- Female narrator: After a turbulent childhood,
He found happiness in his later years.
- Tom: I think everybody here
Thought he'd kinda put his past behind him,
And was starting, ah, his life over again.
- Narrator: She was a single mother with three kids.
- She was raising her three kids.
She felt like she was on her own.
- She just wanted a better life for us.
- Narrator: Their unlikely friendship
Gave them both new hope.
- He spent money on the kids.
Just seemed like he really loved the family.
- ♪
- Narrator: Until the unthinkable happens
And tears their world apart.
- It looked like someone had just splattered
Paint all over the walls.
- This seems like someone with some experience
Committed this crime.
- Narrator: As the investigation begins,
Detectives question if a big city crime has made its home
In their quaint tennessee town.
- He portrayed himself as being connected to the mafia
In new york city.
- Narrator: As investigators probe deeper into the mystery,
Buried secrets are uncovered.
- Tristin: He was very controlling through everything.
When she would eat, when she would shower.
What she decided to order at a restaurant.
- He digs it up, he opens it up, and there's a pill bottle.
- The first question was, "how did you find this stuff?"
I said, "now tell me what happened."
- ♪
♪♪
- ♪
- Narrator: May 19, 2015.
Lawrenceburg, tennessee.
At 8:50 p.M., 16-year-old josh brown
Arrives at a senior living complex
To check on a family friend, sam john passarella.
- No one had spoken to mr. Passarella
Since the night before.
Josh had been to football practice earlier in the day
And--and had came by to check on him.
- When he got to sam's residence,
He checked the door and it was unlocked.
He went on in.
He called out for "uncle tony," as josh called sam passarella.
And uncle tony did not answer.
The bedroom door was closed, so he knocked on the bedroom door.
There was no answer, so he opened the door.
- ♪
- Narrator: What josh finds behind the door sends him
Tearing out of the house, frantically dialing 911.
- [phone ringing]
- You can tell just from listening to the 911 call,
From the tone of his voice, I mean,
This is like a 16-year-old boy.
He is frantic, he is terribly upset.
- [police siren wailing]
- Narrator: When officers arrive at the complex,
They're confronted by a horrific scene inside
Sam john passarella's bedroom.
- Christi: It looked like someone had taken a--
A paintbrush, basically, and just splattered blood
All over the walls and the ceiling.
This is one of the bloodiest crime scenes I've ever seen.
- ♪
- Narrator: Sam john passarella was born on August 6, 1945,
Into a large italian-american family
In new york city.
- Marty: Sam john had a charismatic sense to him.
You know, he had the personality
That just--it attracted people.
But sam john had a knack always of seeming to be in trouble
In the big city of new york.
- Narrator: Just before sam john started high school,
His family shipped the troublemaker off
To rural lawrence county, tennessee,
Where another branch of the passarella family lived.
- His family sent sam down in hopes that his uncle
And their family would have some good influences on him.
- Gary: He first became known as a musician, as a singer.
He and some of his friends started a band, a dance band,
That would play at parties and dances and clubs.
- Marty: It was back in the early '70s
And he was like a crooner.
He just knew how to get the crowd in the palm of his hands.
He really was an entertainer.
- Sam john moved to nashville after high school
To try to make it big in the music scene there.
- Narrator: While he was waiting for his chance at fame,
Sam john fell back into the mischievous habits of his youth.
- Wayne: He began the business of counterfeiting
And buying and selling stolen property, selling drugs.
He portrayed himself as being connected to the mob
Or the mafia in new york city.
- Narrator: Sam john fell into even more trouble in 1982,
When a man named monte hudson allegedly cheated
Him and his gang out of thousands of dollars
By selling them a batch of counterfeit silver.
- Once they found out that the silver was fake,
They abducted mr. Hudson and his wife at gunpoint
In the parking lot of a motel.
Sam john and another man took monte hudson with them in their
Vehicle, and that was the last time he was ever seen...
Until they found his body.
- ♪
- Wayne: They could never actually pin the murder
On sam john.
They did have enough evidence to convict him of the kidnapping
Of both monte and liz.
And so sam was sentenced to 20 years,
And then I believe 50 years, plus life.
- Narrator: Facing the prospect of life behind bars,
The former tough guy mellowed out in prison.
- They let him run a greenhouse, uh,
While he was in there and his--his plants and all
Just flourished.
