Women Behind Bars Tuesdays at 10p|9c

Vanessa Crawley


Inmate Name: Vanessa Crawley Charge: Murder Sentence: 33 years Prison: Fluvanna Correctional Center, Virginia Vanessa Crawley was born in rural Virginia in 1985, the middle daughter of Roy and Robbie Gail Johnson. After ending the marriage, Vanessa’s mother moved to Kentucky, where Vanessa and her sisters visited every summer. At 13 years old, Vanessa learned that her mother contracted HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Within a couple of years, her mother succumbed to the disease and passed away. When Vanessa was 17 she met 18-year-old Christopher Crawley. After about three or four months, Vanessa ended up getting pregnant. The 18-year-old embraced motherhood when she gave birth to her son Jaylen. Chris, the baby’s father, joined the Army so that he could take care of the family. But the young couple’s relationship was already plagued with problems. Against her father’s advice, Vanessa married Chris in December 2003 and, along with baby Jaylen, moved to Georgia where Chris was stationed. In September 2004, the couple agreed to live apart for a while and Vanessa moved back to Virginia and into the home of Chris’s grandmother. Chris came to visit often and the two continued their rocky relationship. Both admit to cheating on their marriage, and the resulting fights turned violent. On Saturday, October 23, 2004, Chris drove up from his army base to celebrate his son ’s first birthday. He brought along a friend, and he also brought a nine-millimeter handgun he recently purchased. That night, after the birthday party, Vanessa says Chris threatened her with the gun and gave her an ultimatum–to find someone that Chris could rob. Vanessa and Chris cruised the streets looking for a particular drug dealer. Also in the car were two of Chris’s friends, as well as Vanessa’s and Chris’s one-year-old son. When they couldn’t find the drug dealer, Vanessa claims that Chris then hatched a new plan to find somebody else. That somebody ended up being Al Roberts who got in the car with them, thinking that he was being given a ride home with the intention of selling Chris and his friends marijuana. Vanessa claims Chris ordered her to drive down a patch of woods and stop along a deserted stretch. One of Chris’s friends, along with Vanessa and her baby, stayed in the vehicle. Vanessa claims she watched in horror as her Chris and his other friend allegedly pulled the victim from the suburban, robbed him, then shot him five times point blank. After the shooting, Vanessa drove to a nightclub and dropped off one of Chris’ friends who called 911 to report the murder he had just watched. The rest of the group went home. Vanessa says she couldn’t sleep. Because of the 911 call, police rushed to apprehend the three suspects and took them to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s office for questioning. Vanessa admits she lied to police in her first statements because she was scared and trying to protect her husband. But eventually, she decided to tell the truth. All three defendants were held in separate jails pending trial. Chris chose to forego a trial. He pled guilty, and was sentenced to 60 years. But Vanessa and Chris’s friend took their chances in court. Chris’ friend was acquitted of murder charges. Two and a half years after the crime, Vanessa’s trial took place in which she was was given a guilty verdict; the verdict hit Vanessa’s family hard. Vanessa is still haunted by what happened. Vanessa and Chris’s son, Jaylen, is now five years old and lives with Vanessa’s father. Vanessa tries to stay connected to family. She is still married to Chris, and they write to each other while incarcerated. Vanessa harbors regrets but holds out hope that she can come home soon.