November 5, 2024 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Man Accused of Ordering Killing of Pregnant Girlfriend Put on Trial

A man accused of finding someone to shoot his pregnant girlfriend in the head was back on trial Monday, alongside the alleged gunman, as two juries listened to opening statements.

Prosecutors said Derek Paul Smyer, 36, had 27-year-old Crystal Taylor killed after she refused to have the abortion he demanded.

“Her only crime in life was to want another child,” Deputy District Attorney Danette Meyers told jurors.

Smyer, who was arrested and charged with murder a decade after the Sept. 25, 2001, killings of Taylor and her unborn son, is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

A mistrial was declared for Smyer in August, when an earlier set of jurors declared a deadlock.

This trial includes co-defendant Skyler Jefferson Moore, 35. Moore is serving a life prison sentence without the possibility of parole for an unrelated 2001 killing and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against him.

Prosecutors said Smyer and Moore met at the basketball courts at Anderson Park in Redondo Beach.

Moore was a member of the East Coast branch of a Southern California gang and new to the area, according to Deputy District Attorney Rosa Zavala.

“He was looking to build a reputation for himself” and offered to kill Taylor in exchange for Smyer’s loyalty, Zavala said.

Defense attorney Richard Everett told the jury panel there was “little or no evidence” that Moore knew Smyer.

“There were no witnesses … no DNA recovered, no fingerprints … no evidence to connect the killing of Crystal Taylor to Skyler Moore,” Everett said.

Moore had been walking his little brothers and sisters to school that morning in the neighborhood of the shooting, Everett said.

After Moore had been in solitary confinement for “several years,” cold case detectives approached him with an offer to move him to a safer facility to serve out his life sentence.

In exchange, “he gives them this story about how he was hired by Mr. Smyer,” Everett said.

Moore later recanted that story over concern about helping to “convict an innocent person,” Everett said. “He didn’t kill Crystal Taylor.”

Though prosecutors said Smyer was always a suspect, he wasn’t arrested until after Moore named him.

Jurors at Smyer’s first trial were shown video of a 2011 interview with Moore in which he confessed to shooting Taylor in the head. In it, Moore said Smyer told him Taylor was “trying to trap him.”

Moore told a prosecutor, “I killed Crystal, this is how it happened, this is why I did it,”  Zavala said.

Moore was also identified by a neighbor, who said he saw him walking up and down the street before he heard a gunshot at the complex and then saw the same man run off.

Prosecutors said Smyer’s history confirmed his guilt.

“Crystal is not the first girlfriend that defendant Smyer has hurt,” Zavala told jurors.

An ex-girlfriend from high school, Traci Williamson, was the mother of two of Smyer’s children, prosecutors said. During each pregnancy, when she was about 7-8 months along, she was attacked by an unknown assailant.

“That relationship had domestic violence written all over it,” Meyers said.”He pleaded with her to have an abortion.”

In the first attack, a man cut her throat with a knife, prosecutors said.

“The (second) attacker focused on kicking and punching her in the stomach,” Zavala said.

“(Smyer) has this unreasonable paranoia about pregnancy,” Zavala said.

Smyer’s attorney, Calvin Schneider III, offered jurors a different perspective on this “horrible, horrible crime.”

Schneider showed photographs of Smyer in the delivery room with Williamson and smiling with his two children, who lived with him until he was arrested, according to the defense attorney.

His client dropped out of high school at 17 so that he could support Williamson while she finished high school, the defense attorney said.

Schneider said Williamson lied about one of the attacks to gain favor with her own family, who didn’t like the fact that she wasn’t working to support her child.

As for Taylor, Schneider said Smyer spoke to her for about two hours the day after he found out she was pregnant.

“(There was) nothing to indicate that she was ever threatened or hurt during that conversation,” Schneider said.

There was only about a week between that conversation and the time that Moore was jailed for 30 days for firearm possession.

“Think about the timeline,” the defense attorney said.