There was an article in national geographic about, uh,
Sam john having a special touch with plants.
- Sam john passarella served around 30 years in prison
Before winning an appeal and being released in 2013.
- Marty: Me and my uncle nick went over and picked him up
When they let him out, and it was quite a change.
You sit over there 25, 30 years,
You're definitely not the same person.
- ♪
- Narrator: Just shy of his 69th birthday,
Sam john moved into the crockett senior living complex
In lawrenceburg, tennessee.
- Christi: Mr. Passarella was the gardener
And he prided himself on the flowers there
At the apartment complex.
- Brent: Most people who lived around lawrence county
Was aware of sam john passarella and his past.
- Tom: I think everybody here
Thought he'd kinda put his past behind him
And was starting, ah, his life over again.
People in the community loved him.
- Narrator: One of those people in the community
That grew especially close to sam john
Was 31-year-old crystal gregoire.
Despite their age difference,
She and sam related on their rough upbringings.
- We had a pretty rough childhood.
It was my mother and us four girls.
My dad left us when I think my oldest sister was about five.
- Narrator: Born on November 26, 1980,
In des allemands, louisiana,
Crystal was the third of four children.
- Tristin: My mom's the one that's kind of like outgoing.
She's the most outgoing of the four.
She's very like, um, go-with-the-flow type of woman.
- Narrator: Seeking structure in her life,
Crystal worked briefly as a police officer
After high school, and then bounced from job to job.
She also gave birth to three kids by the age of 20.
- After she had josh and mariah with their dad,
She eventually got married to my dad and had me in 2000.
- Narrator: The marriage ended after only a few years,
And crystal quickly rebounded.
- She was with my stepdad when I turned three.
But eventually my mom and my stepdad
Were just getting into it a lot
And she just wanted a change for her three kids.
- He had an offshore job and that put a lot of time and miles
Between the two of them that wore on their relationship
Quite a bit. She had a pretty rough time.
I encouraged her to move here just to have my support
So I can help her with the children.
- Narrator: In 2012, crystal ended the relationship
And moved from converse, louisiana,
To loretto, tennessee, for a fresh start.
- Tristin: She just wanted a better life for us.
I think moving to tennessee
Was the best thing my mom ever did for me, personally.
- Misty: She was working here at a plant here in pulaski
And she excelled.
She moved herself up, like, really quick.
Ended up being, like, uh, one of the lead positions.
- Narrator: Crystal began a relationship with a local man
Named jonathan howell, and soon the two were engaged.
It was through jonathan that she met sam john passarella.
The two warm-hearted free spirits became fast friends.
- Sam john didn't request for us to call him "uncle tony."
My mom came up with it because he's from brooklyn.
I would say that my brother
Was over at sam john's house a lot more,
And I guess he found a father figure in sam john
Some way.
- Narrator: But at the age of 69,
Sam john's health took a turn, scaring his loved ones.
- He had been suffering from pneumonia,
Congestive heart failure, uh, hepatitis.
Just a myriad of health problems.
- In the spring of 2015, sam john had went in the hospital
For some diabetic problems and it severely weakened him.
- Narrator: As sam john recovered
In the crockett senior living complex,
Crystal and her family were right by his side.
- Crystal was a--very close to sam also and spent
Quite a bit of time over at sam's apartment with him.
And that, uh, sometimes people would come in,
And she would actually be sitting beside him in the bed.
- Narrator: But sam john's homecoming would be short-lived.
On may 19, 2015, he is found dead
In his home by crystal's son, josh.
After josh calls 911, police rush to the apartment
And find a gruesome scene.
- Police start canvassing the area,
Going to these neighboring apartments, knocking on doors,
Asking, did you see anything? Did you hear anything?
- Narrator: Coming up: Detectives narrow in on
Potential suspects.
- Wayne: Whoever committed this crime had a fairly decent
Working knowledge of the anatomy of the throat.
- So, now you're wondering, is this some sort of mob hit?
- I was under the impression
That they weren't really telling us everything that they knew.
- ♪
- Narrator: On may 19, 2015, local and state law enforcement
In lawrenceburg, tennessee, are on the scene of a brutal murder.
The victim is 69-year-old sam john passarella.
- The victim is laying in his bed, crossways of the bed,
With his feet in the floor.
- There's a large pool of blood underneath his head.
He very obviously had been beaten with some type of object
About the head.
