Florida’s Crystal Pifer case: Boating death cover-up backfires

this is the night crystal Piper died and these are the last haunting images of her a dark night a darker River she says you don't know heat and jumps off pretty boat but what really happened out there well if crystal jumped off the boat she would have made it perfectly we believe that to be the murder weapon Christel Piper could have been the Sunshine State's poster girl person was very beautiful girl she lit up the room gorgeous blonde hair big smile and a personality that shone as brightly as the Florida Sun she was my role model I like always looked up to her and growing up near Daytona Beach Krystal loved the water we were on lived on the water and we had boats jet skis she always wanted to swim and go out on the water crystal had one son and worked at her family's toy business the new man in her life was Thomas Prince owner of a tree trimming service Thomas wasn't the most appealing looking god but he was very articulate he had he had his own business he had a house a stable house and I genuinely thought he was a good guy 28 year old crystal eventually moved in with 42 year old Thomas and her son would often stay over he doesn't seem like the right guy for but I believe you know he's taking care of her and she's happy she was happy until one night she wasn't she called in and asked us to come pick her up because he was beating on her after the fronted call crystals dad mother and younger brother rushed to her egg what Freddie saw sent him into a rage I saw blood dripping down the side of my sister's face I told him on the ground and I got on top of it started punching though I said you ever lay a hand on my sister again it's gonna be worse and I thought that was the end of it I really did they all thought that was the end of it but it wasn't it would be a horrible precursor of what was to come eight months later the hot August day by all accounts was a normal one that night Thomas plan to take crystal out of his boat on the Halifax River a boat he bought from Crystal's ex-husband about he knew had mechanical problems they put in the boat down in Port Lawrence and her coastal waterway went for a ride somewhere around 7 p.m. they were both drinking and almost as soon as they started out the engine shut down reportedly that's when the arguments began eventually Thomas got the boat running and made their way to a nearby restaurant for dinner when they first arrived patrons of the restaurant described that there had been a heated conversation between the two of them on the boat and that it lasted for 10 to 15 minutes no one could hear exactly what was being said but by body language could tell them that things were going badly for for this young woman Thomas and crystal went inside and argued then the mood became a bit friendlier somewhere during the course of the evening they became overly amorous their affection was annoying other customers at some point mr. Prince trying to get the waitstaff to either touch or kiss crystal management as them to leave back on the boat one of the restaurant patrons took this cell phone video of them sensing things with a couple weren't right these would be the last images of crystal Piper maybe we're lucky I won't start then Thomas got the boat started here we go and as they pulled away into the darkness little did anyone know that in that darkness would come the devil ten minutes later again the boats engine overheats and shuts down and the couples fighting picks back up strangely crystal jumps off the boat she's distraught she's upset he's aggressive he's yelling from the boat he's yelling at her by chance a flounder fisherman sees Krystal and tries to help offering her a ride to the shore but crystal says no the flounder fisherman tells mr. Prince I'm only gonna let her get back on the boat with you if you start being nice and stop yelling at her Thomas agrees and Krystal climbs back on board they push off heading north but soon the engine overheats yet again tempers flare this time to dangerous levels hi this is 9-1-1 given emergency okay I'm on a sailboat out also of South Daytona and a boat just floated by me and a girl jumped out of its way I believe there were at least two guys on the other boat okay okay play my dog the caller was James Wagner and his rowboat would only hold two people so taking crystal to shore would mean leaving his daughter alone on the boat so crystal makes the decision mr. Wagner he'll hurt your daughter if we go together crystal crystal and Thomas drift off into the night 45 minutes later a second call to 911 this time it was Thomas and she took the teens to my boat and jumped off the boat and I just want to make sure she's okay you don't see her in the water if you'd like to find it I can't find it anyway jumped in the water and swam off and I'm just praying that she's okay how long ago did this happen not even five minutes ago maybe ten minutes ago crystal Piper was gone [Music] and Tommy Prinze was alone