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foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] what happened tonight we were arguing and the last thing I remember I was
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going in the house and I heard a shot a scream and then another shot give me some drama shoes
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stay clear of patience the realization started hitting me that she shot herself analyzing heart
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rhythm we'll stay back here what they're going to do is try to determine if they can
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get a pulse okay breathing of circulation hi Chief uh it looks like suicide to me
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thank you did anything about your relationship with Tiffany lead you to believe that
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she was suicidal not at the time looking back just seeing how depressed she actually was and reading some of her
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journal makes me think she was hiding a lot of stuff [Music] it was one of my very best friends
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she was a big Spirit she had big plans she wanted to see the world this was a school photo
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she was my firstborn my only daughter she was very involved with her children she used to dance and sing with them all
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the time her goal was to bring people together that was was he started mothers helping
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mothers mhm is a community for all moms of all walks of life it doesn't matter your background we want to be there to
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love and support you do you believe she would take her own life I just talked to her
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I do not believe that he had shot herself twice with her non-dominant hand we were fairly certain
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that there's no way were you certain Jason did it I couldn't see her who else did it just
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no way physically possible could it happen the way that he said it happened to believe that she did it to herself
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you have to believe she used her non-dominant hand very impulsive and then shot herself twice yes
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most suicides don't involve Two Shots yes most not all we don't believe Jason is guilty of this
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at all they did not see blood or anything on him they found nothing that would indicate he had fired on firearm
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recently I think she gave up I think she just fell apart and decided to end it did you
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kill your wife no there wasn't anything that had ever happened through the years
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for me to say oh he might be guilty I never ever thought that he was guilty I don't have a pulse
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she's right here she's she's gone thank you foreign [Music] foreign [Music] it was just after 11 pm on May 2nd 2017
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when then 37 year old Jason Crawford called 9-1-1 from right outside his home in Coleman Alabama that is about 50
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miles north of Birmingham first you breathing I don't know yeah I'm trying to pick the lifter up so
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I can see Jason remembers that night it was taken vividly felt like it was taking longer and longer for anybody to
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get there and eventually I saw some headlights body camera footage shows what Coleman
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County sheriff's deputies found when they first got to the scene EMS away okay Jason's wife 32 year old Tiffany
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Crawford was slumped over in the driver's seat of her own van there was a pink revolver in her left
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hand which Jason says she kept in the driver's side door of her vehicle for protection
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when one of the sheriff's deputies tried to check Tiffany for a pulse the gun fell out of her hand
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what happened tonight we were arguing I gave her her stuff so she can go I didn't let her in the house and the
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last thing I remember she said she loved me and I was going in the house and I heard a shot
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scream and then another shot Tiffany had been shot twice in the head paramedics tried to revive her
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analyzing heart rhythm and I was thinking well then maybe there's a chance she's still alive
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but it was too late and they come over and told me that she was dead it just made me feel sick at my stomach
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to at least one of the deputies on the scene that night it appeared pretty clear that this was a suicide there's
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nothing here so far that says anything to me other than suicide and it wasn't long before deputies
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realized who Jason Crawford was the son of Rhonda Crawford who works as an office manager at the Sheriff's Office
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yeah you know it's Rhonda's daughter-in-law Coleman County Sheriff Matt Gentry soon got word the chief
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Deputy called me and said hey it appears that Rhonda's daughter-in-law had shot herself I said I'll go out
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there and check on them by the time the sheriff got there Rhonda Crawford was already on scene
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it was Rhonda Jason's mother who called Tiffany's mom Cheryl McGuckin to tell her what happened
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I felt like I was kind of Frozen in time in that moment and I said is Jason there
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can I talk to him and he was already speaking with the police is that her gun that she kept
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with her yes and so um I got off the phone and I tried to figure out how what what my next step was