- Wayne: The wounds that I observed on sam,
A lot of them have half-moon shapes.
That's very typical of a hammer or possibly a pipe
That has a rounded end on it.
- Narrator: In addition to the blunt-force trauma wounds,
Officers notice a deep gash in sam john's neck.
- It appeared that perhaps the vein in his neck
Had been cut with a knife, because very obviously,
There was a great deal of blood
Coming from the wound in his neck.
- Wayne: Whoever committed this crime had a fairly decent
Working knowledge of the anatomy of the throat
Or at least what would ensure a for-sure death.
- Narrator: Based on the positioning of sam john's body,
Detectives suspect he had no idea what was about to happen.
- Wayne: Someone was standing behind him when they struck him
And then he fell directly backwards and tried to protect
Himself with his hands, because there were wounds on his arms
From where he had tried to defend himself.
- There's a knife in his hand.
The knife was a large bread knife.
It looked out of place because there was no blood on it,
And that wouldn't be my first choice of a defensive weapon.
- Narrator: When detectives search the rest of
The apartment, they are most struck by what they don't find.
- The victim was known for carrying large amounts of cash
And prescription medication.
And there was no prescription medication or money
Located in the crime scene.
- Tom: There was a possibility of maybe some drugs,
That might have been a motive somebody's trying to break in
To take his drugs.
- Narrator: As investigators continue logging evidence
Throughout the house, the clues paint a peculiar picture.
- Brent: In the victim's bathroom,
The lid was closed on the toilet.
Upon opening the lid,
The victim's cell phone was located inside.
- Wayne: When I entered the kitchen,
I was specifically looking for a set of knives that that knife
That was in sam's hand may have come from.
And the largest knife in the wooden block was missing.
It did match the one that was in the bedroom in sam's hand.
There was a bottle of bleach sitting there.
If it had been used, it will destroy any dna or, uh,
Blood evidence, uh, that might have been present.
- ♪
- Narrator: Detectives now suspect they may be dealing with
A professional killer, especially considering
Sam john's well-known past.
- Tom: From what I understand about sam,
He liked people to think he was, uh,
Maybe connected with the mafia.
- Gary: Then he's found murdered in a very bloody scene.
And it looks like someone with some knowledge had tried to
Clean up the crime scene.
So, now you're wondering, is this some sort of mob hit?
- ♪
- Narrator: After assessing the scene,
Detectives head outside to speak with 16-year-old josh brown,
Sam john's close friend and the one who discovered his body.
- Christi: Josh's mother, crystal gregoire,
Was there comforting josh, uh, taking care of him.
- Misty: He was crying so hard.
He was so distraught.
He still had the phone in his hand and just--just crying,
I mean, uncontrollably.
- Narrator: Detectives pull josh aside and ask him
When he last saw sam john.
Josh says it was the previous night, may 18, 2015.
- He and crystal had gone to sam's
And they had had supper.
They left there and arrived home,
Which was in lawrenceburg city, somewhere around 10:30 p.M.
- Narrator: Josh says that sam john seemed to be
In good spirits
And promised to come to josh's sister's
Eighth-grade graduation the next day.
But he never showed.
- It was very uncommon for someone in josh's family not to
Speak to mr. Passarella in a day's time.
- Christi: Josh was very close to mr. Passarella.
From all accounts, mr. Passarella is sort of like
A--a mentor to him.
He--he stayed with mr. Passarella sometimes.
- Gary: Obviously, if you're an investigator,
Your ears perk up then, because you think, well,
If this kid is there a lot, maybe--uh,
Maybe he knows about some other people's comings and goings.
Do you know who might be mad at mr. Passarella?
Did you hear him say he was mad at somebody?
- Narrator: Josh says that despite his past,
Sam john didn't have any problems in the community.
- Tom: I think most people in this area
Didn't think about his past.
That he had served his time and he was a different
Person when he came out and that was all behind him.
- Narrator: Determining that josh is not a suspect,
Detectives thank him for his time and turn to his mother,
Crystal gregoire.
- Investigators want to talk to ms. Gregoire because,
Based on josh's statement, she has been shown to be someone
That could give some information about
With whom mr. Passarella had dealings.
- Narrator: Detectives ask to meet with her the next day for
A more formal interview, and she agrees.
The next afternoon, may 20, 2015,
Detectives arrive at the home of crystal and her fiancé,
Jonathan howel.
