Reggie's apartment.

Not only does he open his apartment to her, but he gives her and her daughter's a bedroom, gives the son a bedroom, he's sleeping on the couch. It seems like he's bending over backwards to accommodate her. However, Reggie didn't sleep on the couch for long. Once she was there, things started to happen. There was more than a roommate situation. It very quickly turned into a romantic relationship.

Reggie Day fell very hard quickly for Crystal Mangum. Crystal was just as taken with Reggie. He was not bad on us, and he was a good guy. He worked hard. And he was good with Crystal's kids, too. Reggie loved kids, period. He bonded with him. He did that with you, could, to make him feel welcome.

It seemed after years of looking for love in all the wrong places, Crystal Mangum had finally found her Mr. Wright. She thought they had a good relationship, and she was satisfied being in that relationship. He wanted a family, he wanted love. He wanted to just be a piece and draw a life. I love. He wanted to just be a piece and through our life.

However, on the morning of April 3, 2011, barely a month after Crystal moved in, her and Reggie's life together seems to be in mortal danger. Reginald was admitted to Duke University Hospital Emergency. He was there with a stab wound in being taken to the hospital for emergency surgery. Coming up, police uncovered the aftermath

of a violent altercation. You can see there was some blood drops down the hall. There was a door that had been violently removed from the hinges. There was a night stab into one of the arms of the cow. I'm like, the Tasmanian devil just went through here. -♪ -♪

After years of heartbreak, struggle, and longing to find Mr. Wright, single mom Crystal Mangum seemed to find the man of her dreams in the form of her new roommate, 46-year-old Reggie Day. The arrangement initially was a platonic relationship, but it quickly morphed into an intimate one. more often to an intimate one. However, on the morning of April 3rd 2011, Reggie's life hangs in the balance after being stabbed at his apartment complex.

He had a pretty substantial wound that needed to be addressed. The big one was it hit the colon, the spleen, I think the kidney, but just several those organs that kind of nicked them all. While Reggie is rushed into surgery, his nephew Carlos leads police across the apartment complex to Reggie's residence. The moment they walk in, it's clear

that they've entered a crime scene of tremendous violence. I'm like, the Tasmanian devil just went through here. The TV, the tables, the furniture, the crystal glasses, shot glasses, everything in the living room was destroyed. There was blood on a couch. There was a knife stabbed into one of the arms of the couch. You can see there was, you know was some blood drops down the hall.

There was a door to the bathroom that had been violently removed from the hinges and as if it had been kicked and forced inside. You can see like hair that was pulled out and was laying on the floor. They came in at apartment and saw that apartment and disarray like that and the seahair over here and doors kicked in.

That should have been a clue right then that there had been some harm come to somebody other than Reg. Could there be a second victim? Reggie's nephew tells police that just before paramedics arrived, Reggie told him that there were only two people involved in the altercation. Reggie himself and his girlfriend, Crystal. He said, no, it was Chris and that's the ambulance.

Police asked Carlos if he knows Crystal's last name. That's when Carlos drops a bombshell. It was the Crystal Mangament. Here in Durham, North Carolina, everybody knows your Crystal Mangum is. The events that transformed Crystal Mangum into one of Durham's most notorious public figures date back to 2006, long before she met Reggie Day.

While she was in school, you know, you have financial aid and everything, but that doesn't take your everything, still have to pay your bills. To make ends meet, Crystal started working as an exotic dancer for private parties. That's something that she chose to do because you can make $300, $400 for an hour, which work for work. At first, things went smoothly, and the job afforded Crystal the financial breathing room she'd so desperately sought. And on the night of March 13th, 2006,

the gig Crystal had booked was supposed to be a party like any other. She gets a call where she like to go do this job, and she just knew to show up in an address. The location turned out to be a call, which she likes to go do this job, and she just knew to show up in an address. The location turned out to be a house not far from Duke University. The lacrosse team was having an off-campus party, and they hired Crystal Mangum as an exotic dancer

to come to that party and entertain. What happened next would forever alter the course of Crystal's life and that of the Duke lacrosse team. Crystal said that she was raped or assaulted by three members of the lacrosse team. Of course, that, in and of itself, is pretty explosive story. Crystal's claim prompted an immediate police investigation.