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Cheryl's thoughts soon turned to Tiffany and Jason's children they shared a five-year-old son and a
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four-year-old daughter Tiffany was also stepmom to Jason's then 14 year old son Logan
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all the kids were inside the house that night the two youngest were asleep for Cheryl
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life really hasn't been the same since then what are the things that you miss about
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her you know the things I miss about her is her spontaneity Tiffany was an individual that had a
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huge heart and she just wanted to engulf everyone around her and help them find joy that is why
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Cheryl says Tiffany devoted much of her spare time to a support group that she had started on Facebook called mothers
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helping mothers we're there to laugh with each other to love each other and to just Build You Up in everyday
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motherhood she saw a vision that there were other mothers that needed somebody to talk to and that
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group took off like a wildfire and spread all over the country Tiffany and Jason had been married a
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little more than six years when she died what did you think of Tiffany when you first met her I thought she was striking
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and beautiful she was outgoing a lot of things I wasn't you know so it was more of like I guess Opposites Attract kind
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of thing when they started dating Jason had been divorced for several years his first
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wife he says had cheated on him Tiffany was in a relationship at the time married in fact
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it wasn't exactly a fairy tale beginning from the outside looking in but Jason says for the two of them yeah it was it
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was it was like fireworks from in the beginning Tiffany eventually got divorced and that
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is when she and Jason married and started their family just what led up to her death on that
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night in May 2017. she don't would be up to the investigators to find out Sheriff Gentry remembers a conversation
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he had on the scene with the coroner he says it appears to be a suicide he said the only weird thing is there's two
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shots what do you recall about what you thought in that moment well that's weird
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it's strange now has that happened before yes but it's not normal one of the shots was to her left jaw area the
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other was to her left temple I said because of his mother's connection to our office for transparency there has to
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be an autopsy done Sheriff Gentry says his investigators went on to process the scene that night
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we investigate every suicide like a homicide so the man was searched evidence that was needed to be was
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seized but the next morning Sheriff Gentry decided to turn the case over to the Alabama State Bureau of
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Investigation I could have told our guys to work it but because of the potential
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for conflict I want full transparency Joe Parrish is the state agent who got the case what's the first thing you do I
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went to the district attorney's office and asked him about the van Parish wanted to get his hands on that van in
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which Tiffany was shot so he got a search warrant for it but there was just one problem
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you see the van had been released to the Crawford Family and by the time Parrish got to it less
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than 24 hours after Tiffany died it had already been cleaned by Jason's family members
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the Sheriff's Office had given them the go-ahead I didn't want the kids to see anything I was worried about them when
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they woke up in the morning what did you make of that that the van had been cleaned it was odd that they
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would clean it up that quick after something like that but Sheriff Gentry defends his decision
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to release the van there was nothing of evidentiary value to the van they processed it took pictures they did
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everything they normally would do on a crime scene that night right but if you're treating
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it like a homicide I'm not turning the van over to the family sure so so an honor I mean I completely
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understand so it was treated we worked it like a homicide but it was treated like a suicide
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every bit of evidence that was needed was taken but as it turns out that van would be significant
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and so would what Jason and Tiffany were arguing about right before she died yeah I I could tell something was going
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on because she was getting more distant Jason Crawford says that in the months leading up to his wife Tiffany's death
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he noticed a change in her she had been drinking a lot too two or three bottles A Week sometimes so
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you had a feeling something was up yes and he says his suspicions were confirmed the night Tiffany died
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when just hours before she got home Jason found messages on their computer suggesting that she was having an affair
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so I started calling her I'm just trying to see if she would tell me anything and