- In this meeting that ms. Gregoire has with officers,
She tells them that her relationship with mr. Passarella
Was a very close relationship.
- Tristin: She was just really down.
My mom just kept saying, "who would do this?
Who would do this?"
- Narrator: Crystal confirms her son's story about eating with
Sam john the night before his murder.
- When they left approximately 9 p.M., mr. Passarella was fine.
She was expecting to hear from mr. Passarella.
- She and josh after dinner had gone home to their home.
Jonathan was there at the house
And they simply stayed at home that night.
Jonathan corroborated the story.
- Narrator: Jonathan says that he hadn't left the house at all
On the 18th.
But when detectives try and press the couple further,
They clam up.
- Wayne: I didn't think she was real forthcoming.
And I really didn't think
Jonathan was very forthcoming either.
So, I was under the impression that they weren't really telling
Us everything that they knew, so basically, we left.
- Narrator: Detectives hope that sam john's phone,
Collected from a toilet at the crime scene,
May offer them a clue to the murderer's identity.
But lab technicians have bad news.
- Wayne: They were able to give us a report fairly quickly that
The cell phone had sustained such damage that they were not
Going to be able to retrieve any information from it itself.
- It was obvious there was something on that phone
Someone didn't want us to find.
- Narrator: As investigators re-strategize,
They receive an unexpected phone call
From crystal gregoire.
- Crystal volunteered that she had some information
She needed to give us, that she did not want to talk about
In front of jonathan.
- Narrator: Coming up:
Had sam john been keeping a deadly secret?
- The past is coming back to catch up with him.
- He had plenty of time to come back and kill sam
And then leave town again.
- ♪
- Narrator: On may 21, 2015, 3 days after
The brutal murder of 69-year-old sam john passarella,
Sam's closest friend, 35-year-old crystal gregoire,
Tells police that she wasn't entirely transparent
In their initial interview.
- Jonathan was not at home
The second time that they talked to her.
She tells them that she and sam
Had a romantic relationship, that they loved one another.
- ♪
- Narrator: Crystal says she was drawn to sam john's kindness
And attentiveness.
- Although mr. Passarella was in such poor health,
He could not engage in a sexual relationship,
They slept together, they cuddled, they kissed,
They hugged.
- Sam john took care of her children and that, he, uh,
Was a mentor to them.
He helped her monetarily.
- Narrator: Crystal tells police that although sam john was a
Gentleman to her and her family, she knew he had a darker side.
In fact, she claims she first met sam john because he was
Her fiancé's drug dealer.
- Wayne: Sam actually, since he had been out of
The penitentiary, had created a small network
Of friends and new acquaintances
And actually had his own small little enterprise
Going there, where he was buying prescription drugs
And then reselling them.
- Crystal told detectives on the evening of the 18th
That sam had mentioned having business with a guy
Later that night.
- She told sam or asked him to--to contact her whenever
The meeting was over and that,
Uh, she had not heard from him since.
- Narrator: Crystal says she suspects sam's meeting had
Something to do with a case
The tennessee bureau of investigation
Was building against him.
- She says that three or four weeks prior to sam's death,
That he was in a nursing home and a man comes in with these
Documents that are actually tbi discovery.
- The tbi discovery documents revealed names,
Prices, amounts of marijuana
That was being moved from texas to lawrence county, tennessee,
As part of a drug pipeline.
- The information that was encompassed inside those
Documents linked sam to some drug cases that were going on
And incriminated him.
- Narrator: According to crystal,
Sam john knew there was a snitch in his operation,
And he quickly pinned down who it might be.
- Wayne: Sam deducted from the paperwork that another guy
Who was just an acquaintance of his from north carolina,
Shawn tierny, appeared to be providing information.
- Christi: Shawn tierny, also known as big new york.
Tierny's normal procedure, apparently,
Was to make a trip to lawrence county about once a month
To get a prescription for narcotic pills,
Go fill the prescription locally,
And give the pills to sam to sell.
In exchange for that, shawn would be paid.
- Narrator: Crystal says that sam john was livid about
Shawn's supposed betrayal.
- He was very suspicious of mr. Tierny.
He had indicated to crystal he was going to confront him about
Whether or not he was snitching.
- Brent: This seemed to be a very big lead for us.
There could've definitely been some beef between sam john
And tierny over these documents.