on his stalled boat calling 911 me and my fiance got a little noggin Minh and she took the teams to my boat and jumped off the boat Tommy said he didn't know where Christa was but believe she may have swam to shore police arrive in tow Tommy in and with that he and his boat go home early the next morning two miles away a local fisherman makes a gruesome discovery 9-1-1 where's the emergency there's a body floating out off of a dock here it just came up on it when we were fishing the body was floating facedown naked from the waist up the caller believed it was a man definitely a person there facedown definitely there's he's definitely underwater I see his back and his jeans he's got no shirt on looks like he's got bruises on his shoulders and stuff horrible morning fishing you come up on a body float it wasn't a minute it would turn out to be Krystal Peiffer she had been beaten and strangled to death as Crystal's mom Laurie was just starting her day she had no idea what had transpired she didn't even know crystal was missing that is until her phone rang around 8 o'clock Tommy called me I said mom crystal and I were out on the boat and she jumped off the boat and I had I can't find her like it was nothing I hung up I immediately went to go find her Crystal's father friend called Tommy back he says crystal got mad at me cuz the boat wouldn't run took the boat keys and jumped in and swam the shore and I said Tommy I said that doesn't make sense he says I know I don't understand it I said why wouldn't you call me and he goes I don't know Fred I should have I said did you go looking for after is and he says well I look when I drove home I looked on the road to see if she was walking while crystals family is out looking for detective Mike Wallace of the Port Orange Police Department arrives at the scene there he's briefed on the argument between Tommy and crystal the night before and the 911 call I stood at the end of the dock here where the Daytona Fire Rescue boat was Crystal's body was in the water adjacent to the boat I immediately observed heavy bruising on her back some abrasions and contusions some lacerations right then and there I believe that there was foul play involved Lori went to the police department and learned about the body in the river she rushed to the scene and although cops wouldn't disclose the victim's identity she had all the confirmation she needed they were pulling a body out of the water and at that time I knew it was her that was a devastating day unbelievably the family weren't the only ones at the scene that morning tommy was - Tommy went to where the body was found he was acting like he had no clue this could be happening armed with the 911 calls from the night before and the positive idea of crystal detectives had a suspect list with only one name on it at that point mr. Prinze was our main focus thomas Prinze agreed to go to the station for questioning and as he set by himself waiting for detectives he checked his arms gag and talked to Crystal when the interrogation began thomas repeated the same story to detectives Wallace and Wenzel the broken-down boat caused the couple to fight off and on all night and eventually crystal jumped overboard takes Mike you know I discard I mean with Lincoln weld it all get back importance I mean - ever get physical he said she kept pushing on the head and then he heard her ham I mean like I said we pound well daniela and where is loud and stuff but uh i mean nothing physical nothing said extent lemon airy would you modify this let's see if you have any more attorney absolutely nineteen tree work that might give you that stuff up I'm going to get scratched up and detectives took photos of the marks on Thomas's body then stepped out and during this time Thomas either talked about his dinner or talked to Crystal once they resumed the housing opposing he did not fall on the floor next detectives wanted to know why Thomas went to the crime scene and then break the news they believe he already knows [Music] no pregnant Adele no I mean not that I wanted to wish on anybody someone just right it's not crystal oh they break it to you but it is crystal I think you already knew that and there was more it was time to tighten the screw Thomas Prinze was sticking to his story he said nothing physical happened between him and crystal on that boat cops believed otherwise the evidence suggests we know so far I think it was last night when I even flipped it down by the dock when I was pulled up a couple rounds with my case and you're telling me that nothing physical so there was nothing says but that took place on the boat I mean we had like three times on the boat itself but uh but not to a point about that second wind of course we thought yeah we grab each other enjoy what we're having sex no no I mean I won around that one no no and uh at one point itself we did a mom trying to think like home we sit up in the chair and stuff I did in the bar grab it or it's up when we were like by your