They found out all of the people who were at the party, and they took pictures of only those people, and they gave those pictures to her, and told her that all those people were at the party, which ones are the ones that raped you? Crystal Manga picks out three men and says that these three men assaulted her. Within days, all three men were arrested on rape charges.

The district attorney in Durham County at the time took on this case with vigor. So did the national media who descended on Durham in droves. This case was the perfect storm. The perception of Duke for many people is that it is an elitist university for privileged young people. So you have that on one hand, then on the other hand, you have a low income, African-American woman, down on her luck, having a difficult life,

and she accuses these three young men from the university of a horrible crime. The way it was portrayed at that time is that they were all these three young men from the University of a horrible crime. The way it was portrayed at that time is that they were all drunk and were abusive. Who wouldn't come to the aid and the rescue of a young woman when they say that they've been violated? It's such a heinous way. Crystal really was kind of the focus of a national fight over civil rights, over black rights, over women's rights, over all of those kinds of things. Caught up in the controversy, the university acted swiftly, severely disciplining the

entire team. The authorities at Duke canceled the, ended up firing the coach. A lot of people saw Duke's reaction as over the top. It completely polarized this community. I mean, we had people who strongly supported the lacrosse players, and we had people who strongly supported Crystal Manga. It split America right down the middle. But even as Crystal's accusation divided Durham

and dominated the national news, the case against the lacrosse players started to unravel. The DNA tests came back and showed that none of the players that she had accused had any DNA connection to her allegations of sexual assault. The attorney general decides that not only was this a case of a false accusation, but that these men were totally innocent.

The stunning decision left Durham's district attorney disgraced. He was disborded and removed from being's district attorney disgraced. He was disborded and removed from being the district attorney. But Crystal faced an even tougher road. After 2006, she was pretty much a pariah, or a persona non grata in this community. Her name is synonymous, so no job, no way to make ends meet.

When they found out that she was Crystal Mangle, the young lady involved with the Duke LaCrosse, she was let go, several times. Crystal Mangle, after this incident, found it difficult, if not impossible, to rent an apartment. She couldn't go fill out an application and put her name down and say,

Crystal main, nobody was going to rent to her. Shunned by the community, Crystal desperately needed a refuge, one that she'd found with Reggie Day. Marco Reggie told me that, you know, everyone needs to stop the dance. They seem to be a very happy. As they survey the scene, detectives are curious. What sort of anger has Crystal carried in her heart in the years since the Duke lacrosse scandal? And would Reggie's willingness to give her a second chance

ultimately cost him his life? Coming up, an unexpected tip suggests that instead of being a suspect, crystal is in fact a victim. This dude would start to be on. And detectives scramble to find crystal man up. They don't know she's hurt. They don't know she's hiding. April 3, 2011, 7.30 AM. It has only been a few hours since 46-year-old Reggie Day

was brutally stabbed in his Durham, North Carolina home. The attack appears to stem from a domestic dispute between Reggie and his girlfriend, 32-year-old Crystal Mangum, a woman whose name is synonymous with scandal throughout the city. Everybody knows Crystal Mangum. She's captured the attention of the whole state and the country when she was involved in one of the most notorious cases that we'd ever seen.

The Duke LaCross case, that was news regardless of where you were at in the world. You've heard about that case. So now, while surgeons at Duke University Hospital fight to save Reggie's life, Durham police are on the hunt for crystal. Our uniform patrol officers and our investigators were actively trying to locate Miss Mangum. She was gone from the house. She left.

You don't know where it directly, she went to, but she had left. We wanted to make sure not only to get her side of the story as far as what occurred, but also address if she had any particular physical injuries that had resulted from this act of violence. But the search for crystal has barely begun before another urgent call comes in

from the apartment complex where the stabbing occurred. They get this mysterious 911 call from a child. Carolina 911, we're showing emergency. Yes, from what I'm just doing, we just started the ambulance. Okay, I'm just doing what's going to be on my mind. OK, tell me exactly what happened. I'm always trying to defend itself. Oh, shit, that is terrible.

