GUILTY NC - Twins Samantha & Tessara Crespi, 5, stabbed to death, Charlotte, 20 Jan 2006

[nanandjim]

this may sound like a horrible thing to say- but besides not being able to "stand by my man" ( as they say over at pt ) I think I can honeslty say it would be difficult for me to take care of HIS 3 children from a previous marriage that she adopted--I realize they have nothing to do with it, but it would tear me apart, that he took "my" children--and i was left to raise his--does that make sense?

Why did she adopt his other children? Did his first wife die??

Also, he said that he had intended on killing his wife and the children. I don't think that I would be standing by my man knowing but for a hair appointment, I would be dead, too.

 

[j2mirish]

Why did she adopt his other children? Did his first wife die??

Also, he said that he had intended on killing his wife and the children. I don't think that I would be standing by my man knowing but for a hair appointment, I would be dead, too.

post # 17-- but I quoted incorrectly- she adopted 2 children, they also had a 9 year old boy together--

I know where I would be standing--- and it wouldnt be in a prison waiting to see him--

 

[eve]

post # 17-- but I quoted incorrectly- she adopted 2 children, they also had a 9 year old boy together--

I know where I would be standing--- and it wouldnt be in a prison waiting to see him--

Yes, even if I forgave him (which I would do for my soul, not his, however bad that sounds) I could never stay married to him after he killed our children and was sentenced to 2 life terms. To me, the marriage would be irretrievably broken and especially in light of this guy's mindset. He seemed steeped in self-pity for his own sake - always talking about the mental illness, not showing much remorse for his horrific act or grief for his dead daughters and wronged family! Even if he were released, I would never trust him or his stability, he kept crucial life-threatening information about his own murderous thoughts from his therapist, etc.

He knew that was wrong and he was smart, he knew better. When he called 911 he was perfectly lucid and calm. It was very creepy. I think the wife is in la-la land or denial or something. There has to be anger within her for the killing of her girls, I wonder when the dam will break for her. I hope she handles her feelings in a more healthy way than her husband did. Also I still think there is a lot more than depression going on to trigger the murder of your 5-year old girls.

Eve

 

[lviola]

I saw part of the Oprah show and found the wife's reaction to be strange. She seemed more concerned about her husband than the murders of her daughters. She didn't appear, at least to me, to be that upset about her daughters' death. Maybe, she is still in denial.

She also said that she loved being David's wife and still loves being his wife. Geez...I would be heartbroken and a nervous wreck. I don't know if I would say that I still love my murderous husband. I guess that she is blaming the mental illness and not the husband. I guess that she thinks that he wouldn't have committed the murders if he weren't mentally ill.

I wonder if she is saying this in the hopes that it will help him during his trial and sentencing.

I couldn't stand by him. There's not that much love in the world. If my husband killed our kids he'd be lucky he's alive. I honestly belive I would kill him!

 

[2beautifulboys]

This position of the wife's would seem awfully confusing to the 9 year old boy as well, Dad murders my sisters, but mom still loves him...and he planned to kill us all? No way in heck would I stand by him, he should have sought treatment, it would now be my job to raise the remaining children and exclude the dad from their life forever....he made those choices, so now I must make mine.

 

[Floh]

At present i don't believe Kim Crespi is in any position to think rationally, so i'll give her a break regarding her 'standing by her man'.

how heartbreaking this must be and something she will have to live with for the rest of her life. all the missed hugs and loving. the girls' graduation. their future partnerships - possible grandchildren. i really can see she's not equipped to think straight right now.

i hope for her she can rest easy some day.

 

[2sisters]

I saw part of the Oprah show and found the wife's reaction to be strange. She seemed more concerned about her husband than the murders of her daughters. She didn't appear, at least to me, to be that upset about her daughters' death. Maybe, she is still in denial.

She also said that she loved being David's wife and still loves being his wife. Geez...I would be heartbroken and a nervous wreck. I don't know if I would say that I still love my murderous husband. I guess that she is blaming the mental illness and not the husband. I guess that she thinks that he wouldn't have committed the murders if he weren't mentally ill.

I wonder if she is saying this in the hopes that it will help him during his trial and sentencing.

I thought the same thing but didn't want to say that about her b/c I was afraid of being attacked. To love a murderous husband is one thing ( I guess), but to love him after he stabbed your daughter 18 times while the other daughter watched and ran in fear of her life and then stab her 14 times is beyond me. I would never speak to him again and I would be absolutley devestated for my kids, not the husband.

 

[concernedperson]

I thought the same thing but didn't want to say that about her b/c I was afraid of being attacked. To love a murderous husband is one thing ( I guess), but to love him after he stabbed your daughter 18 times while the other daughter watched and ran in fear of her life and then stab her 14 times is beyond me. I would never speak to him again and I would be absolutley devestated for my kids, not the husband.

This is part of a dysfunction that believes if you stand by your man everything else will fall into place.Obviously, this isn't the case. We need to raise stronger women who are more self-reliant. More caring for their offspring and less caring for someone who belittles or murders the people you love.

