Danita Smith had been in her grave more than three years by the time her accused killer finally went on trial.

During that time, investigators had heard several versions of a similar story.

In all of them, Danita was murdered in the last act.

Other than that, the stories of Shannon Crawley and Jermere Stroud diverged.

Each said the other was to blame.

Who pulled the trigger?

That depends on who you ask.

There were multiple theories, but little physical evidence explaining exactly what had happened.

It's all circumstances.

Yeah, all circumstance.

That, of course, worked to Shannon Crawley's advantage.

My DNA is nowhere at the scene of the crime.

Nowhere.

There's no fingerprints.

That detail alone made some people very nervous.

She was a convincing speaker.

And she was alleged in some part of domestic violence.

And if there was anyone on the jury that had any experience with domestic violence, would it be believable?

She didn't look the part.

I mean, she tells a credible story.

On top of that, prosecutors worried what a jury would think of their key witness,

the two-timing cop, whose behavior felt like a catalyst for all of this.

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