Four people were killed in a shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party in Alabama over the weekend. One of the victims was the older brother of the birthday girl. Omar Villafranca spoke with their mother about the tragedy.
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Police are searching for the shooter, or shooters, who opened fire at a Sweet 16 party in Dadeville, Alabama, over the weekend. Four people were killed and more than two dozen wounded in the attack. CBS News correspondent Omar Villafranca joins us with the latest from Dadeville, and then Tony Dokoupil and Lilia Luciano have more on rise in gun violence nationwide.
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DADEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama law enforcement officers Sunday were imploring people to come forward with information about a shooting that killed four people and injured 28 others during a teenager’s birthday party.
Among those killed was a high school senior who planned to play college football and was celebrating his sister’s 16th birthday. The shooting erupted Saturday night at a dance studio in downtown Dadeville.
During two news conferences Sunday, Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency did not take questions. He did not say if a suspect was in custody or if investigators knew about any motivation. He did not provide the names of those killed.
“We’ve got to have information from the community,” Burkett said during a Sunday evening news conference.
Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, a Dadeville High School senior who had committed to Jacksonville State University, was celebrating at his sister Alexis’ party before he was shot to death, his grandmother Annette Allen told the Montgomery Advertiser.
“He was a very, very humble child. Never messed with anybody. Always had a smile on his face,” Allen told the newspaper, calling it “a million-dollar smile.”
Dowdell’s mother was among those hurt in the shooting.
“Everybody’s grieving,” Allen said.
Burkett said the shooting occurred about 10:30 p.m. Saturday. “There were four lives tragically lost in this incident,” he said.
The shootings rocked the city of 3,200 residents, which is about 57 miles (92 kilometers) northeast of Montgomery, Alabama.
Keenan Cooper, the DJ at the party, told WBMA-TV that the party was stopped briefly when attendees heard someone had a gun. He said people with guns were asked to leave, but no one left. Cooper said when the shooting began some time later, some people took shelter under a table where he was standing, and others ran out.
Pastor Jason Whetstone, who leads the Christian Faith Fellowship, said the granddaughter of one of his church members was shot in the foot and underwent surgery Sunday.
“All of our hearts are hurting right now. We’re just trying to pull together to find strength and comfort,” Whetstone said before an interfaith vigil in the parking lot of First Baptist Church.
“We are a loving community,” he said. “We’re pulling together in every aspect to comfort each and every one of these children, the teachers, all of the community.”
Dadeville’s compact downtown is centered around a courthouse square with one- and two-story brick buildings. The town’s busiest commercial district is a few blocks north of the square, off a bustling four-lane highway that runs between Birmingham and Auburn. Dadeville is close to Lake Martin, a popular recreational area.
Investigators on Sunday continued filing in and out of the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio, denoted by a banner hanging on the outside of a one-story brick building just off the square. At least five bullet holes were visible in the studio’s front windows. Less than a block away, the American and Alabama flags were lowered to half staff outside the Tallapoosa County Courthouse.
Dadeville Mayor Frank Goodman said he was in bed asleep when a council member called him just before 11 p.m. Saturday. He said he went to Lake Martin Community Hospital in Dadeville, where some of the people who had been shot were taken.
“It was chaotic,” Goodman said. “There were people running around. They were crying and screaming. There were police cars everywhere, there were ambulances everywhere. People were trying to find out about their loved ones. That was a scene, where we never had anything like this happen in our city before.”
Pastor Ben Hayes, who serves as chaplain for the Dadeville Police Department and for the local high school football team, said most of the victims are teenagers. Dowdell was within weeks of graduation and faced a bright future, Hayes told The Associated Press.
“He was a strong competitor on the field,” Hayes said. “You didn’t want to try to tackle him or get tackled by him. But when he came off the field, he was one of the nicest young men that you could ever meet, very respectful and well-respected by his peers.”
Antojuan Woody, from the neighboring town of Camp Hill, was a senior and fellow wide receiver with Dowdell on a Dadeville Tigers football team that went undefeated before losing in the second round of the playoffs last year. He said he and Dowdell had been best friends for all of their lives.
“It hurts,” Woody said as a steady stream of friends and teammates walked over to hug him during Sunday’s prayer vigil. “It’s unreal. I can’t believe it.”
Woody said he and Dowdell had a special relationship on the football field. “Us being friends forever like that, our chemistry was spot on. We always celebrated together on the field,” he said.
He described the victims “as great people who didn’t deserve what happened to them.”
Hayes, the pastor, said worried families swarmed the local hospital Saturday night trying to find the condition of their children. He said serious crime is rare in Dadeville, and the small city is “sad, traumatized, in shock.”
Jacksonville State football coach Rich Rodriguez said in a statement Sunday: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Philstavious Dowdell and the other victims of the senseless tragedy last night. He was a great young man with a bright future.”
Dowdell also recently won medals at a high school track meet at Troy University.
Counseling will be available for students at Tallapoosa County schools Monday, said the school district superintendent, Raymond C. Porter.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians. Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said on social media.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting, the White House said, adding that it is closely monitoring the situation and has been in touch with local officials and law enforcement to offer support.
“What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear? When parents have to worry every time their kids walk out the door to school, to the movie theater, or to the park?” Biden said in a statement Sunday. “Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising – not declining. This is outrageous and unacceptable.”
Biden called on Congress to “require safe storage of firearms, require background checks for all gun sales, eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.”
The mayor said Dowdell was “a great young man.” He also said he is concerned about those wounded and psychologically traumatized by the shooting.
“We are praying for them,” Goodman said. “We ask God, if it’s his will, to bring them back to their parents safe, so they can mend.”
Goodman said guns and violence are not a frequent presence in Dadeville. He said trying to control guns would prove as futile as trying to control illegal drugs.
Dadeville High School had 485 students in grades 6-12 in 2022, according to Alabama state data. It serves Dadeville and nearby parts of Tallapoosa County. Like the rest of Dadeville, it’s tucked away just out of view off a busy highway that runs from Birmingham to Auburn.
Dadeville High’s head football coach Roger McDonald said he would try his best to support grieving students.
“There’s not a playbook for something like this,” he said. “So the best you’ve got to do is just love on your kids, let them all know how much you care about them, be there for them.”
McDonald said Dowdell had something special.
“He was a leader, and as far as his ability, an electrifying player,” the coach said.
Michael Taylor, an assistant coach, said he met Dowdell when the boy was 9 and coached him in youth football. Taylor said the team was invited to Atlanta to play in the stadium used by the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
“He did some amazing things there, and he never stopped doing them since then,” he said. “He was the No. 1 athlete in the school.”
Taylor said he last heard from Dowdell on Friday, when Dowdell was seeking video of his athletic exploits. Taylor said he drove to the shooting scene Saturday night from his home in nearby Camp Hill.
“Man, I couldn’t get close,” Taylor said. “So once I found out what’s going on, I really I just had to leave because it was going to be all night.”
Taylor said he returned Sunday to see Dowdell’s body carried out from the dance studio. He said he’s not sure what he will tell other athletes Monday.
“The first thing we’ve got to do is we’ve got to pray our way out of this,” Taylor said Sunday. “There ain’t no other way. And then I can tell you, they’re all real close like family at the high school.”
This is at least the second time in recent years that multiple people were shot in Dadeville. Five people were wounded in July 2016 during a shooting at an American Legion hall, and a man was later charged with five counts of attempted murder, news outlets reported. ___
The story has been updated to correct the spelling of Dowdell’s last name in one instance.