And the man seen fleeing from the scene of Taylor’s shooting got into a black Thunderbird, the defense attorney told the jury panel, adding that neither Smyer nor Moore had access to such a car. ncr8i

“Mr. Smyer’s waited a long time for you to decide this case. He’s waited a long time to vindicate himself,” Schneider told the jury panel.

3D_Judges_Gavel

Related Posts

Early Morning Call From Community Leads to Burglary Arrest in Culver City

November 4, 2024

November 4, 2024

Police Respond To Suspicious Activity Call, Arrest Suspect With Pickaxe Culver City police arrested a man early Friday morning in...

Culver City Police Department is Prepared to Ensure Community Safety During Election Week

November 4, 2024

November 4, 2024

Enhanced Patrols, Activated Emergency Center Ready, Culver City Voting Center is Open The Culver City Police Department has announced an...

Legendary Music Icon Quincy Jones Dies at 91 in Bel Air

November 4, 2024

November 4, 2024

Celebrated Musician, Producer Leaves an Indelible Legacy By Dolores Quintana Legendary musician, music producer, film and television producer, composer of...

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Lays Off Longtime Archive and Library Staff

November 4, 2024

November 4, 2024

Downsizing and Restructuring Continue, Affecting Employees with Decades of Service By Dolores Quintana Last week, the Academy of Motion Picture...

LA County Opens 526 New Vote Centers for Early Voting, Announces Conditional Voting for Unregistered Residents

November 3, 2024

November 3, 2024

Metro LA Offers Free Rides on Election Day to Help Residents Get to the Polls Los Angeles County opened an...

New Aviation/Century Station Opens, Linking Metro’s C and K Lines

November 3, 2024

November 3, 2024

Metro’s Newest Station Paves the Way for Future LAX Transit Center The new Aviation/Century Station officially opened this week, marking...

H5N1 Detected in LA County Wastewater, Health Officials Urge Precautions for Residents

November 3, 2024

November 3, 2024

Los Angeles County Investigates Low-Level H5 Avian Flu Detected in Wastewater The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is...

Two Events in Culver City This Weekend: Bike Registration and Dance Performance

November 1, 2024

November 1, 2024

Put the Brakes on Bicycle Theft and Enjoy an Evening of Dance and Interactive Art The Culver City Police Department...

All You Need to Know to Attend the Dodgers Victory Parade Tomorrow in DTLA

November 1, 2024

November 1, 2024

World Champions and LA’s Team to Greet Angelenos After Win of NY Yankees The Los Angeles Dodgers announced that their...

Beverly Hills City Government Agrees to a Stipulated Judgment After Blocking Abortion Clinic Opening

November 1, 2024

November 1, 2024

City to Implement Training, Oversight on Reproductive Rights Following Legal Settlement  California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a legal agreement...

Dia De Los Muertos 2024: Here’s Where To Celebrate The Holiday Tradition This Weekend

October 31, 2024

October 31, 2024

Los Angeles Has a Variety of Ways to Explore Latino Culture and Honor Ancestors Starting just after Halloween, Dia de...

(Video) Downtown L.A. Reacts to World Series Victory

October 31, 2024

October 31, 2024

The Dodgers Are World Series Champs For The Eighth Time https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTFtyDDKn/

Halloween Pre-Game Party Brings Chills and Spooky Thrills to The Rose Venice

October 31, 2024

October 31, 2024

Enjoy Halloween With Festive Cocktails, Appetizers, and a Costume Contest The Rose Venice in Venice is set to host a...

(Video) Something About Her’s First Tea Time Was a Big Hit

October 31, 2024

October 31, 2024

The Next Date is November Third. Beautiful vibes, deciduous food and drink. Don’t miss it. @Something About Her @culvercitywlanews Something...

Something About Her Sandwich Shop Hosts Second Exclusive Tea Time on November 3

October 30, 2024

October 30, 2024

By Dolores Quintana West Hollywood’s Delightful Sandwich Spot by Vanderpump Rules Stars Has Tea Service Something About Her, the adorable...