The son basically told 911 that his mother had been in a fight and she had to leave. And so that was why the police knew where she was. Hey, what is your name, please? We usually have a year. It really is. A lot of trouble. and so that was why the police knew where she was. Hey, what is your name, please? Please, you got me up in here. It really is a lot of trouble. It's always easy to be here like this. With one team of officers processing

the crime scene at Reggie's apartment, another response to the 911 call at a neighbor's apartment. They come to the apartment and they ask for Christmas. She was lying on the floor. She was obviously distraught and upset. Our clothing appeared torn. I recall there being a lip that was swollen. There was a small cut on the backside of one of her hands.

Her hair was a mess. She looked like she was an exhausted mess. And officers at a time trying to just get her all from the floor and compose enough to transport her to the police department for further investigation. Once at the station, detectives usher crystal into an interview room for questioning. As I walk in the interview room, I can see there, again,

she is very exhausted. She appeared to have been sleeping. You know, she wakes up. She's conscious and alert. I explained to her that I need to take some photographs of her, her overall appearance, as well as her injuries. When you choose to have all this ball, it's tasty. The photos convince at least one detective that Crystal's son may have been correct

when he said his mother acted in self-defense. The injuries that I observed on this mangan, in my opinion, would appear that she had been on the receiving end of an assault. But when it comes to explaining how she received those injuries, Crystal remains silent. Crystal had been through the system before,

so she knew that it was best to just ask for an attorney rather than try to talk your way out of it. She knew that it was better not to talk to the police until after you had a consult with an attorney. So she never spoke. With Crystal unwilling to talk, detectives treat her injuries, then take her into custody. Ultimately, they arrest her and for assault

with a deadly weapon and flicking serious injury, which was the stabbing. However, if Reggie Day doesn't survive, the assault charges could escalate to murder charges. I think Crystal knew that if he did not live there, the charges that she was charged with would definitely be increasing. After booking Crystal into the Durham County jail,

detectives contact the hospital for an update on Reggie's status. The medical staff at Duke University had advised our investigators that they were able to get him from critical condition to a stable condition post-surgery, and that it appeared he was going to make it for recovery. Although without medical intervention, Reggie could have easily died. The stab wound was seven and a half inches deep.

I mean, it was a steak knife buried to the hilt. They hit the colon, the spleen. I think the kidney, but they repaired all of the damage. Once out of surgery and in recovery, Reggie is eager to speak to detectives. Reggie Day was actually able to talk to the police. After his surgery, he was able to give them a statement and tell them his version of what happened that night. Reggie states that April 2, 2011 was supposed to have been a big day for him and Crystal.

The relationship had kind of gotten to a new level. Reggie had actually taken her to a family picnic to meet his family. This was the first time that, you know, he had kind of said, this is my girlfriend, here's my family. But Reggie says that their special day soon turned sour. When they come home from the party,

there is a police officer who is in the parking lot of the apartment complex dealing with a car that's being towed Crystal knows him and Crystal goes up and speaks to him She started talking to him and Reggie got upset Reggie got jealous saying you know, I just introduced you to my whole family You know, what are you doing? Why are you flirting? He had heard or observed her flirting with some unknown male or unknown individual,

and he was not happy about this, and they got an a heated argument. The officer said, are you okay? She was like, no, we're fine. And he said, well, you all can't be out here yelling. Go inside. Reggie tells detectives that he and Crystal did as ordered, but he admits that once inside the apartment, the argument escalated. He had been drinking, and he just got insanely jealous. I mean, this was not what he had expected.

This was not what the evening was supposed to end like. That is what set him off. He went into a jealous rage, and that's what instigated his rampage. He amits hitting her. He amits jumping on her. He amits all of that. Reggie also admits that Crystal had tried her best to get away.