Mass shootings at a birthday party in Alabama and a crowded park in Louisville, Kentucky, have left at least six dead over the last three days. This same weekend, the NRA is holding its annual convention, with 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls in attendance. Mark Strassmann reports.
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A mass shooting tied to a birthday party has left four people dead and a “multitude” of injuries in Dadeville, Alabama, state officials said.
The shooting happened around 10:34 p.m. Saturday, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Sunday.
“It was tied to a birthday party,” Sgt. Jeremy J. Burkett said. “There were four lives tragically lost in this incident, and there’s been a multitude of injuries.”
Burkett declined to provide more details, citing the ongoing investigation.
One of the victims killed was a member of the Dadeville High School football team, said Ben Hayes, senior pastor of Dadeville’s First Baptist Church.
Hayes also serves as the chaplain for Dadeville police and the Dadeville High School football team. He said the police chief asked him to go to Lake Martin Community Hospital to help with crowd control and ministering students who had gathered.
“It’s a very close, tight-knit community,” Hayes told CNN’s Isabel Rosales. “Everybody knows everybody. That’s why this is so difficult it’s because this, it’s affecting everybody in the community.”
Hayes said students told him the shooting happened at a “Sweet 16” birthday party.
“I knew these kids personally. Most people did,” the pastor said.
Among those gathered at the hospital, “There was a lot of sadness, a lot of concern on faces,” Hayes said.
“I think at this point it’s shock,” he said. “I think probably the anger will come. I think it’s a matter of time to see how people respond to this. But right now, things are quiet, and we’re just praying that it stays that way.”
A prayer vigil will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday outside First Baptist Church, Hayes said.
“What we’ve dealt with is something that no community should have to endure,” Dadeville Police Chief Jonathan L. Floyd said Sunday.
“I also ask each of you please do not let this moment define what you think about the city of Dadeville and our fine people.”
Dadeville, population 3,000, is about 45 miles northeast of Montgomery.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey publicly sent her condolences to the community. “This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians,” Ivey said in a statement to CNN.
“Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge.”
The Alabama shooting happened the same day that shots were fired into a crowd at a park in Louisville, Kentucky. Two people were killed and four others were wounded.
The US has suffered at least 162 mass shootings in the first 15 weeks of 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. That’s an average of more than 1.5 mass shootings every day so far this year.
The archive defines mass shootings as those in which four or more people are shot, excluding the shooter.
Four people have been killed and multiple people injured during a shooting at a birthday party Saturday night in Dadeville, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said.
The shooting happened at the birthday party around 10:30 p.m., Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said. There was no initial confirmation about what led to the shooting. It was not immediately known if a suspect was in custody.
“There were four lives tragically lost in this incident and there’s been a multitude of injuries,” Burkett said during a news conference Sunday morning.
The shootings rocked the small city of 3,200. Dadeville Chief Jonathan L. Floyd paused to regain his composure before speaking at the news conference.
“What we’ve dealt with is something that no community should have to endure. I just ask for your patience. It’s going to be a long process, but I do earnestly solicit your prayers,” Floyd said.
“There were four lives — not fatalities, lives — there were four lives tragically lost in this incident. And there’s been a multitude of injuries.”
— Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Senior Trooper Jeremy Burkett giving an official update on Dadeville, Alabama, mass shooting pic.twitter.com/ov5wEPtWvp
Pastor Ben Hayes, who serves as the chaplain for the Dadeville Police Department and for the local high school football team, said most of the victims are teenagers because the shooting occurred at a birthday party for a 16-year-old. He said the shooting has rocked the small town where serious crime is rare.
“One of the young men that was killed was one of our star athletes and just a great guy. So I knew many of these students. Dadeville is a small town and this is going to affect everybody in this area,” Hayes said.
The Tallapoosa County school system said counseling will be available for students at the schools Monday, the school superintendent, Raymond C. Porter, said.
WRBL-TV reported that the shooting happened at a dance studio. The station showed images of crime scene tape around the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio and neighboring buildings and a heavy police presence.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians. Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement posted on social media.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting, the White House said, adding that it is closely monitoring the situation and has been in touch with local officials and law enforcement to offer support.
Dadeville is in east Alabama, about 57 miles (92 kilometers) northeast of Montgomery, Alabama.
Two crew members were killed when a medical helicopter crashed in Shelby County, Alabama, authorities said Sunday.
The Life Saver helicopter had been called to transport a hiker who had been experiencing chest pains and breathing problems, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy Clay Hammac said Sunday night. The helicopter crashed a little before 5:30 p.m. local time.
“There were three crew members on board the aircraft at the time of the crash,” Hammac said. “Tragically, I can say now that we can confirm the fatality of two.”
The hiker was not on the helicopter when it crashed, according to Air Method, the company that operated the aircraft. One crew member was pronounced dead at the scene and a second died after being taken to the hospital, Air Method said. The third crew member was also transported to the hospital and was in critical condition as of Sunday night, the company said.
The hiker was taken to a local hospital separate from the helicopter crew. The hiker’s condition was not immediately known.
None of the victims were immediately identified.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.
“Our hearts go out to the families of these two members of the flight crew that have passed away,” Chelsea Mayor Tony Picklesimer said Sunday night. “And my heartfelt thanks to, my heroes, that Chelsea Fire and Rescue that responded, and to the deputies that responded. And please remember these families that will be left behind and that have had to deal with this tragic event.”
The road near where the crash happened will remain closed overnight and “will likely remain closed during tomorrow’s morning commute,” the SCSO’s office said on Facebook.
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University of Alabama men’s basketball star Brandon Miller has declared for the 2023 NBA Draft, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 20-year-old freshman forward Miller is considered one of the top prospects in this year’s draft class. Miller averaged 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in 37 games played.
Miller said he thanks “God, my family, my fans and all the coaches at the University of Alabama,” in a statement to ESPN.
Miller helped lead the Crimson Tide to a 31-6 record and the top overall seed in the men’s NCAA tournament. Miller, playing through an injury, struggled in the tournament and Alabama would go on to lose in the Sweet 16 to San Diego State.
CNN has reached out to the Alabama athletic department for comment but did not immediately hear back.
The embattled star did not miss a game for the Crimson Tide this season, despite a fatal shooting near campus which the school said he is a “cooperative witness” in.
A law enforcement officer testified that another man had texted Miller to bring the man’s gun to the scene, where Jamea Jonae Harris was shot dead in January, according to CNN affiliate WBMA.
Two men have been charged with murder.
Miller has not been charged with any crime.
The Alabama athletic department said in February that Miller is “not considered a suspect … only a cooperative witness” in the murder case.
The 2023 NBA Draft is scheduled for June 22 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
New Store Is the First Buc-ee’s in Eastern Alabama and the Brand’s Fourth Location in the State
ATHENS, Ala., March 29, 2023 (Newswire.com)
– Buc-ee’s, home of the world’s cleanest bathrooms, freshest food and friendliest beaver, will unveil its newest travel center in Auburn, Alabama, on Monday, April 10, 2023. Doors will open to the public at 6 a.m. CT, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony will follow at 9:30 a.m. CT.