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she's like I don't know what you're talking about denying it and I was like okay well I think you need home
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Tiffany's mom Cheryl says she knew about the affair she called to let me know she was on her
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way home and that um Jason and her were going to have to have a discussion about their problems did
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she sound worried she did not sound worried she sounded kind of hyper and it you know
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anxious I just said well I love you be careful Tiffany's friend Lindsay Luke says she
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also knew about the affair Lindsay says Tiffany told her she was making plans to
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leave Jason and that she got a job at a local grocery store to save up money for
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a new life on her own she knew what she needed to leave him and how she was so close
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it was Tiffany afraid that Jason was going to find out about the affair yes and she didn't want him to because she
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didn't want to hurt him but that night when he did find out Jason says he was hurt and angry
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this was the second time a wife had cheated on him when Tiffany got home he says that's when he confronted her and
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refused to let her go inside I kept telling her she's not staying the night so she asked me why can't I stay I
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was like you've destroyed the sanctity of our marriage you were really angry uh yeah I was
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angry but I was controlled anger Jason claims they argued for more than an hour and when he remained insistent that
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Tiffany was not going inside he says she asked him to go and get her work clothes
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I went in and grabbed some clothes and threw them to her and then I told her I'm done talking
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so I went in the house and since I went in the house I heard shot her scream and
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then another shot and then you did what went right back outside and what position was the door in the
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car door the car door it was pulled to or closed Jason says that's when he called 9-1-1
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but in that call and the police body camera footage from that night Jason never mentioned an affair last
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thing I remember she said she loved me lead investigator Joe Parrish says authorities didn't learn
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about the affair until the next day also when Parish listened back to that 9-1-1 call
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there was more that caught his ear it was very cold it didn't sound like somebody that was worried about his wife
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and there was one question that the 911 dispatcher kept asking Jason that he wouldn't answer she saw her in my head
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who shot your wife he was avoiding the question I would like to play the 9-1-1 call for you okay
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uh I'm worth a shot you seem cool as a cucumber oh well I think that's just the way my tone
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of voice is [Music] happening she asked you who she been shot by and you didn't respond yeah
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why not yeah I just felt like if I said it into existence it would be true South America
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this lady gave you an opportunity to say yes yeah and you didn't respond oh how many more times I can tell you I
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just froze in thought do you understand how somebody listens to that and says yeah because he did it
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yeah I can understand that and that's exactly what Joe Parrish thought a week after Tiffany died and with her
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autopsy results still pending Parish decided to bring Jason in for questioning the state Bureau of Investigation during
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that interview Jason spoke in detail about discovering the affair and the argument that he had with Tiffany
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ruin our home he's like you should no longer part of this and he also answered a question that Parish believed was key
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when she left her rocking her she's right-handed yeah Tiffany was right-handed but the gun had
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been found in her left hand how often in your experience do suicides happen where the individual uses their
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non-dominant hand I've never seen it personally and it's not like I know she's like so
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predominantly right-handed that she couldn't use her left hand but why would Tiffany we want to be there to love and
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support you a woman who devoted so much time to helping others suddenly kill herself
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there was nothing suicidal about her even Jason finds it hard to explain had she ever spoke about wanting to kill
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herself not that I no not to me after Parish interviewed Jason he was free to go
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but about a week later he was brought back in for questioning This Time by Parrish's colleague and I'm gonna advise
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you of your constitutional rights Jason agreed to take a polygraph investigators told him he failed
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your reactions were off the chat okay you're saying that there's no way that you shot your wife correct it wasn't
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long before things turned contentious I don't want to hear that that I didn't shoot my wife because I know I can't
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even get up and leave the rest right you listen to me huh walk out there you know