He stated that Miss Mangum had fled into the bathroom and locked the door behind her, and that he pursued her by forcing the door in to get to go after her. Reggie said that he kicked the door in, that he actually had pulled her out. He amits pulling her hair and pulling her back into the room. Mr. Day told investigators that at the time that he grabbed her here,

Miss Mangum stated to let me loose. Reggie claims at that point, he realized his rage had got the best of him, and he released Crystal, but the fight was far from over. His position was he let her go, turned to leave. She ran into the kitchen and grabbed some knives and came back at him and stabbed him once in the side. -♪ -♪ -♪ -♪

Reggie's version of events adds a new wrinkle to what detectives already know about the case. There were two people that were actively engaged in a violent confrontation. And that in and of itself can make it a complex scene to try to determine, you know, at what point and where were each party involved in the confrontation into what degree.

Coming up, Reggie's story threatens to derail the case. The did seem that, you know, he was an aggressor. You had a good argument for self-defense. And the tragic twist raises the stakes. It just came out of nowhere. It was very shocking. It was very disappointing. It was hurting. It was anger.

It was so many emotions at one time. It's been less than 48 hours since Crystal Mangams stabbed her boyfriend Reggie Day. It's been less than 48 hours since Crystal Mengum stabbed her boyfriend Reggie Day. Though his life hung in the balance, doctors were able to save Reggie. Now he's given Durham police a statement about the incident. One that suggests Crystal may have acted in self-defense. He admits they were fighting, He admits he got mad. Um, he admits he kicked in the door

and drug her out by her hair. It's hard to say who was the aggressor, who was not the aggressor. The case gets even more complicated on the evening of April 6th, when Reggie's condition takes an unexpected turn for the worse. My mom called me and told me that he wasn't doing good. And I was like, huh?

He was talking. The bleeding had stopped. So I'm assuming that he was going to walk out the hospital in a few days. He started experiencing agitation and some issues. They were wondering whether or not it was Delirium Tremons was in alcoholic coming off that. If you don't treat alcoholism, detox will kick in. They were wondering whether or not it was Delirium Tremons. We'll see an alcoholic coming off that.

If you don't treat alcoholism, detox will kick in. And that's one of the worst drugs you can ever detox from because it affects all the organs in the body. The whole body has a hole. He starts running the fever and at some point goes into cardiac arrest, in which obviously Duke activate their medical procedures and start doing everything they can to provide life-saving measures for Mr. Day.

The doctor scrambled to restart Reggie's heart, but it's too late. The damage is permanent. He was in a coma for a period of time, and if he was able to survive the coma, would probably be living with substantial brain damage. After they realized he wasn't going to recover, that's when they went ahead and pulled the plug. It was the family's decision to pull life support. On April 13, 2011, 10 days after the stabbing,

Reggie Day is pronounced dead. It was very shocking. It was very disappointing. It was hurting. It was anger. It was so many emotions at one time because I'm assuming that I would see my uncle again, standing upright, walking and talking, being his happy normal self. And I never got that chance to see him standing up right again. I had to watch him laying in the coffin,

and I never thought that was going to happen. I'm just new after he left in the ambulance. A couple of days later, he would be coming home. And I didn't go see him while he was in the hospital, because I knew he was going to walk out that door. News of Reggie's death is just as disappointing for Crystal's friends and family. Crystal's still in jail at the time.

And I'm still going to see her. And, you know, we still keeping hope that, you know, he's going to be all right, Crystal, you know. And then, you know, I let him know that he had passed away. And she was upset. She did feel bad about it because she continued. She even said to that point, he was a good man. She continued to stick with that, that he was a good man. From a legal standpoint, Reggie's death has dire repercussions for Crystal. Ultimately, for Miss Mangum, the charges

that went along with this had now changed. It's gone from being an assault on Mr. Day to now the charges have been upgraded to murder. The technical cause of death is complications from a stab wound. Now facing a first degree murder charge and the possibility of life in prison, Crystal decides it's time to talk. Given Crystal's reputation in Durham, her attorney decides it's time to talk. Given Crystal's reputation and Durham, her attorney decides it's best to present her story

directly to the district attorney. Crystal's version of events starts out just like Reggie's. They went to a cookout, a family cookout, his family, not hers. However, according to Crystal, by the time they arrived at the party, Reggie was already drunk. She said he started time they arrived at the party, Reggie was already drunk. She said he started drinking that morning at the apartment.