Located at 2500 Buc-ee’s Boulevard, Buc-ee’s Auburn occupies more than 53,470 square feet and offers 120 fueling positions just outside its store with thousands of snack, meal and drink options for travelers on the go. The new travel center also offers the same award-winning restrooms, cheap gas, quality products and excellent service that have won the hearts, trust and business of millions in the South for nearly 40 years. Buc-ee’s favorites, including Texas barbeque, homemade fudge, kolaches, Beaver Nuggets, jerky and fresh pastries, are all available as well.
Local leaders attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony will include Mayor Ron Anders of Auburn; CityCouncilperson Tommy Dawson of Auburn; Auburn City Manager Megan McGowenCrouch; City of Auburn Economic Development Director Phillip Dunlap; Lee County Commission Chairman Bill English; and others.
Founded in Texas in 1982, Buc-ee’s operates 45 stores across Texas and the South. Since beginning its multi-state expansion in 2019, Buc-ee’s has opened travel centers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Buc-ee’s recently announced the brand is headed west with store groundbreakings in Colorado and Missouri. The first Virginia location was announced in March of this year.
“Our partnership with Alabama couldn’t be stronger, and Auburn is the perfect place for a Buc-ee’s,” said Stan Beard of Buc-ee’s. “The home of the Tigers is ideally located along I-85, making it the perfect stop for travelers headed to Georgia or down to the Alabama Gulf Coast. We can’t wait to become even more involved in this beautiful community.”
Buc-ee’s Auburn will bring 200 new jobs to the area with starting pay well above minimum wage, full benefits, a 100% matching 401k up to 6%, and three weeks of paid vacation.
General Photos Courtesy of Buc-ee’s: CLICK HERE. Photos of the Auburn grand opening will be provided in a post-event recap.
About Buc-ee’s Buc-ee’s is the world’s most-loved travel center. Founded in 1982, Buc-ee’s now has 34 stores across Texas, including the world’s largest convenience store, as well as 11 locations in other states. Buc-ee’s is known for pristine bathrooms, a large number of fueling positions, friendly service, Buc-ee’s apparel and fresh, delicious food. Originally launched and still headquartered in Texas, Buc-ee’s has combined traditional quality and modern efficiency to redefine the pit stop for their customers. For more information, visit www.buc-ees.com.
After mass protests broke out, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed his far-right government’s plan for a judicial overhaul. The delay helped end a general strike, but demonstrations continue throughout the country. Imtiaz Tyab reports
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A series of deadly tornadoes ripped through the Southern U.S., killing at least 26 people and devastating communities in Alabama and Mississippi. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell joins “CBS Mornings” to discuss the impact and how FEMA is providing disaster relief.
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It was just after 11 p.m. on May 2, 2017, when then-37-year-old Jason Crawford called 911 from right outside his home in Cullman, Alabama, about 50 miles north of Birmingham.
911 DISPATCHER: 911, where is your emergency?
JASON CRAWFORD: Uh, my wife is shot. I need someone out here, please
911 DISPATCHER: Sir, is she breathing?
JASON CRAWFORD: I don’t know … I’m trying to pick her— lift her up so I can see.
Jason remembers that night vividly.
Jason Crawford: It felt like it was taking longer and longer for anybody to get there … And eventually, I saw some headlights.
Body camera footage shows what Cullman County Sheriff’s deputies found when they first got to the scene.
DEPUTY: EMS is on their way, OK?
Jason’s wife, 32-year-old Tiffiney Crawford, was slumped over in the driver’s seat of her own van. There was a pink revolver in her left hand, which Jason says she kept in the driver’s side door of her vehicle for protection. When one of the sheriff’s deputies tried to check Tiffiney for a pulse, the gun fell out of her hand.
DEPUTY: What happened tonight?
JASON CRAWFORD: Uh, I—We were arguing. … I gave her—her stuff, so she can go. I didn’t let her in the house. … And the last thing I remember, she said she loved me, and I was going in the house, and I heard a shot, a scream and then another shot.
Tiffiney Crawford had two gunshot wounds to her head — one shot was to the left side of her jaw and the other was to her left temple. At least one sheriff’s deputy at the scene believed she had taken her own life. The paramedics tried to revive her, but it was too late. “And they came over and told me that she was dead,” her husband Jason Crawford told “48 Hours.” “It just made me feel sick in my stomach.”
Cullman County District Attorney’s Office
Tiffiney had been shot twice in the head. Paramedics tried to revive her —
Jason Crawford: And I was thinking that maybe there’s a chance she’s still alive.
—but it was too late.
Jason Crawford: And they come over and told me that she was dead … It just made me feel sick in my stomach.
To at least one of the deputies on the scene that night, it appeared pretty clear that this was a suicide.
DEPUTY: There’s nothing here so far that says anything to me other than a suicide.
And it wasn’t long before deputies realized who Jason Crawford was — the son of Ronda Crawford, who works as an office manager at the sheriff’s office.
DEPUTY: You know it’s Ronda’s daughter-in-law.
Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry soon got word.
Sheriff Matt Gentry: The chief deputy called me … and said, ‘Hey … it appears that … Ronda’s daughter-in-law … had shot herself.” … I said, “I’ll go out there and check on them.”
By the time the sheriff got there, Ronda Crawford was already on scene. It was Ronda – Jason’s mother – who called Tiffiney’s mom, Cheryl McGucken to tell her what happened.
Cheryl McGucken: I felt like I was kind of frozen in time in that moment. … And I said, “Is Jason there? Can I talk to him?” And he was already speaking with the police.
Cheryl McGucken: And so, um, I got off the phone and … I tried to figure out what my next step was (cries).
Cheryl’s thoughts soon turned to Tiffiney and Jason’s children. They shared a 5-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter. Tiffiney was also stepmom to Jason’s then-14-year-old son, Logan. All the kids were inside the house that night; the two youngest were asleep. For Cheryl, life really hasn’t been the same since then.
David Begnaud | “48 Hours” contributor: What are the things that you miss about her?
Cheryl McGucken: You know, the things I miss about her is her spontaneity. … Tiffiney was an individual that had a huge heart, and she just wanted to engulf everyone around her and help them find joy.
That is why Cheryl says Tiffiney devoted much of her spare time to a support group that she had started on Facebook called “Mothers Helping Mothers.”
TIFFINEY CRAWFORD VIDEO: We’re there to laugh with each other, to love each other, and to just build you up in everyday motherhood.
“She saw a vision that there were … other mothers … that needed somebody to talk to,” Cheryl McGucken said of the “Mothers Helping Mothers” Facebook group. “And that group took off like a wildfire and spread all over the country.” At the time of Tiffiney’s death, the group had about 9,000 members.
Tiffiney Crawford/Facebook
Cheryl McGucken: She saw a vision that there were … other mothers … that needed somebody to talk to … And that group took off like a wildfire and spread all over the country.
Tiffiney and Jason had been married a little more than six years when she died.
David Begnaud: What did you think of Tiffiney when you first met her?
Jason Crawford: I thought she was striking and beautiful. She was outgoing. A lot of things I wasn’t, you know? So, it was more of, like, I guess opposites attract kind of thing.
When they started dating, Jason had been divorced for several years. His first wife, he says, had cheated on him. Tiffiney was in a relationship at the time — married, in fact. It wasn’t exactly a fairytale beginning from the outside looking in, but Jason says, for the two of them, it was.
Jason Crawford: It was like fireworks from — in the beginning.
Tiffiney eventually got divorced, and that is when she and Jason married and started their family. Just what led up to her death on that night in May 2017 would be up to the investigators to find out. Sheriff Gentry remembers a conversation he had on the scene with the coroner.