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what that interview also ended with no arrests because of a backlog it would take nearly a year to get the missing
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piece of the puzzle those autopsy results you see the manner of death was ruled a homicide and that
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is when the decision was made to present the case to a grand jury I have no doubt my mind is guilty at all
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Jeff Roberts was the Coleman County assisted District Attorney at the time I think the forensics tipped the case
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but would a grand jury indict Jason even Tiffany's mother had her doubts even though I didn't want to believe it
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was a suicide naturally I wouldn't want to believe my son-in-law killed her either
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what do you make of Jason's 9-1-1 call chat now with the 48 Hours team on Facebook and Twitter
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it's a sad situation whether on one side you believe somebody committed suicide or somebody committed murder neither one
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of those scenarios work in my mind in the year following her daughter Tiffany's death
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Cheryl McGuckin says she had a hard time believing that her daughter could have killed herself
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but she also couldn't imagine that her son-in-law Jason would have pulled the trigger did you ever call the
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investigators and say I want to know every bit of details you have I want to know all the details no why not I
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suppose I didn't want to um let that cloud my time with my grandkids and my relationship
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with Jason and his family my family and friends we never questioned that I wouldn't
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kill my wife Jason did have a lot of support but not from the investigators or then
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Coleman County assistant district attorney Jeff Roberts and his Legal Assistant Deborah ball she was too out
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there to help other people she's not going to kill herself there's no way that that's what happened
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once Roberts had received word that the medical examiner had ruled Tiffany's death a homicide
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he decided along with lead investigator Joe Parrish to seek an indictment against Jason I couldn't see her who
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else did it he's the only one out of motive to do it for one thing a green jury came back
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with an indictment for murder for Jason Crawford Jason called me and told me it was very shocking
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and very confusing on May 21st 2018 just over a year after Tiffany died Jason surrendered walked in
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I told him he was under arrest he didn't seem to be worried he didn't seem to be worried no
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Jason wasn't in custody for very long but in fact he was released on bond and Robert Tuten and Nicholas Heatherly
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became his defense attorneys we don't believe Jason is guilty of this at all there's no evidence they did not see
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blood or anything on him they found nothing that would indicate he had fired a firearm recently but the night of the
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shooting Jason was never tested for gunshot residue and his house was never searched for bloody clothing
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still tootin and Heatherly say they believe Jason who says he was inside the house when the gunshots rang out his
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oldest son heard his father come back in the house right before the first gunshot
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and about that polygraph test that Jason was said to have failed did you shoot Tiffany Crawford police investigators
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use those as an investigative tool if they think somebody is guilty they tell them that they have failed the polygraph
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and insists they tell what really happened they gave you a lie detector test and you failed it
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yeah they can make those read how they want to Jason's defense team also downplayed
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that 9-1-1 call the one in which investigator Parish noticed Jason sounded calm well why even
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evasive if someone's never been in a high pressure situation like that where they've just been shocked by what
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they're seeing they probably would not understand how that affects somebody it just felt like I was outside my body
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not knowing what's going on but the prosecution was confident that Jason was guilty
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Dr Valerie green was confident too she is the medical examiner who conducted Tiffany's autopsy you remember
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saying to yourself I got a feeling there's more to this story oh yes definitely I think the thing that made
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me think that there could be something else going on with this case is that gunshot wound on the left side of Miss
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Crawford's head Dr Green says that based on the absence of gunpowder particles and abrasion
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around the wound to Tiffany's left temple she concluded that the shot had to have been fired from at least 10
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inches away that's indicating that you know she's holding her arm outward Beyond 10 inches
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and trying to shoot herself not saying that it's impossible but it's not likely it is especially
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unlikely says Dr Green because Jason reported that he found Tiffany in the driver's seat of her own van where's the