So by the time he got to the cookout, he was being a little belligerent at lounge, and she was trying to not escalate it. Crystal says that around 1am, they returned home from the party. That's when she made the mistake of stopping to say hello to a police officer she knew. The officer called her name because he knew who she was.

And she responded, you know, just having a conversation. And I think that made Reggie angry or that he already was. By the time they got into the apartment, by the time she left the officer who had told them both to take it on the inside and get it out the parking lot, she said when she walked into the apartment and the door closed, he just hit her. He hit her many times with his fist in the head and gouged at her face with his fingernails. She went and ran and tried to lock herself in the bathroom, and he kicked the bathroom door in.

Similar to Reggie's statement, Crystal claims that at this point, Reggie relented. But Crystal says it was Reggie, not her, who'd gone to the kitchen and grabbed the knives. Crystal says that the Reggie went in there, grabbed them, and started throwing them at her as though she were a target practice. She's trying to hide and dodge them. Eventually they end up in the floor.

She claims she tried to choke her and that she picked up one of those knives, stabbed him inside, and then ran out of the apartment. Crystal seems to be telling the truth, but authorities also know that her prior accusations against the Duke LaCrosse team proved to be a fabrication. It's complicated because they have this chaotic scene, and they have only two people there, no witnesses, so they have to take both of their stories

and try to figure out what happened. She was charged with a second degree murder. The next morning, Crystal Mangum is once again headline news in Durham that immediately puts her back in the news. This case probably would not have been more than a brief mention. Had she not been Crystal Mango? Despite all the negative press, Crystal's attorneys are confident she will ultimately be vindicated. I think we did have a good chance

to beat the murder charge. I mean, I think you had a good argument for self-defense. But can the most infamous woman in Durham actually get a fair trial here? Anytime you have any case in which a person is in the media spotlight, underscrewed me. Whether it's good or bad in that community, I think you have to ask yourself, can that person get a fair and impartial jury

of their peers? I think it would be hard for Crystal Mangum to get people that didn't know who she was and could be impartial in Durham. But, it also might be hard to find 12 people who didn't know who Crystal Mangum was anywhere in North Carolina. So, that's the challenge of the justice system. Is how do you try somebody fairly when you have a person who is so high-profile.

Coming up, Will Crystal's fate rests in the hands of her hometown. For all of her notoriety, it was kind of a double-edged sword. And when the trial finally gets underway, a key witness from Crystal's past could seal her fate. The star witness in this trial was her ex-boyfriend. We help hope the whole time. MUSIC Two and a half years after Reggie Day's death, 35-year-old Crystal Mangum is headed to trial for his murder. The question Crystal's attorneys now face is,

can she get a fair trial in Durham? The same town where the Duke LaCrosse scandal made her a household name. What we concluded is, for all of her notoriety, it was kind of a double-edged sword. She still had her supporters in Durham. She probably has more supporters in Durham than she does in other counties.

And so we didn't actually make a request to move it. We did decide to keep it in Durham. November 14, 2013, Crystal's trial begins at the Durham County Courthouse, a throng of her supporters packs the courtroom. We kept hope. We kept hope the whole time that she would be found not guilty. In his opening statement, Crystal's attorney makes the case for self-defense.

By his own admission, she had locked herself into a bathroom and he kicked in the door and drug her out by her hair, at which point he was stabbed. That was an altercation where somebody who was fighting for their life. There's no way you couldn't have seen it any other way. She had every reason to be terrified of him, had every reason to think he was going to harm her. However, the prosecution paints crystal as a dangerous, unstable woman with a long history

of volatile behavior. The prosecution portrayed her as a woman who had a lack of self-control, as a woman who was on the edge and a woman who, you know, frankly was going to snap at any time. It's a depiction of Crystal designed to play into every preconceived notion jurors might have about her. The Duke LaCrosse thing was like the elephant in the middle of the room. However, due to the controversial nature of the LaCrosse case, the judge has declared any specific references to it

strictly off limits. It was so clear that that was underlying a lot of the questions, but they didn't talk about it, because the judge said no. However, there is another less well-known skeleton from Crystal's closet that prosecutors are about to drag out into the open, and incident the judge explains they're more than free to discuss. On November 15, 2013, the state calls their star witness

to the stand. It's one of Crystal's ex-boyfriends, a man named Milton Walker. Milton absolutely did not want to testify. He still cared for Crystal. He absolutely did not want to be there. He just felt that he had to be and was going to answer the questions that he was asked.