 

[michelle]

I was in "Awe" of the wife's reaction on Oprah. I feel for her but at the same time she does not seem like she is thinking rationally. JMO I thank God I am not in her shoes but I can tell you that if my DH was having those crazy thoughts I would NEVER leave him with my children.

 

[cynpat2000]

I was in "Awe" of the wife's reaction on Oprah. I feel for her but at the same time she does not seem like she is thinking rationally. JMO I thank God I am not in her shoes but I can tell you that if my DH was having those crazy thoughts I would NEVER leave him with my children.

I wouldnt either, spouses need to start recognizing instability in their spouse and dont leave children alone with them, I mean its sad you have to watch your spouse in such ways but people get sick. Somebody has got to protect children from mentally ill people.

 

[michelle]

I wouldnt either, spouses need to start recognizing instability in their spouse and dont leave children alone with them, I mean its sad you have to watch your spouse in such ways but people get sick. Somebody has got to protect children from mentally ill people.

I have a hard time believing this man to be mentally ill at the time he killed his girls. I mean Oprah was asking him some great questions, like why was he same for 15 minutes talking to his mom. The one thing that really struck me was when he said he got "2 knives" not one, but 2. He knew enough to get 2 so that he could chase them down or whatever and not just have 1. Very sinister, the guy seemed very eerie too me. JMO

 

[j2mirish]

At present i don't believe Kim Crespi is in any position to think rationally, so i'll give her a break regarding her 'standing by her man'.

how heartbreaking this must be and something she will have to live with for the rest of her life. all the missed hugs and loving. the girls' graduation. their future partnerships - possible grandchildren. i really can see she's not equipped to think straight right now.

i hope for her she can rest easy some day.

I dont know Floh- 10 months is enough time in my book to come to her senses-

 

[Beyond Belief]

This just horrible. I have always thought that when someone in the family is suffering from a mental illness it effects every family member in one way or another.

 

[mum33004]

The article says he threathened to kill himself. Wish he would have. It would have saved the state a lot of time and money. Not to even think about what kind of attorney bills his wife is going to be left paying. She still has three kids to take care of. Don't yall think it is funny that most psychos always say...I was going to kill myself.... Makes me want to say....."Hang on for a second good buddy and let me go and get my gun for you.":banghead:

YOU ARE AWESOME! I love your quote "Hang on for a second good buddy and let me go and get my gun for you."

I COULDN'T AGREE MORE

 

[OneLostGrl]

I saw the Oprah show yesterday about this case. Oprah had the wife on and interviewed Crespi from prison. She asked him many questions in what I thought was an attempt to get him to honestly step up to what he's done, which he really doesn't seem to do, imo. He repeats the canned lines he has re: his mental illness which was said to be depression, and is very evasive about things like "Why didn't you get help when you kept having thoughts about killing your family?" At first he said "Because it wasn't real, I didn't think I would actually do it," but Oprah stuck with it and he finally (sort of) admitted that it was partially because he knew if he revealed those thoughts people would think he was "crazy" or "take his kids away." This shows he knew right from wrong, in my book, and made choices.

The wife was forgiving, still visits him, still says they have a "great marriage, though different now that he's imprisoned," and defers to his mental illness whenever explaining the killings. The expert on the show mentioned that the father had already "disconnected" with the girls when he killed them and in some ways I think the wife has now done that too. She got teary eyed when remembering them in various spots in the house (like their room and where they were stabbed, etc.) but other than that she talked very little about them or what they must have gone through. It was all about this "dark" place the depression had driven her husband to, and how she has chosen to stick with him now. Considering that they were well-educated and had many resources, I find the case just tragic. How could he have thoughts of killing his kids and not tell his therapist and wife, if he was really serious about getting better and cared about them? Also, how often does depression lead to homicide? To me, the things he said were so lame. He said when the girls asked him to play hide and seek that day he thought it was a sign that he should kill them. This is depression? It sounds more like a psychosis of some sort. Anybody else see it?
Eve

If this man was psychotic he would not have been able to work, people would have none something was seriously wrong with him! He says he was afraid if his work found out he would lose his job... he was able to think that through and make a decision not to let his work know.

That is not Psychosis- not even close! I don't know how many of you have come across a psychotic person but it's pretty frightening. Not only do their minds suffer but so does their personal hygine, their posture, their gait, their diet, their speech.. facial expressions, their ability to sleep, drive a car, finish a thought, dress themselves, make decisions, plan ahead.....

It sounds to me like he "learned" about Psychosis somewhere (news, lawyer, reading, defense Psychiatrist?) and is trying to make it look like that is the reason he killed his kids. He wants a insanity defense/appeal and has seen it work with others (Like Andrea Yates ,who was truly MAD, out of her mind crazy)

But I'll tell you one thing.. he's not a very good actor!

 

[eve]

If this man was psychotic he would not have been able to work, people would have none something was seriously wrong with him! He says he was afraid if his work found out he would lose his job... he was able to think that through and make a decision not to let his work know.

