Father To Plead Guilty In Killing Of Twin Girls
- From: "tiny dancer" <tinydancer357@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 13:47:46 -0400
Father To Plead Guilty In Killing Of Twin Girls
POSTED: 1:34 pm EDT July 17, 2006
UPDATED: 1:34 pm EDT July 17, 2006
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A father who confessed to killing his 5-year-old twin
daughters will avoid a capital murder trial by pleading guilty and spending
the rest of his life in prison, The Charlotte Observer reported.
David Crespi, 45, told police he was struggling with depression when he
fatally stabbed daughters Samantha and Tessara in January. He said he had
thought of killing his children, wife and parents and believed he was about
to lose his job as a senior vice president in Wachovia's audit division.
Mecklenburg District Attorney Peter Gilchrist declined to comment on any
deal with Crespi. Defense lawyers Jean Lawson and Jim Cooney told the
Observer that they had agreed to the deal, which will result in a life
sentence with no possibility of parole.
"David committed these acts while in the midst of a psychotic episode,"
Cooney said. "He will pay for them with the rest of his life."
Crespi's wife Kim confirmed the agreement and said she supported the
decision.
"I do not believe that taking David's life could in any way make right what
went so tragically wrong on Jan. 20," she said in a prepared statement.
"Seeking the death penalty for David would be yet another layer of injury
upon our already deeply hurt family."
Kim Crespi said her family is thankful that David Crespi didn't take his own
life after killing his daughters at the family's south Charlotte home.
"His life will be of value wherever he is on earth, including in prison,"
she wrote. "When there is life there is hope for healing."
Lawson said David and Kim Crespi spent two decades trying to treat the
husband's depression, but the medications he took were not sufficient.
"They followed every treatment plan given to them, and David took every
medication prescribed to him," Lawson said. "Unfortunately ... only after
the deaths of Samantha and Tessara was David diagnosed with psychotic
depression and features of bipolar mental illness.
"In light of these diagnoses, his prior treatment and medication were
completely inadequate to control his mental illness."
In a confession to police hours after killing his daughters, Crespi told
homicide detectives he had even thought of running down strangers with his
car. He believed he was in financial trouble and had not done a good enough
job taking care of his family and said he believed killing the girls would
end those worries.
In fact, defense lawyers said, Wachovia had already approved Crespi for his
biggest bonus ever.
According to documents obtained by the defense lawyers, Crespi took a
variety of antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications in the months before
the killings.
They said he took Paxil for depression, Trazodone for anxiety and Ambien to
help him sleep. But he gained more than 50 pounds on Paxil and switched in
January to Prozac.
Then, the day before the killings, doctors switched his sleep medication.
At a plea hearing, which could take place later this month, a judge will
question Crespi about whether he understands the consequences of his guilty
pleas and whether he is in fact guilty. His lawyers are expected to offer
evidence that a psychiatrist has concluded Crespi is competent to enter the
guilty pleas.
Crespi remains in custody at a mental hospital unit at Raleigh's Central
Prison, where his wife has visited him almost weekly.
http://www.wral.com/apncnews/9528310/detail.html
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