Sheriff Matt Gentry: He says, it appears to be a suicide. He said the only weird thing is there’s two shots.
David Begnaud: What do you recall about what you thought in that moment?
Sheriff Matt Gentry: Well, that’s weird. It’s strange. … Now, has that happened before? Yes. But it’s not normal.
One of the shots was to her left jaw area, the other was to her left temple.
Sheriff Matt Gentry: I said because of his mother’s connection to our office, for transparency, there has to be an autopsy done.
Sheriff Gentry says his investigators went on to process the scene that night.
Sheriff Matt Gentry: We investigate every suicide like a homicide … So, the van was searched. Evidence that was needed to be was seized.
But the next morning, Sheriff Gentry decided to turn the case over to the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation.
Sheriff Matt Gentry: I could have told our guys to work it. … But because of the potential for conflict … I want full transparency.
Joe Parrish is the state agent who got the case.
David Begnaud: What’s the first thing you do?
Joe Parrish: I went to the District Attorney’s Office … And asked him about the van.
Parrish wanted to get his hands on that van in which Tiffiney was shot so he got a search warrant for it, but there was just one problem: the van had been released to the Crawford family, and by the time Parrish got to it — less than 24 hours after Tiffiney died — it had already been cleaned by Jason’s family members. The sheriff’s office had given them the go ahead.
The first thing SBI investigator Joe Parrish did was obtain a search warrant for Tiffiney’s van. But there was a problem: the sheriff’s office released the van to the Crawford family the night before. By the time Parrish got to it — less than 24 hours after Tiffiney died – it had already been cleaned by Jason’s family members. They had received permission from the sheriff’s office.
Cullman County Court Clerk
Jason Crawford: I didn’t want the kids to see anything. I was worried about them when they woke up in the morning.
David Begnaud: What did you make of that, that the van had been cleaned?
Joe Parrish: It was odd that they would clean it up that quick after something like that.
But Sheriff Gentry defends his decision to release the van.
Sheriff Matt Gentry: There was nothing of evidentiary value to the van. … They processed it, took, uh, pictures. They did everything they normally would do on a crime scene, uh, that night.
David Begnaud: Right. But if you’re treating it like a homicide, I’m not turning the van over to the family.
Sheriff Matt Gentry: Sure. So — so and I — I mean, I completely understand. So, it was treated — we worked it like a homicide, but it was treated like a suicide. … Every bit of evidence that was needed was taken.
But as it turns out, that van would be significant. And so would what Jason and Tiffiney were arguing about right before she died.
THE AFFAIR
Jason Crawford says that in the months leading up to his wife Tiffiney’s death, he noticed a change in her.
Jason Crawford: Yeah— I could tell something was going on because she was getting more distant…
Jason Crawford: She had been drinking a lot … too … two or three bottles a week sometimes.
David Begnaud: So, you had a feeling something was up?
Jason Crawford: Yes.
Tiffiney Crawford had been shot once to the left side of her chin and a second time to her left temple. The gun was found in her left hand, but Tiffiney was right-handed. Two shots to the head are rare in suicide attempts says Joe Parrish, but two shots using a nondominant hand to pull the trigger seemed nearly impossible to the longtime investigator.
Tiffiney Crawford/Facebook
And he says his suspicions were confirmed the night Tiffiney died. Just hours before she got home, Jason found messages on their computer suggesting that she was having an affair.
Jason Crawford: I started calling her, you know, just trying to see if she would tell me anything. And… She’s like … I don’t know what you’re talking about, denying it. And I was like, “OK, well, I think you need to get home.”
Tiffiney’s mom, Cheryl, says she knew about the affair.
Cheryl McGucken: She called to let me know she was on her way home. And that, um, Jason and her were going to have to have a discussion about their problems …
David Begnaud: Did she sound worried?
Cheryl McGucken: She did not sound worried. She sounded kind of hyper and, you know, anxious. … I just said, “Well, I love you. Be careful.”
Tiffiney’s friend, Lyndsy Luke, says she also knew about the affair. Lyndsy says Tiffiney told her she was making plans to leave Jason, and that she got a job at a local grocery store to save up money for a new life on her own.
Lyndsy Luke: She knew what she needed to leave him and how she was so close.
David Begnaud: Was Tiffiney afraid that Jason was going to find out about the affair?
Lyndsy Luke: Yes. And she didn’t want him to because she didn’t want to hurt him.
But that night, when he did find out, Jason says he was hurt and angry. This was the second time a wife had cheated on him. When Tiffiney got home, he says that’s when he confronted her, and refused to let her go inside.
Jason Crawford: I kept telling her she’s not staying the night. … She asked me, “why can’t I stay?” I was like … “you’ve destroyed the sanctity of our marriage.”
David Begnaud: You were really angry.
Jason Crawford: Uh, yeah, I was angry, but I was controlled anger.
Jason claims they argued for more than an hour, and when he remained insistent that Tiffiney was not going inside, he says she asked him to go and get her work clothes.
Jason Crawford: I went in and grabbed some clothes and threw them to her. And then … I told her I’m done talking. Um, so, I went in the house. And as soon as I went in the house … I heard a shot, her scream, and then another shot.
David Begnaud: And then you did what?
Jason Crawford: Went right back outside.
David Begnaud: And what position was the door in — the car door?
Jason Crawford: The car door. It was pulled to or closed.
Jason says that’s when he called 911. But in that call and the police body camera footage from that night, Jason never mentioned an affair.
JASON CRAWFORD (dash cam video): Last thing I remember, she said she loved me …
Lead investigator Joe Parrish says authorities didn’t learn about the affair until the next day. Also, when Parrish listened back to that 911 call, there was more that caught his ear.
Joe Parrish: It was very cold … It didn’t sound like somebody that was worried about his wife.
911 DISPATCHER: I’m gonna need some more information from you …
And there was one question that the 911 dispatcher kept asking Jason that he wouldn’t answer.
911 DISPATCHER: Who shot her in the head?
Joe Parrish: Who shot your wife? … He was avoiding the question.
David Begnaud: I would like to play the 911 call for you.
Jason Crawford: OK.
911 DISPATCHER: 911, EMS and Fire, where is your emergency?
JASON CRAWFORD: Uh, my wife is shot.
David Begnaud: You seem cool as a cucumber.
Jason Crawford: Well, maybe that’s just the way my tone of voice is.
911 DISPATCHER: She’s been shot? Who’s she been shot by?
JASON CRAWFORD: Please send an ambulance now, please.
“Did you kill your wife?” “48 Hours” contributor David Begnaud asked Jason Crawford in his only interview on the case. “No,” Crawford replied.
CBS News
David Begnaud: She asked you who’s she been shot by. And you didn’t respond. Why not?
Jason Crawford: Yeah. I just felt like if I said it into existence, it’d be true.
JASON CRAWFORD: She’s been shot in the head.
911 DISPATCHER: Did she shoot herself in the head?
David Begnaud: This lady gave you an opportunity to say yes.
Jason Crawford: Yeah.
David Begnaud: And you didn’t respond?
Jason Crawford: Well, I don’t know how many more times I can tell you. … I just froze in thought.
David Begnaud: Do you understand how somebody listens to that and says, yeah, ’cause he did it?
Jason Crawford: Yeah. I can understand that.