- Wayne: So that, you know, leaves the, uh,
Possibility out there that sam has confronted them
Or has threatened them and maybe they've decided
They're gonna get rid of him before he gets rid of them.
- Narrator: On may 22, detectives call shawn tierny.
He agrees to meet with police in two days.
While they wait, detectives pull shawn's phone records.
- We began looking into mr. Tierney and discovered
He had been in town on may 18.
He had visited a local nurse practitioner.
Shawn had also been to a local pharmacy.
- Wayne: About 4 p.M.,
The cell tower records tell us that he's leaving lawrenceburg
Headed west toward jackson, tennessee.
By 5 o'clock, his phone goes dead.
We lose him somewhere around union city,
Which is west of jackson.
- Narrator: For detectives, shawn's missing phone records
Are a major red flag.
- When I saw that, uh, big new york's phone died around
5 o'clock, I felt like there was a good possibility
He may have turned it off,
And he came back and robbed sam and killed him.
- ♪
- Narrator: On may 24, shawn arrives at the police station.
He confesses to providing sam john with pills and admits that
Sam john had recently confronted him about his suspicions
That shawn was cooperating with the tbi.
- Wayne: He told big new york that he was very disappointed
That big new york was a ci.
Well, big new york told him--said, "I'm not a ci."
He says, "I'm not the person talking to them."
So, when he denied it, according to big new york,
Sam believed him.
- Narrator: Shawn says that on may 18, 2015,
He came into town to fill a prescription
And drop off the pills with sam john.
He says the conversation was nothing out of the ordinary.
- Wayne: He says that he left in the late afternoon of the 18th,
Left town and headed west toward jackson, tennessee.
- Narrator: That's when detectives pull out
Shawn's phone records.
- Wayne: I said, "why am I losing you at 5 o'clock?"
He said, "well, it's because my phone went dead," and he said,
"I had no way of charging it."
I suggest to him that he had plenty of time to come back
And kill sam and then leave town again.
He says, "I can provide you with information to prove to you that
I was not here."
Big new york tells me that his girlfriend, samantha walters,
Was with him.
He provides me with her phone number.
- Narrator: After sean leaves,
Detectives subpoena samantha's records.
- Sure enough, she's making the same trek that he is.
We track them to union city, tennessee,
Where his phone went dead, but hers did not.
They stayed all night in that area.
- Those records were able to confirm mr. Tierny's alibi.
- Narrator: After clearing shawn tierny,
Detectives dig deeper into sam john's claims
About mafia connections.
- Mr. Passarella played up the mob ties because he liked
The persona and people were afraid of it.
I don't think mr. Passarella has any mob ties.
I think he just liked to talk.
- Narrator: By February 2016, after months of dead ends,
Investigators turn their attention back
To crystal gregoire.
- Christi: Once investigators decided to speak with crystal
Again, in looking for her, apparently they found her
Incarcerated in the neighboring county jail.
Apparently, crystal had been convicted of a crime
And had violated that probation.
- Narrator: On February 4, 2016,
Investigators plan to meet with crystal at the jail.
But prior to the scheduled meeting,
A tipster calls in with information that will change
The entire course of the investigation.
- Gary: When this evidence is turned over
To special agent wesson,
He realizes this is the opportunity to solve this case.
- ♪
- Narrator: Coming up:
New evidence brings sam john's killer to light.
- It felt like god was watching over us.
- There had been calls of domestic disturbances.
- Narrator: Could envy have been at the heart of the killing?
- He was very jealous of that relationship.
- Tristin: She was crying, saying, "please just clam down."
He held a knife up to her throat and said,
"nobody will ever find y'all's bodies."
- ♪
- Narrator: On February 4, 2016,
Just before an interview with crystal gregoire regarding the
Murder of sam john passarella, police receive a chilling tip.
- Christi: Investigators receive a call from
Ms. Gregoire's landlord.
And the trailer that she lived in sat on a piece of
His property that had a--a big area behind it.
One of his employees had been out there and ran across a bag
Sticking out of a mound of dirt.
- Gary: He digs it up, he opens it up,
And there's a pill bottle--a prescription pill bottle inside,
And it has sam john passarella's name on it.
- ♪
- We unearthed the rest of that bag.
We carried it to the police department,
Where we dumped everything there out on the table.
- There is a hammer that appeared to contain blood.
There's articles of clothing and two knives in the bag.
- Wayne: I realized that what we had here was virtually
All the evidence in this case, in one little package.