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gun Sir with the gun in her left hand it's right here in her hand and the car door closed that was concerning to me
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because I mean for you to be able to hold up a gun and shoot yourself in the head it would
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be difficult to do and then such a small space that's not all says Dr Green neither of Tiffany's injuries were
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contact wounds she didn't have a contact wound here and she didn't have a contact
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wound here correct most suicides involve the barrel or the tip of the gun being placed on the skin yeah and you said
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most not all but there was something else Dr Green noticed specifically about that van I
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remember looking at pictures of the driver's side door and I didn't see any blood on that door
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I didn't see any blood on the glass or the window I didn't see anything even low
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on the door that makes me think that the door was not closed and I think that that door is open
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because he was standing there despite the autopsy report and the fact that a grand jury had indicted Jason
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Tiffany's mom continued to support him I never changed how I felt towards Jason I mean what purpose would that serve
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you know he's also somebody's child and he's the remaining parent to my grandchildren
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more than four years would pass before the case ever went to trial and during that time the defense would retain their
00:27:02
own medical examiner the former Chief medical examiner for the state of Alabama and he had a drastically
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different opinion than Dr Greene I believe it's a suicide see more photos from the case at
00:27:21
48hours.com [Music] in November 2022 more than five years after Tiffany Crawford died her husband
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Jason Crawford went on trial for her murder prosecutor Jeff Roberts was confident in
00:27:43
his case but he knew there would be challenges the fact that it was considered by the officers on the scene
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apparently consistent with suicide I thought this is going to be really tough to overcome Jason's defense attorneys
00:27:55
Robert Tuten and Nicholas Heatherly also felt that they had their work cut out for them simply because there's no way
00:28:02
to really find a definitive answer for exactly what happened we were only allowed to film The Trial from outside
00:28:09
the courtroom through a windowed door Tiffany's mother Cheryl who said she didn't want to hear the details
00:28:15
surrounding her daughter's death chose not to attend the trial I knew that there would be things said on both sides
00:28:23
that I didn't want to have in my head but she did go on day one solely to testify she was the prosecutor's first
00:28:32
Witness he assumed that I was on their side instead Cheryl says she told the jury
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how she really felt about Jason I never had any issues with Jason Megan Brock was a juror on the case she
00:28:50
was telling everybody me and Jason have a great relationship I was like really you thought it was weird that his
00:28:57
mother-in-law might still be supporting him as he's on trial for murder yep undeterred the prosecution moved on with
00:29:07
what they felt was evidence of Jason's alleged motive anger over his wife's affair
00:29:14
a friend of Tiffany's testified that Jason called her after learning that Tiffany had been cheating on him and
00:29:20
that he said he couldn't go through this again referencing the fact that his first wife
00:29:26
had also had an affair Jason claims he didn't say that his first wife cheated on him
00:29:34
Tiffany cheated on him isn't it plausible for somebody on the jury to think hey look the guy snapped
00:29:39
so he killed her I don't think that happened at all he didn't snap over his first wife they remained friends even to
00:29:46
this day how old is she Jason's 9-1-1 call was also played for the jury and they saw some of that police body
00:29:55
camera footage too the prosecution also called DNA analyst Angela Fletcher who examines swabs taken
00:30:03
from Tiffany's gun she testified she couldn't say for sure whether there was any female DNA on the
00:30:11
gun because there was only a trace amount of DNA detected but she was certain that both the grip
00:30:18
and the trigger contained male DNA is it Jason Crawford no the profile was so limited that I was
00:30:27
unable to do any type of comparisons there's other people that have touched that gun that were
00:30:33
males my my dad gave her the gun so his DNA may be on it her brother also shot it with so little DNA detected the
00:30:42
prosecution argued that Jason must have wiped the gun and then planted it in Tiffany's hand there's no proof there's
00:30:51
no evidence of it at all no her DNA would have had to be on that gun if she did it herself
00:30:57
but perhaps the most damaging testimony against Jason came from medical examiner Dr Valerie
00:31:03
Greene she told the jury how she believes the gunshot wound to Tiffany's Temple was
00:31:09
fired for more than 10 inches away which is way more consistent with him standing
00:31:14
outside the car shooting her then you know her trying to hold a gun you know over 10 inches away but the defense
00:31:22
showed the jury a pre-recorded deposition with their own medical examiner Dr James lauritzen I believe
00:31:29
that Mrs Crawford shot herself first in the left side of the face and then shot herself in the left side
00:31:39
of the hair Dr lauridsen also testified there is no way to tell how far away the
00:31:45
gun was when that shot to Tiffany's Temple was fired because her hair was in the way I do
00:31:52
realize that scalp hair can filter out gunpowder particles but that was taken into consideration I would expect more
00:32:02
abrasions to have been able to filter through her hair the defense also argued that Tiffany had
00:32:09
been struggling emotionally she had started seeing a counselor just one day before she died
00:32:15
and Friends of Tiffany testified that she had been drinking excessively and that she was upset because the man with
00:32:22
whom she was having an affair had recently broken up with her they told her he didn't want to have anything else
00:32:28
to do with her basically her whole life's falling apart and I think she just gave up
00:32:34