That is not Psychosis- not even close! I don't know how many of you have come across a psychotic person but it's pretty frightening. Not only do their minds suffer but so does their personal hygine, their posture, their gait, their diet, their speech.. facial expressions, their ability to sleep, drive a car, finish a thought, dress themselves, make decisions, plan ahead.....

It sounds to me like he "learned" about Psychosis somewhere (news, lawyer, reading, defense Psychiatrist?) and is trying to make it look like that is the reason he killed his kids. He wants a insanity defense/appeal and has seen it work with others (Like Andrea Yates ,who was truly MAD, out of her mind crazy)

But I'll tell you one thing.. he's not a very good actor!

Thank you OneLostGirl for sharing your knowledge about this as you often have. I am relieved to hear you say this - I felt the same way. He clearly knew right from wrong and that is the key. When he said he heard a voice saying to kill them, he wasn't convincing at all - he didn't give any reason for it - usually a psychotic person seems to express a reason they are "supposed" to kill someone.

For some reason I think of a Law and Order episode where Richard Thomas (John-boy) played a man who had syphillis-induced psychosis. He believed he should kill certain people because God told him to. Thomas did such a good job portraying the character - you felt such sympathy for him and for his wife and his victims, of course. His disease had gone undiagnosed for years. He and his wife had no idea he had it. When he had moments of clarity he was completely remorseful and horrified by what he had done. I felt this could happen and I felt compassion. I could see forgiveness for someone like that.

This Crespi guy evokes no such response from me. When he talked with Oprah his focus was "me me me" and not in a disturbed way. When he called 911, he said "I lost it." I don't think someone in a psychotic episode would say that. This may sound odd, but this guy gives depression a bad name! I just don't buy that most who suffer from depression become violent. They never said he was bipolar or manic or any other clinical term. They just used the word "depression."

I agre that he is trying for an appeal. Why his wife is standing by him in this, or buying this, I cannot fathom.

Eve

 

[MistyGirl]

I saw part of the Oprah show and found the wife's reaction to be strange. She seemed more concerned about her husband than the murders of her daughters. She didn't appear, at least to me, to be that upset about her daughters' death. Maybe, she is still in denial.

She also said that she loved being David's wife and still loves being his wife. Geez...I would be heartbroken and a nervous wreck. I don't know if I would say that I still love my murderous husband. I guess that she is blaming the mental illness and not the husband. I guess that she thinks that he wouldn't have committed the murders if he weren't mentally ill.

I wonder if she is saying this in the hopes that it will help him during his trial and sentencing.

He is not awaiting trial he pled guilty to 2 counts of murder and was given 2 life sentences to be served back to back. So there was no trial



I have questions though, he & she claim that he was ill and it was a psychotic episode so if that is the case then why did he plead not guilty by reason of insanity like every other that kills their children......I mean even Andrea Yates got off.



I am actually glad he didn't because I think that is just a BS excuse but it's funny to me that they claim that but yet pleaded guilty to the crimes

 

[Jade]

I am hitting dead ends on the links but I did find this:
http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/headlines/?SecID=41&ArID=128669

Snip~He said that he was depressed when he stabbed his two daughters. He has since been diagnosed as being bi-polar.
..........Kim Crespi said that she felt that mental illness needs to be understood, and not punished.
She was against the death penalty for her husband, something that was at odds with the opinions of many of her family members.

"We don't want to watch another member of our family die unnecessarily," she said.

Kim Crespi said that she still loves her husband, and that she visits and writes him often.

"He is horrified by what he did," she said. "He doesn't understand why he did it." ~snip

In an article I can't find he said that he was correctly diagnosed in prison and that he had thoughts for a long time of hurting himself and his family but also of running down people in his car.
Somewhere I read that he had been thinking that he was not doing well in his job and was feeling the financial pressure of sustaining his family. As it turns out he was to get his largest bonus yet.

 

[NaNaRosebud]

I watched this Oprah show too. I can not believe that this woman STILL stands by that piece of crap guy who killed her kids!! I think there is more to this story than is being told publicly. There MUST have been other things going on.

Maybe he wanted to leave his wife, had a thing on the side and wanted to get rid of his old familly, but when he started doing it, he couldn't do it all.

Something is just not right about him OR HER for believing him.

They both looked like liars to me on Oprah!

 

[NewMom2003]

Did anyone see this profiled on 20/20 Friday night?

I was appalled by the wife still sticking by him. I heard her say on national television that her husband is the REAL victim here, not her two little girls. :furious: :furious: I know my jaw dropped when she said that.

Yes, I do believe in mental illness. I am one that has sympathy for Andrea Yates. However, I do not believe this man is mentally ill. I think he struggles with depression and was not truthful with his doctors and therapists. I don't know what happened for him to kill his twin daughters, but I don't believe his defense.

He cried on the interview. For himself and his wife. NOT ONCE for his daughters. I was so angry after watching this. :furious: :furious: