Media Monster

Duke Lacrosse Accuser Crystal Mangum Charged With First-Degree Murder

The Duke lacrosse case was an ugly thing. Ugly accusations that were eventually found false, ugly conduct by prosecutor Mike Nifong that led to his being disbarred…the only good thing about it was that it ended. Unfortunately, though, now it’s all coming up again…and this time, the reason is even uglier. Recently, the Duke lacrosse accuser, Crystal Mangum, was recently accused herself, of stabbing her boyfriend. Her boyfriend later died, and now Mangum is charged with murder.

This represents the latest, and saddest, in a long line of troubles involving Mangum. From the AP:

Last year, [Mangum] was convicted on misdemeanor charges after setting a fire that nearly torched her home with her three children inside. In a videotaped police interrogation, she told officers she set got into a confrontation with her boyfriend at the time — not [stabbing victim Reginald] Daye — and burned his clothes, smashed his car windshield and threatened to stab him.

There’s just not a whole lot more to say. A friend of Mangum’s, Vincent Clark, said she’s aware she has mental problems, but urged people to take a lesson from the Duke lacrosse case and not rush to judgment, adding, “I hope people realize how difficult it is being her.” But when one looks at Mangum’s mounting pile of legal problems, the tragic fate of Daye, her poor kids…there’s sympathy to be found here, but it’s not for Mangum.

Photo via