The Mysterious Death of Tiffiney Crawford | Full Episode

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

Channel: 48 Hours

Views: 4,489,890

Keywords: Tiffiney Crawford, 48 hours, cbs news, full episode, true crime, mystery, cbs, full video, alabama, murder, Jason crawford, cullman, Birmingham, tiffiney crawford 48 hours full episode, tiffiney crawford 48 hours episode, tiffiney crawford case

Id: tAfCL8hPq1Y

Length: 41min 42sec (2502 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 31 2023