It was like a present that'd been delivered to us.
- Brent: We felt very good about the finding.
It felt like god was watching over us.
- Narrator: Later that afternoon,
Detectives meet with crystal at the county jail.
- I laid out a couple of the pictures for her to look at.
Her whole demeanor changed.
She went from smiles to just solemn.
Complete disbelief was on her face.
The first question out of her mouth was,
"how did you find this stuff?"
I said, "now, tell me what happened, crystal."
- At that point, she came forth with a totally different version
Of events from that night.
For the first time, she did admit that she was there
At the house with sam.
- Narrator: According to crystal,
She had been trapped for months in an abusive relationship with
Her fiancé, jonathan howell.
- There had been calls of domestic disturbances with
Ms. Gregoire complaining that howell had assaulted her.
- Narrator: Though police recently were summoned
To their home, crystal tells investigators
She has never pressed charges against him.
- Tristin: Jonathan was very controlling.
I saw jonathan controlling my mom through everything.
When she would eat, when she would shower.
What she decided to order at a restaurant.
- Crystal advises them that jonathan was very jealous
Of that relationship with sam,
That she did spend a lot of time at sam's house.
- Narrator: According to crystal, on may 18, 2015,
Jonathan wanted to accompany her to sam john's house.
- Wayne: She said, "after I took josh home that night,
"after we had eaten, he went with me back to sam's
"and I told him to stay in the truck,
"that I would go in and see sam.
"jonathan came in. He was mad and he was upset
'cause I was in the bedroom with sam john."
She said he and sam began to argue and jonathan picked up
A hammer that was lying on the dresser
And hit him in the head with it.
- ♪
- She said, "I panicked," said, "I didn't know what to do."
She said, "I knew he was dead, so I cleaned things up."
She started cleaning up the place and gather up any kind of
Evidence that was there and bag it all up.
They went back home, and she got in the bathtub,
And jonathan went for a walk.
She guessed that's when he buried the evidence.
- Narrator: She tells the detectives that she was too
Terrified of jonathan to call the police, so she kept quiet.
- Gary: Investigator wesson thinks, "okay,
"we've finally got this thing, ah, solved.
It was jonathan, and then crystal helped cover it up."
- Wayne: Early that morning, I went to jonathan's house.
I presented him with crystal's statement in her handwriting.
He broke down and started to cry.
Jonathan loved crystal.
He could not believe crystal was accusing him of this.
- Narrator: Jonathan says that although it was rumored that
He might have been one of sam john's customers,
Crystal was in fact one of his dealers.
- She had been involved in selling pills for mr. Passarella
And with mr. Passarella.
- Wayne: I questioned jonathan about crystal's relationship
With sam and how he felt about that.
Uh, he said he was really uncomfortable about it.
He didn't approve of it.
- Narrator: Jonathan says that on may 18, 2015,
He had stayed home rather than face an awkward dinner
With sam john.
Crystal had returned home with her kids
And then headed out again.
- Wayne: She went back to sam's.
He said she didn't come back till early morning hours.
- Narrator: When jonathan heard the news about sam john's death,
He put two and two together.
- He goes on to say that ms. Gregoire admitted to him
What had happened, and that she had killed sam john.
- ♪
- Narrator: Jonathan's alibi that he'd been home all night
Was vouched for months earlier by crystal's son, josh.
- Outside of her statement, I really had no evidence that
Jonathan had committed the crime.
- Narrator: On February 5, 2016,
Detectives meet with crystal again.
When they tell her that jonathan has denied her story,
Crystal offers up a new version.
- Ms. Gregoire admits that she, in fact, killed sam passarella.
But she claims she did it in self-defense.
- Narrator: Crystal admits to selling pills,
But she claims sam john coerced her into it.
- He was telling her how worthless she was,
And how he was gonna take care of her if she didn't do
What he needed her to do.
She said, "I'm just so scared."
- Narrator: Crystal says that on may 18, 2015,
When she came back to sam john's house,
He tried to make good on his threats.
- Said, "he started yelling and cussing me and told me that
"I had stolen his drug contacts and that I was going around him
"to do business with his contacts.
And that he was gonna have my bitch ass killed."
- She was crying, saying, "please just calm down,
Tony, just calm down. Please."
And she said that he held a knife up to her throat and said,
"you just sit right there.