And that’s exactly what Joe Parrish thought. A week after Tiffiney died, and with her autopsy results still pending, Parrish decided to bring Jason in for questioning.
During that interview, Jason spoke in detail about discovering the affair and the argument that he had with Tiffiney:
JASON CRAWFORD: I said, “You’ve ruined our home.” I was like, “You’re no longer a part of this …”
A week after Tiffiney died, and with her autopsy still pending, Joe Parrish brought Jason Crawford in for questioning. For the first time, Crawford spoke in detail about a discovery he made the night his wife died. He told Parrish that Tiffiney had been having an affair, and that’s what they were arguing about.
Robert Tuten’s Office
And he also answered a question that Parrish believed was key:
AGENT JOE PARRISH: Was she left or right-handed?
JASON CRAWFORD: She’s right-handed.
AGENT JOE PARRISH: Right-handed.
JASON CRAWFORD: Yeah.
Tiffiney was right-handed, but the gun had been found in her left hand.
David Begnaud: How often, in your experience, do suicides happen where the individual uses their non-dominant hand?
Joe Parrish: I’ve never seen it personally.
Jason Crawford: It’s not like I know she’s like so predominantly right-handed that she couldn’t use her left hand.
But why would Tiffiney, a woman who devoted so much time to helping others, suddenly kill herself?
Lyndsy Luke: There was nothing suicidal about her.
Even Jason finds it hard to explain.
David Begnaud: Had she ever spoke about wanting to kill herself?
Jason Crawford: Not that I know. Not to me.
After Parrish interviewed Jason, he was free to go. But about a week later, he was brought back in for questioning —- this time by Parrish’s colleague. Jason agreed to take a polygraph, and investigators told him he failed.
POLYGRAPH EXAMINER: Your reactions were off the chain. OK? … You’re saying that there’s no way that you shot your wife?
JASON CRAWFORD: Correct.
It wasn’t long before things turned contentious.
INVESTIGATOR: I don’t want to hear that — that, “I didn’t shoot my wife …” … Because I know that’s a f****** lie.
JASON CRAWFORD: I can get up and leave because I’m not under arrest, right?
INVESTIGATOR: Huh! You listen to me, huh! … (Jason walks out the door) Walk out that f****** door.
That interview also ended with no arrest. Because of a backlog, it would take nearly a year to get the missing piece of the puzzle: those autopsy results. You see, the manner of death was ruled a homicide, and that is when the decision was made to present the case to a grand jury. Jeff Roberts was the Cullman County Assistant District Attorney at the time.
Jeff Roberts: I have no doubt in my mind he’s guilty at all. … I think the forensics tipped the case.
But would a grand jury indict Jason? Even Tiffiney’s mother had her doubts.
Cheryl McGucken: Even though I didn’t want to believe it was a suicide, naturally, I wouldn’t want to believe my son-in-law killed her either.
TIFFINEY’S DEATH RULED A HOMICIDE
Cheryl McGucken: It’s a sad situation, whether on one side you believe somebody committed suicide or somebody committed murder. … Neither one of those scenarios work in my mind.
When Cheryl McGucken learned about her daughter’s death, she said, “I felt like I was kind of frozen in time.” She said of her daughter, “Tiffiney was an individual that had a huge heart, and she just wanted to engulf everyone around her and help them find joy.”
Cheryl McGucken
In the year following her daughter Tiffiney’s death, Cheryl McGucken says she had a hard time believing that her daughter could have killed herself — but she also couldn’t imagine that her son-in-law, Jason, would’ve pulled the trigger.
David Begnaud: Did you ever call the investigators and say, I want to know every bit of details you have? I want to know all the details.
Cheryl McGucken: No.
David Begnaud: Why not?
Cheryl McGucken: I suppose I didn’t want to, um, let that cloud, my time with my grandkids and my relationship with Jason and his family —
Jason Crawford: My family and friends … they never questioned that I wouldn’t kill my wife.
Jason did have a lot of support, but not from the investigators or then-Cullman County Assistant District Attorney Jeff Roberts and his legal assistant Debra Ball.
Debra Ball: She was too out there to help other people. … She’s not gonna kill herself.
Jeff Roberts: There’s no way that that’s what happened.
Once Roberts had received word that the medical examiner had ruled Tiffiney’s death a homicide, he decided, along with lead investigator Joe Parrish, to seek an indictment against Jason.
Jeff Roberts: I couldn’t figure out who else did it. He’s the only one who had a motive to do it, for one thing.
Agent Joe Parrish: The grand jury came back with an indictment for murder for Jason Crawford.
Cheryl McGucken: Jason called me and told me. … It was very shocking. And very confusing.
On May 21, 2018, just over a year after Tiffiney’s death, Jason Crawford surrendered at the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office. He was only in custody for 30 minutes before he was released on bond.
Cullman County Sheriff’s Office
On May 21, 2018, just over a year after Tiffiney died, Jason surrendered.
Joe Parrish: Walked in, I told him he was under arrest. He didn’t seem to be worried.
David Begnaud: He didn’t seem to be worried?
Joe Parrish: No.
Jason wasn’t in custody for very long. In fact, he was released on bond and Robert Tuten and Nickolas Heatherly became his defense attorneys.
Robert Tuten: We don’t believe Jason is guilty of this at all. … There’s no evidence … They did not see blood or anything on him. They found nothing that would indicate he had, had fired a, a firearm recently.
But the night of the shooting Jason was never tested for gunshot residue, and his house was never searched for bloody clothing. Still, Tuten and Heatherly say they believe Jason, who says he was inside the house when the gunshots rang out.
Robert Tuten: His oldest son … heard his father come back in the house right before the first gunshot.
And about that polygraph test that Jason was said to have failed?
Robert Tuten: Police investigators use those as an investigative tool. If they think somebody is guilty, they tell them that they have failed the polygraph and insist they tell / what really happened.
David Begnaud: They gave you a lie detector test and you failed it.
Jason Crawford: Hmm, yeah. … They can make those read how they want to.
Jason’s defense team also downplayed that 911 call — the one in which Investigator Parrish noticed Jason sounded calm, even evasive.
Robert Tuten: If someone’s never been in a high-pressure situation like that where they’ve just been shocked by what they’re seeing, they probably would not understand how that affects somebody.
Jason Crawford: It just felt like I was outside my body not knowing what was going on.
But the prosecution was confident that Jason was guilty. Dr. Valerie Green was confident, too. She is the medical examiner who conducted Tiffiney’s autopsy.
David Begnaud: Do you remember saying … to yourself … “I got a feeling there’s more to this story”?
Dr. Valerie Green: Oh, yes, definitely. … I think the thing that made me think that there could be something else going on with this case is … that gunshot wound on the left side of Ms. Crawford’s head.
Dr. Green says that based on the absence of gunpowder particles and abrasion around the wound to Tiffiney’s left temple, she concluded that the shot had to have been fired from at least 10 inches away.
Dr. Valerie Green: That’s indicating that, you know, she’s holding her arm outward beyond 10 inches and trying to shoot herself. … not saying … that it’s impossible. But it’s not likely.
It is especially unlikely, says Dr. Green, because Jason reported that he found Tiffiney in thedriver’s seat of her own van with the gun in her left hand and the car door closed.
DEPUTY: Where’s the gun, sir?
JASON CRAWFORD: It’s right here in her hand.
Dr. Valerie Green: That was concerning to me because I mean … For you to be able to hold up a gun and shoot yourself in the head … it would be difficult to do, and that’s such a small space.
