Former Dispatcher: Guilty of Murder, Life Sentence

A jury has found former Guilford County (NC) dispatcher Shannon Crawley, 30, guilty of first-degree murder, and the judge has sentenced her to life in prison. Crawley had been a dispatcher for six years when she was arrested by Durham police in 2007 for fatally shooting university student Denita Smith, 25. Neighbors of Smith reported hearing a gunshot, and a maintenance worker later found Smith on the outside steps to her apartment building, shot once in the head. Witnesses testified seeing Crawley drive away from the apartment complex shortly after the gunshot was heard. During the nine-day trial, the prosecutor presented cell phone records that placed Crawley at the scene, and buying a gun several months before the murder. The jury heard testimony of a twisted motive—Crawley had a relationship with a Durham police officer who was also engaged with Smith. During the trial, Crawley claimed the officer had killed Smith. But the jury apparently didn’t believe recordings that Crawley’s attorney introduced of a telephone call, with the officer purportedly confessing to the murder.