"I got a hit man that's gonna get all three of your kids
"and then do the same thing to you and bury y'all,
And nobody will ever find y'all's bodies."
- She's frantic. She's afraid for her life.
She looks right under the edge of his bed and sees a hammer.
So, she comes up with the hammer swinging, hits him,
He falls onto the bed.
She continues to strike blows.
- ♪
- Wayne: She said, "well, he laid there on the bed bleeding,
"but he was still breathing. So I started to clean up.
"and I thought, I can't leave him alive.
Because if I do, the wise guys will come get me."
She said, "so, I grabbed his phone
"and I threw it in the toilet.
"and I got a knife, and I punched him in the throat twice
To make sure that he bled out."
I said, "so, you wanted to make sure he was dead."
She said, "yes, I did."
- Her story doesn't make sense because, physically,
He wasn't able to do the things you're saying he did.
He was in a very weakened condition
Because of his various ailments.
- Narrator: Crystal says that after sam john was dead,
She gathered up the evidence and hid it behind her house.
- Crystal was charged with tampering with evidence,
Abuse of a corpse, and first-degree murder.
- ♪
- Narrator: Coming up: Prosecutors present
What they believe is crystal's true motive.
- I been involved in a lot of murder cases.
She may be the coldest one I've ever had any dealings with.
- ♪
- Narrator: On April 18, 2017,
The trial of 35-year-old crystal gregoire begins.
In opening statements, prosecutors claim that crystal
Had found unexpected success working in the small-time
Drug ring run by 69-year-old sam passarella.
- Not too long before the trial started,
We finally developed what we thought was her motive.
She says in one of her statements, her final statement,
That the reason sam was so upset with her was that he accused her
Of going around his back to deal directly with his suppliers.
- Christi: She was trying to squeeze sam out of
His drug business and--and take it over.
We felt that she wanted all that business for herself.
- ♪
- Narrator: Prosecutors say that crystal had manipulated sam john
Into thinking that she loved him in order to get close to him.
Then, on may 18, 2015, after setting a romantic mood,
Crystal had murdered sam john passarella in cold blood.
- Christi: He was struck from behind and was most likely
Seated on the bed when he was struck.
- Wayne: Even after she had beat him practically to death
With a hammer, she made absolutely sure he was dead
Before she left by stabbing him in the jugular twice.
She knew what she was doing,
And she intended to make sure he did not survive.
- ♪
- Narrator: In police interviews,
Crystal had claimed she had killed sam john in self-defense.
But the prosecution refutes her story.
- We found that he was barely able to walk unassisted
Shortly before his death,
That he had to have the walker or a cane.
And yet, she says he pushed her to the floor, he stood over her,
Looming over her and threatening her.
- Look, all she had to do was walk away.
You know, I could've held sam john off me with one hand.
It being a matter of self-defense
Is an absolute joke.
- Narrator: When crystal takes the stand in her own defense,
She doesn't back down from her previous claims
That she'd killed sam john only after he had threatened
To have his henchmen kill her and her family.
- My reaction to my mom telling me everything that
Happened the night that sam john was murdered...
I just thought, okay, it was either him, or me, my mom,
My sister, and my brother.
- Narrator: When the jury begins deliberation,
The prosecution worries that sam john's past
Will sway the jury in crystal's favor.
- This wasn't just a claim of self-defense
Against her Sunday school teacher.
This was a claim of self-defense against sam john passarella,
Who was known to be a person with a violent past,
Who was known to have been involved in a kidnapping
And a probable murder.
- Narrator: On April 21, 2017, the jury returns with a verdict
That stuns crystal's family.
- When I first heard,
"you are convicted of first-degree murder,"
I was like, "this isn't right."
I literally just started crying, hugging my sister.
- When the jury found her guilty of first-degree murder,
Her sentence was automatic under the law: Life in prison
With the possibility of parole.
She killed him in a way that took some time for her
To deliver that many blows
And then stop and get a knife and stab him.
As heinous as that is, that's not even the worst part.
She allowed her 16-year-old son to discover the body.
I been involved in a lot of murder cases.
She may be the coldest one I've ever had any dealings with.
- Marty: I'll always remember sam john as the young,
Gregarious man being at my grandmother's house,
Making homemade spaghetti and pizza and, ah,
That'll--that'll be the way I remember sam john.
I'll never forget that as long as I'm alive.
He was like my big brother.
- ♪