That’s not all, says Dr Green. Neither of Tiffiney’s injuries were contact wounds.
David Begnaud: She didn’t have a contact wound here and she didn’t have a contact wound here.
Jason Crawford: Correct.
David Begnaud: Most suicides involve the barrel, or the tip of the gun being placed on the skin.
Jason Crawford: Yeah. And you said most, not all.
But there was something else Dr. Green noticed, specifically about that van.
“I remember looking at pictures of the driver’s side door,” Dr. Green told “48 Hours. “And I didn’t see any blood on that door. I didn’t see any blood on the glass.” This led Dr. Green to believe that the door was not closed when Tiffiney was shot. “And I think that that door is open because he was standing there,” Green said.
Cullman County Court Clerk
Dr. Valerie Green: I remember looking at pictures of the driver’s side door … And I didn’t see any blood on that door. I didn’t see any blood on the glass or the window. I didn’t see anything even low on the door. … That makes me think that the door was not closed. … And I think that that door is open because he was standing there.
Despite the autopsy report, and the fact that a grand jury had indicted Jason, Tiffiney’s mom continued to support him.
Cheryl McGucken: I never changed how I felt towards Jason. I mean, what purpose would that serve? You know, he’s also somebody’s child. And he’s the remaining parent to my grandchildren.
More than four years would pass before the case ever went to trial. During that time, the defense would retain their own medical examiner—the former chief medical examiner for the state of Alabama — and he had a drastically different opinion than Dr. Green.
Dr. James Lauridson: I believe it’s a suicide.
THE TRIAL OF JASON CRAWFORD
In November 2022, more than five years after Tiffiney Crawford died, her husband, Jason Crawford, went on trial for her murder. Prosecutor Jeff Roberts was confident in his case, but he knew there would be challenges.
Jeff Roberts: The fact that … it was considered by the officers on the scene apparently consistent with suicide, I thought this is going to be really tough to overcome.
Jason’s defense attorneys Robert Tuten and Nickolas Heatherly also felt that they had their work cut out for them.
Robert Tuten: Simply because there’s no way to really find a definitive answer for exactly what happened.
“48 Hours” was only allowed to film the trial from outside the courtroom, through a windowed door. Tiffiney’s mother, Cheryl, who said she didn’t want to hear the details surrounding her daughter’s death, chose not to attend the trial.
Cheryl McGucken: I knew that there would be things said on both sides that I … didn’t want to have in my head.
But she did go on day one—solely to testify. She was the prosecutor’s first witness.
Cheryl McGucken: He assumed that I was on their side
Instead, Cheryl says she told the jury how she really felt about Jason.
CHERYL MCGUCKEN: I’ve never had any issues with Jason.
Megan Brock was a juror on the case.
Megan Brock: She was telling everybody, me and Jason have a great relationship. … I was, like, “really?”
David Begnaud: You thought it was weird that his mother-in-law—might still be supporting him—as he’s on trial for murder?
Megan Brock: Mm-hmm. Yup.
Before her death, Tiffiney and Jason had been married for more than six years. But when they first started dating, it wasn’t exactly a fairy-tale beginning. Jason had already been divorced for several years after he says his first wife cheated on him. Tiffiney was married at the time.
Amber N. West
Undeterred, the prosecution moved on with what they felt was evidence of Jason’s alleged motive: anger over his wife’s affair. A friend of Tiffiney’s testified that Jason called her after learning that Tiffiney had been cheating on him, and that he said, “He couldn’t go through this again,” referencing the fact that his first wife had also had an affair. Jason claims he didn’t say that.
David Begnaud: His first wife cheated on him. Tiffiney cheated on him. Isn’t it plausible for somebody on the jury to think, hey, look, the guy snapped … so he killed her.
Robert Tuten: I don’t think that happened at all. He didn’t snap over his first wife. … They remained friends even to this day.
Jason’s 911 call was also played for the jury, and they saw some of that police body camera footage, too.
The prosecution also called DNA analyst Angela Fletcher, who examined swabs taken from Tiffiney’s gun. She testified she couldn’t say for sure whether there was any female DNA on the gun because there was only a trace amount of DNA detected. But she was certain that both the grip and the trigger contained male DNA.
David Begnaud: Is it Jason Crawford?
Angela Fletcher: No. The profile was so limited that I was unable to do any type of comparisons.
Jason Crawford: There are other people that have touched that gun that were males. My dad gave her the gun, so his DNA may be on it. … Her brother also shot it.
With so little DNA detected, the prosecution argued that Jason must have wiped the gun and then planted it in Tiffiney’s hand.
Robert Tuten: There’s no proof. There’s no evidence of it at all, no.
Jeff Roberts: Her DNA would have had to be on that gun if she did it herself.
But perhaps the most damaging testimony against Jason came from Medical Examiner Dr. Valerie Green. She told the jury how she believes the gunshot wound to Tiffiney’s temple was fired from more than 10 inches away.
Dr. Green explained that based on the absence of gunpowder particles and abrasions around the left temple wound, she concluded that the shot was fired from at least 10 inches away. “That’s indicating that … she’s holding her arm outward beyond 10 inches and trying to shoot herself,” Dr. Green said. And she believed that to be unlikely, especially because Jason Crawford reported that he found Tiffiney in the driver’s seat of her own van with the gun in her left hand and the car door closed.
Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences
Jeff Roberts: Which is way more consistent with him standing outside the car, shooting her than … her trying to hold a gun, you know, over 10 inches away.
But the defense showed the jury a pre-recorded deposition with their own medical examiner, Dr. James Lauridson.
DR. JAMES LAURIDSON: I believe that — that Mrs. Crawford shot herself first in the left side of the face and then shot herself in the left side of the head.
The defense showed the jury a pre-recorded deposition with the former chief medical examiner of Alabama, Dr. James Lauridson. “I believe that … Mrs. Crawford shot herself first in the left side of the face and then shot herself in the left side of the head,” Dr. Lauridson said. He also testified that there was no way to tell how far away the gun was when the shot to Tiffiney’s temple was fired because her hair was in the way.
Robert Tuten’s Office
Dr. Lauridson also testified there is no way to tell how far away the gun was when that shot to Tiffiney’s temple was fired — because her hair was in the way.
Dr. Valerie Green: I do realize that scalp hair can filter out gunpowder particles … but that was taken into consideration. … I would expect more abrasions to have been able to filter though her hair.
The defense also argued that Tiffiney had been struggling emotionally. She had started seeing a counselor just one day before she died. And friends of Tiffiney testified that she had been drinking excessively, and that she was upset because the man with whom she was having an affair had recently broken up with her.
Robert Tuten: He told her he didn’t want to have anything else to do with her.
Robert Tuten: Basically, her whole life is falling apart, and I think she just gave up.
Tiffiney’s journal was also entered into evidence and portions of it were read out loud to the jury. In an entry dated on May 2, 2017 – the day she died – she wrote, “I’m struggling with figuring out what to do with myself.”
Cullman County Court Clerk
Tiffiney’s journal was also entered into evidence. And in an entry dated the day she died, she wrote that she was “…struggling with figuring out what to do with herself” and that she was “… trying to avoid breaking down.”
David Begnaud: Isn’t it possible that she was having thoughts of suicide?
Jeff Roberts: I would say no. … She had started seeing a counselor. That’s somebody who was looking forward in life.
