If you were someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please call the National

Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 to be connected with someone in your area.

Life was being turned upside down for Crystal Howell.

What should have been fun teenage years spent stressing over homework, sleepovers with

girlfriends, and gossiping about the latest boy crush.

For Crystal, it was a time of family turmoil from a bitter divorce, alleged sexual abuse at the hands of her uncle,

and boiling rage coming at her from all angles that was beginning to devour and swallow the teen.

Still living in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, Crystal had a scary incident when she was hit by a car at school.

No injuries, but her dad was livid over the medical bills.

On another incident, when she ran away and asked police for help, she says her dad scolded her by pouring boiling water down her throat for snitching.

While Michael Howell's disciplined tactics were frightening and abusive,

his actions were about to take a drastic and alarming turn.

One day he takes me to this flea market and there's all this cool stuff like sunglasses

and these like little shirts and stuff.

So I'm like, oh cool.

But I'm following my hat, I'm not really sure where to go because it's kind of a big place.

Like there's a lot of different sections.

So I'm following him and he seems like he's been here

a lot, like, he knows where he's going, so

okay, I'm going to follow him.

And he goes, it was a man,

he had a gun, a long shotgun,

...