Tiffany's Journal was also entered into evidence and in an entry dated the day she died
00:32:41
she wrote that she was struggling with figuring out what to do with herself and that she was trying to avoid breaking
00:32:48
down isn't it possible that she was having thoughts of suicide I would say no she had started seeing a counselor
00:32:55
that's somebody who was looking forward in life Jason's son Logan also took the stand
00:33:01
for the defense he testified that he heard his father inside the house when the gunshots went
00:33:06
off that night but the prosecution questions his memory when he keeps hearing the same story his
00:33:12
story is going to start matching up somewhat like all 14 year olds would his story never changed he was interviewed
00:33:18
by law enforcement and it would stay consistent as the trial was drawing to a close the defense made a bold decision
00:33:27
they called Jason to the stand he testified that he loved Tiffany and denied killing her
00:33:34
but both the prosecution and the defense acknowledge there was a point where he lost his cool he argued a little bit
00:33:42
with the prosecutor the person on the stand was the person that you could easily see doing this Jason also
00:33:48
testified that he called Tiffany a degrading name that night she died you said to the jury I was trying as best I
00:33:55
could to make her hurt inside as much as I was hurting yeah I was just basically talking down to her
00:34:04
like she was not human I feel sorry because I feel like maybe that contributed to what pushed her to over
00:34:12
the edge to do that even though Jason's testimony likely did him no favors there was still no direct physical
00:34:19
evidence pointing towards his guilt there's no evidence that Jason fired the gun and after four days of testimony the
00:34:28
case went to the jury I said oh God here we go I don't know if this man did it or not
00:34:49
it was November 18 2022 and Jason Crawford's fate was now in the hands of a jury
00:34:56
behind closed doors Megan Brock says she and several fellow jurors were on the fence about his guilt
00:35:03
and I was like so we're gonna sit here for the next however long it takes my stomach was in
00:35:09
knots Cheryl McGuckin admits she was nervous for Jason and his family you know this is my son-in-law
00:35:21
after several hours deliberating the jury requested access to that body camera footage
00:35:27
then they asked for the 9-1-1 recording my wife's a shot I need someone out here
00:35:33
please 30 minutes later they announced they had reached a decision Cheryl was in the courtroom only for the
00:35:41
second time and who were you with the verdict I was sitting with my husband right
00:35:46
behind Jason's parents and the rest of his family as for the verdict this is how Megan
00:35:55
says the jury came to their decision when we listened to that 9-1-1 call again that was it
00:36:01
so the 911 that was it really the operator she keeps asking him you know who shot her maybe she even shot by
00:36:12
finally um she was like okay well where's the gun at and he said laying beside her
00:36:19
and we were like wait what happened he clearly said the gun is laying beside her when in fact the body can't that I
00:36:33
just showed her holding the gun barely but holding the gun the gun wasn't laying beside her it was
00:36:42
beside her because it's on her side in her hand they found a gun in her hand yes
00:36:49
you understand the difference between in her hand and laying beside her to some people yes like the side hurts
00:36:58
to the side like laying on her it's beside her I just chose the wrong words to say but
00:37:06
the jury did not see it that way I said oh he's guilty everybody's the same thing they were
00:37:13
like he's guilty the verdict was guilty yes just felt like it it shouldn't be happening
00:37:23
it was unbelievable so I was just stunned you know I had a friend that said Hallelujah
00:37:33
and that really bothered me because that wasn't anything to cheer about there's no justice here
00:37:46
everybody loses you were a grandmother and there are two kids left behind who had nothing to do
00:37:54
with this right exactly but at the end of the day this man was put on trial the evidence was heard he was convicted
00:38:02
so he is a killer in the eyes of the law you know they're they're gonna do an appeal I don't want to
00:38:11
Miss speak on this at all but when you said they were doing a pill what do you mean
00:38:15
are you protecting him I don't have any reason to protect him um but I'm gonna let things play out as
00:38:24
they will following this interview I asked Cheryl if she had any interest in seeing the
00:38:30
evidence you said you did you asked if we could show it to you we provided you with what was in the
00:38:38
public record yeah yeah what do you now believe well I now believe that he did kill her
00:38:46
um reading the evidence going through what was said during the trial it it made it painfully obvious
00:38:57
on March 10 2023 Cheryl McGuckin took the stand again at Jason sentencing hearing
00:39:04
this time she spoke for her daughter I couldn't understand how my son-in-law Jason could look me in the eye for five
00:39:13
and a half years if he had murdered my daughter our cameras were again outside the
00:39:20
courtroom looking in so Cheryl shared with us what she said directly to Jason if not you who
00:39:30
you were there you know the truth I pray you will someday find wisdom and strength to speak the truth
00:39:38
she said that in front of her grandchildren too they were sitting in the very front row
00:39:44
Cheryl didn't know that Jason's parents were going to bring them as the judge prepared to sentence Jason
00:39:51
Crawford his lawyers were still pleading his innocence just as Jason did when I first spoke with him
00:39:58
if I could interview Tiffany today what do you think she'd tell me probably that she's sorry she's
00:40:06
didn't realize that it would affect so many people like like it did she wouldn't tell me that you're a liar
00:40:14
and a killer no I don't think so Jason was sentenced to 99 years in prison but under Alabama Law he'll be
00:40:26
eligible for parole in in 15 years what do you think Tiffany would say now having seen you on the stand I can hear
00:40:36
her saying I'm proud of you Mama now Cheryl just wants to make sure that her grandchildren are proud of their
00:40:46
mother never forget who Tiffany was and what she stood for she was just an angel that
00:40:54
came down from heaven for a short time teach all of us how to love and be kind and be giving
00:41:08
[Music] I'm Aaron Moriarty and this is my life of crime listen to My Life Of Crime from
00:41:21
48 Hours wherever you get your podcasts hit the CBS Evening News we focus on Solutions finding solutions to help
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people understand what are the right choices to make for you and your family [Music]