Jason’s son, Logan, also took the stand for the defense. He testified that he heard his father inside the house when the gunshots went off that night. But the prosecution questions his memory.
Jeff Roberts: When he keeps hearing the same story, his stories will start matching up somewhat like all 14-year-olds would.
Nickolas Heatherly: His story never changed. He was interviewed by law enforcement, and it stayed consistent.
On the last day of the trial, Jason Crawford took the stand. He told the jury that he loved Tiffiney and denied killing her.
CBS News
As the trial was drawing to a close, the defense made a bold decision. They called Jason to the stand. He testified that he loved Tiffiney and denied killing her, but both the prosecution and the defense acknowledge there was a point where he lost his cool.
Robert Tuten: He argued a little bit with the prosecutor.
Jeff Roberts: The person on the stand was the person that you could easily see doing this.
Jason also testified that he called Tiffiney a degrading name that night she died.
David Begnaud: You said to the jury, I was trying as best I could to make her hurt inside as much as I was hurting.
Jason Crawford: Mm-hmm. Yeah. … I was just basically talking down to her … like she was not human. … I feel sorry … because I feel like maybe that contributed to what pushed her to — over the edge to do that.
Even though Jason’s testimony likely did him no favors, there was still no direct physical evidence pointing towards his guilt.
Robert Tuten: There’s no evidence that Jason fired the gun.
And after four days of testimony, the case went to the jury.
Megan Brock: I said, “Oh, God, here we go. … I don’t know if this man did it or not.”
HOW THE JURY REACHED A VERDICT
It was Nov. 18, 2022, and Jason Crawford’s fate was now in the hands of a jury. Behind closed doors, Megan Brock says she and several fellow jurors were on the fence about his guilt.
Megan Brock: And I was, like, “So, we’re gonna sit here for the next, however long it takes?”
Cheryl McGucken: My stomach was in knots.
Cheryl McGucken admits she was nervous for Jason and his family.
Cheryl McGucken: You know, this is my son-in-law.
After several hours deliberating, the jury requested access to that body camera footage. Then they asked for the 911 recording.
JASON CRAWFORD (to 911): …My wife is shot. I need someone out here, please.
About 30 minutes later, they announced they had reached a decision. Cheryl was in the courtroom, only for the second time.
David Begnaud: And who were you with for the verdict?
Cheryl McGucken: I was sitting with my husband right behind Jason’s parents and the rest of his family.
As for the verdict, this is how Megan says the jury came to their decision.
Megan Brock: When we listened to that 911 call again, that was it.
David Begnaud: So, the 911 call sealed the deal?
Megan Brock: That was it.
David Begnaud: Really.
Megan Brock: The … operator, she keeps asking him, you know, “who shot her?” Finally, she was, like, OK, well, where is the gun at? And he said, laying beside her. … And we were like, like, wait what?
911 DISPATCHER: Where is the gun at?
JASON CRAWFORD: It’s laying beside her.
Megan Brock: He clearly said “the gun is laying beside her” … When in fact, the body cam footages showed her holding the gun, barely, but holding the gun.
David Begnaud: The gun wasn’t laying beside her.
Jason Crawford: It was beside her because it’s on her side, in her hand.
David Begnaud: They found the gun in her hand?
Jason Crawford: Yes.
David Begnaud: You understand the difference between in her hand and laying beside her?
Jason Crawford: To some people, yes. Like, beside her, it’s beside. Like laying on her — it’s beside her. … I just chose the wrong words to say.
But the jury did not see it that way.
Megan Brock: I said, “Oh f***. He’s guilty.” Everybody said the same thing. They were like, “he’s guilty.”
Thirty minutes after the jury listened to Jason Crawford’s 911 call, they went back into the courtroom and delivered a guilty verdict.
CBS News
David Begnaud: The verdict was guilty.
Jason Crawford: Yes. … It just felt like it shouldn’t be happening … it was unbelievable. So, I was just stunned.
Cheryl McGucken: You know, I had a friend that said … “hallelujah.” And that really bothered me. Because that wasn’t anything to cheer about. … There’s no justice here. Everybody loses.
David Begnaud: You are a grandmother.
Cheryl McGucken: Mm-Hmm.
David Begnaud: And there are two kids left behind who had nothing to do with this.
Cheryl McGucken: Right. Exactly.
David Begnaud: But at the end of the day, this man was put on trial.
Cheryl McGucken: Mm-hmm.
David Begnaud: The evidence was heard.
Cheryl McGucken: Mm-hmm.
David Begnaud: He was convicted.
Cheryl McGucken: Mm-hmm.
David Begnaud: So, he is a killer in the eyes of the law.
Cheryl McGucken: You know, they’re going to do an appeal. I don’t want to misspeak on this at all.
David Begnaud: But when you say they’re doing the appeal, what do you mean? Are you protecting him?
Cheryl McGucken: I — I don’t have any reason to protect him, um, but I’m going to let things play out as they will.
Following this interview, Begnaud asked Cheryl if she had any interest in seeing the evidence.
David Begnaud: You said you did. You asked if we could show it to you. We provided you with what was in the public record.
Cheryl McGucken: Yeah.
David Begnaud: What do you now believe?
Cheryl McGucken: Well, I now believe that he did kill her.
Cheryl McGucken: Reading the evidence, going through what was said during the trial. It — it — it made it painfully obvious.
On March 10, 2023, Cheryl McGucken took the stand again at Jason’s sentencing hearing. But this time, she spoke for her daughter.
CHERYL MCGUCKEN (reading): I couldn’t understand how my son-in-law, Jason, could look me in the eye for five-and-a-half years, if he had murdered my daughter.
“Jason, if not you, who?” Cheryl McGucken asked her son-in-law at his sentencing hearing.
CBS News
“48 Hours”‘ cameras were again outside the courtroom looking in, so Cheryl shared with us, what she said directly to Jason.
CHERYL MCGUCKEN (reading): Jason, if not you, who? You were there. You know the truth. … I pray you will someday find wisdom and strength to speak the truth.
She said that in front of her grandchildren, too — they were sitting in the very front row. Cheryl didn’t know that Jason’s parents were going to bring them.
As the judge prepared to sentence Jason Crawford, his lawyers were still pleading his innocence, just as Jason did when Begnaud first spoke with him.
David Begnaud: If I could interview Tiffiney today, what do you think she’d tell me?
Jason Crawford: Probably that she’s sorry. She’s — didn’t realize that it would affect so many people like — like it did.
David Begnaud: She wouldn’t tell me that you’re a liar and a killer?
Jason Crawford: No. I don’t think so.
Jason was sentenced to 99 years in prison. But under Alabama law, he will be eligible for parole in 15 years.
David Begnaud: What do you think Tiffiney would say now, having seen you on the stand?
Cheryl McGucken: I can hear her saying, “I’m proud of you, Mama.”
“She was my first born. My only daughter,” Cheryl McGucken said. “She was very involved with her children. … She used to dance and sing with them all the time.”
Now, Cheryl just wants to make sure that her grandchildren are proud of their mother, and never forget who Tiffiney was and what she stood for.
Cheryl McGucken: She was just an angel that came down from heaven for a short time to teach all of us … how to love and be kind and be giving.
Tiffiney’s children currently live with Jason’s parents.
Produced by Stephanie Slifer and Judy Rybak. Gabriella Demirdjian is the field producer. Ryan Smith is the development producer. Liz Caholo is the associate producer. Jud Johnston, Wini Dini and George Baluzyare the editors. Peter Schweitzer is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.