Prosecutors begin by asking Milton about his relationship with Crystal. For a while, she was living with Milton, and that ultimately fell apart. But it's why their relationship fell apart that has prosecutors so eager for Milton to take the stand. He testified that 14 months prior to this situation with Reggie Day, he had been in a fight with her

and that she had threatened him with the knife. But according to Milton Walker, the knife attack was only half the story. There was an argument that had occurred. She had allegedly taken some belongings of the boyfriend to the bathroom and had to set them on fire. Milton had called the police. And when heat was talking with her and the officers, she actually went into the kitchen and got a knife

and came after it. The police intervened before Crystal could actually harm Milton. She wasn't charged for the attempted assault, but they did arrest Crystal for arson. She spent, I think, 90 days in jail as part of the arson charges. Then she went and was back living with her aunt.

And then, at some point, that's when she then met Reginald Day. For the prosecutors, the similarities between Milton's testimony and Reggie's death are no coincidence. Prosecutors say that this case showed a pattern of her abusing the men in her life, not the other way around. Milton's testimony was bad for us because it set the pattern of

when she gets mad at somebody, she will actually go into the kitchen and grab a weapon and come back. And the state's position was, had the police not been there, she'd have stabbed Milton, too. But will Milton's testimony be enough to secure a murder conviction? Or will the jury buy Crystal's claim of self-defense? On November 22nd, 2013, they reach a verdict.

Crystal is found guilty of second-degree murder. Once that was announced, we were all, I mean, I was blown away because I didn't think it was gonna go that way. And I don't think Chris was the idiot either. I think the jury just found that story is more credible instead. No matter what Reggie had done, when he let her go, she had a choice to make either leave

or go get a knife and stab him, and she chose to get the knife and stab him. And I think that's what the jury believes. The day in the courtroom when Miss Mangle was found guilty, people were celebrating, and I think they were celebrating for the wrong reasons. I felt sad for Miss Mangle, because I truly think they sentenced her

from the Duke LeCrosse case. They punished her. After the jury finds Crystal guilty, the judge sentences her to 14 to 18 years in prison. The Duke LaCrosse case changed the way people see the justice system, not only here in North Carolina, but across the country. And so when Crystal Mangaum was convicted in the Reggie Day murder, the reaction in the community by and large was finally Crystal

Mangum is going to jail because a lot of people felt like what she did in 2006 that she told missed truths. A lot of people felt like she should have been prosecuted then. So in a way this was vindication for a lot of people who believed all along that Crystal Mangum was, in fact, guilty of something. That includes Reggie's family. All Reggie wanted was to be loved. They have a family of his own. Something that he tried to do with Miss Crystal Mangum

to love her and care for her and her kids. And it was the death of him. Reggie's supporters were very happy that Crystal Mangom was convicted. They felt like this was the right ending for this trial and that justice was served for the person they loved. However, where some see vindication, Crystal's supporters see a travesty of justice. It was almost like the O.J. Simpson.

You know, we didn't get you for the first thing to do LaCrosse, but we're gonna get you now. People looked at Crystal Mangum as a single mother, working to support her kids, to pay her way through school. I think that what has happened throughout Crystal's life has been like the perfect storm, where one thing happens, she doesn't recover, and then she continues to get involved in situations where she obviously

can't handle what she's dealing with. Crystal lost her appeal in July 2015. She is currently serving a minimum of 14 years in prison and is projected to be released in 2026. She will be 47 years old. Crystal's children are in the custody of their fathers. you