neck in the shoulders areas up to where might fit over to where my colonies would have been like right there but not too rough not to a point where we were hurting one another's next detectives showed Thomas photos of crystals injuries see the lines around the net you know what that's called what that appears to be the medical examiner would later determine crystal died from asphyxiation cops believe Thomas strangled her with her own bikini top did you watch it no but she originally had on a bathing suit [Music] her chin she was punched multiple okay well it definitely wasn't final her knuckles were swollen the only thing that explains these marks is an altercation between her and somebody else and that somebody else I think were you might be charged with anything not at the moment with not enough to hold him Thomas Prince walked out a free man I actually pulled up next to him at a red light and he saw me and he rolled down his window and he goes Fred I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I didn't say anything to him but I couldn't because I knew what had happened that I knew he was still walking the streets at that point and when Crystal's mom Laurie called Thomas did I ask Tommy if I can pick up her clothes and he's he told me no he needed more time to grieve I wanted her clothes I could smell her because I didn't have anything I just wanted I wanted to smell her again then more than two months after crystal was found murdered Thomas Prinze was arrested in charge in your case you had been indicted by a grand jury on a charge of first-degree murder set on at Novant eight months later the case would go to trial Thomas's defense crystal drowned the medical examiner was satisfied that it was not drowning there's no water in her lungs there's no water in her stomach the prosecution's case well in addition to the photos of both Thomas and crystals injuries they had other strong physical evidence we found blood on certain clothing and towels we also checked the boat which was parked in his back yard numerous areas of the but on the boat that they had found blood evidence on and crystals hair and in their pocket the prosecution had a key witness a witness who helped blow part of Thomas's story out of the water it was of all people Crystal's ex-husband we'd sold Thomas the boat the key witness in the case was Crystal's ex-husband his knowledge of the boat made Thomas Prince and his defense not only unlikely but impossible he was able to explain to the jury the sounds that were in the background of the night wall one call were inconsistent with the story that Thomas Prince had given to the police she cut the piece in my boat and jumped off the boat right there you can hear Thomas tell the 9-1-1 operator crystal took the keys and jumped off the boat but Crystal's ex-husband you can actually hear Thomas trying to start the boat in the background how does that happen without the keys when you listen to the call you can hear the ignition key turning in the background you can hear the blower motor come on you can hear the engine turn over one revolution all things that aren't possible if crystal has the key is swimming to shore the trial lasted three days there was no sympathy towards the victim at all this entire trial was about him he assumed this cocky confident posture that he would be released and that she didn't really matter then just after a few hours of deliberations the jury came back with their verdict we the jury find the defendant Thomas Anthony Prince as follows guilty of the charge of first-degree murder moments later shockingly Thomas collapses many wondered if it was real or an act but I think he did it to to get attention Thomas Prince was sentenced to life without parole I just wish I didn't have ten minutes with them in many hail crystal as a hero choosing to save mr. Wagner's daughter that night coming back over to the boat play my dog she went back to her abuser in order to protect someone who wasn't more vulnerable crystal saved that girl that night at her own peril for Crystal's family its consolation but it won't bring her back Wow I miss crystal it's hard to say how much I miss her because I miss her so much crystal didn't deserve this she was out on the boat with someone that was supposed to love and protect her and he didn't do that he killed her and sadly there were many alleged reports of Thomas abusing crystal that came out after her death her family hopes this tragedy will help save others from a similar demise if there's anything good that could come from this I just hope that people will speak up speak up and say something I would have helped her so please speak up then what this happened to you

Channel: undefined

Views: 1,977,219

Rating: 4.7919421 out of 5

Keywords: Crystal Pifer, Thomas Prins, Daytona Beach Florida, Florida crime, Crime Watch Daily, True Crime Daily, Port Orange Florida

Id: fFY9EoHDQBA

Length: 22min 50sec (1370 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 07 2020