For the first time ever in NCAA men’s basketball tournament history, all four No. 1 seeds have failed to reach the Elite Eight after the top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide and Houston Cougars were eliminated in the Sweet 16 on Friday.
Top overall seed Alabama was stunned by No. 5 seed San Diego State, 71-64, at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Crimson Tide led by nine points with over 12 minutes left in the game, but the Aztecs went on a 12-0 run to take a 51-48 lead and they never trailed again.
San Diego State guard Darrion Trammell led the way with 21 points and five rebounds, as the Aztecs advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in men’s program history. San Diego State is also the first Mountain West team to ever advance to the Elite Eight.
“It’s just who we are, we feel like we can beat any team in the country, ” Trammell said on the TBS broadcast after the game. “We work hard, and we feel like we have the DNA of a winning team that goes far in March. We have experience, we have grit, and we feel like this is what we’re supposed to do.”
Crimson Tide forward Brandon Miller was held in check on offense most of the night, scoring just nine points on 3-of-19 shooting. He also had six turnovers.
Miller’s and Alabama’s season comes to an end after a tumultuous regular season campaign marred by an off-court issue surrounding the shooting death of a woman on campus.
San Diego State will play against either No. 6 Creighton or No. 15 Princeton on Sunday.
Friday’s action in Kansas City, Missouri, saw No. 5 seed Miami defeat Houston 89-75.
The game was close for most of the first half, before Miami took an 11-point lead early in the second half. Houston cut the deficit to 51-49 with under 15 minutes left in the game but Miami answered with a 16-2 run to put the game away.
Miami guard Nijel Pack scored at will in the victory, dropping 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 7-of-10 from the three-point line to lead the Hurricanes to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season.
“It just shows that we’re one of the best teams in the country now we’re moving to the Elite Eight,” Pack said on the CBS broadcast after the game. “It’s the top eight schools in the country right now, we still have a lot of work to do but it feels great right now.”
Miami will next play No. 2 seed Texas or No. 3 seed Xavier, which face off later Friday.
A young mother found dead in her car. Could she have shot herself twice? “48 Hours” contributor David Begnaud reports Saturday, March 25 at 10/9c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
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NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington, who died Sunday, made it big when rock ‘n’ roll was still a defining cultural force on par with today’s TikTok trends and superhero movies.
The iconic band’s last surviving co-founder was also perhaps the last flagpole in a once-powerful part of American music: Southern rock. Or at least a rebellious version of it that later became loosely tied to conservative politics and didn’t shy away from some of the problematic symbols of the South.
“They’re the band that sort of codified a lot of what we think of as Southern rock,” said Stephen Thomas Erlewine, a music critic who writes for AllMusic, Pitchfork and Rolling Stone.
Lynyrd Skynyrd sang about Southern life while playing a form of muscular and gritty blues rock. The music could be raw or bloom into an extended guitar solo, like on their anthem “Free Bird.”
But the Lynyrd Skynyrd of 2023 bears little resemblance to the one of nearly 50 years prior, when the original incarnation featured a group of long-haired musicians who fit into the American counterculture and were certainly not embraced by Nixon-era Republicans, Erlewine said.
The band’s use of the Confederate flag back then was seen as “part of their rebellious streak,” Erlewine said. They didn’t really view the battle flag “as insurrectionist or pro-slavery, but more as garden variety rebellion,” he said.
In more recent decades, though, the band came to represent a more specific brand of politics, especially after the distinctions between Southern rock and country blurred and their audiences mixed.
Some of the band’s current members have been openly political. Last year, current lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant penned a song with his brother Donnie — apart from the band — that praised Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2024. Erlewine said the band’s sound — and that of Southern rock in general — eventually became “a sort of Red State, old-fashioned rock.”
The original members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, which released its first album in 1973, had an intense musical chemistry and were harder and grittier than other groups lumped under the Southern rock banner, such as The Allman Brothers Band and The Marshall Tucker Band.
They came to have three guitarists, whose layers produced a thick, brawny sound that could become “a locomotive for solos,” Erlewine said.
But the label “Southern rock” was nebulous at best, said Alan Paul, a music journalist who interviewed Rossington several times for Guitar World and for his upcoming book, “Brothers and Sisters: The Allman Brothers Band and the Inside Story of the Album That Defined the ’70s.”
The most accurate way to describe the genre shaped by wide-ranging influences “would be rock bands who sounded distinctly Southern — they didn’t hide anything about their Southernness,” Paul said.
The Georgia-based Allman Brothers Band hated the term, Paul said, because it was too reductive. But Lynyrd Skynyrd embraced the Southern rock label “to the point of making people uncomfortable,” Paul said.
The Florida band’s pervasive “Sweet Home Alabama” was a response to Neil Young’s “Alabama” and “Southern Man,” which rebuked slavery in the South. The song name-checks Young and obliquely references Alabama Gov. George Wallace, a staunch segregationist who later softened his views.
The band’s original lead singer and songwriter, Ronnie Van Zant, claimed the reference wasn’t supporting Wallace.
“A lot of people believed in segregation and all that. We didn’t. We put the ‘boo, boo, boo’ there saying, ‘We don’t like Wallace,’” Rossington concurred, in a documentary interview.
But Paul said he doesn’t really believe that — “I don’t think most people do.” Paul cites a memoir written by the band’s original manager, Alan Walden, who said Ronnie Van Zant was “a Wallace man all the way.”
And yet Erlewine also points out that Van Zant wrote a 1975 song, “Saturday Night Special,” that subtly questioned the uses of handguns.
“There was definitely a reactionary conservatism in parts of Skynyrd, but they could not be seen strictly in terms of what you would think of as conservative politics,” Erlewine said of their first incarnation.
A 1977 plane crash killed Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backing vocalist Cassie Gaines and injured Rossington. The band reformed a decade later with Johnny Van Zant taking his older brother’s role. Rossington was among the returning members and, as the lineup continued to change, would remain.
It was this reconstituted version of Lynyrd Skynyrd that seemed to really embrace a more conservative image, Erlewine and Paul each said.
In the 1990s, the group’s audiences began to overlap with those of Hank Williams Jr. and Charlie Daniels, a Southern rock pioneer whose sound became more country.
“A lot of the sounds that were progressive in the ’70s and rock-based became incorporated into country music, and became the sound of country music,” Erlewine said. “Lynyrd Skynyrd doesn’t really play country music but there’s an overlap between the audiences … it all becomes sort of like a certain kind of Southern music.”
He added: “Certain images, certain sounds, certain ideas were set in place. And it’s easier to keep playing to that stuff, because that’s where the audience is.”
The still touring Lynyrd Skynyrd regularly used the Confederate battle flag in their live shows for decades. Rossington told CNN in 2012 that the band would stop using the flag because of its association with hate groups, but then walked back the comment to say they would continue to use it, alongside the state flag of Alabama and the American flag.
These days, musicians who could be seen as honoring the cultural and musical ideas of 1970s Southern rock — and building upon them — tend to be more progressive politically, Erlewine said. They include Jason Isbell and groups such as the Tedeschi Trucks Band and the Drive-By Truckers who’ve also sung about life in the South.
The Truckers’ 2001 album “Southern Rock Opera” examined misconceptions about the South, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s legend and Wallace’s legacy, among other things.
“I was a (Skynyrd) fan in elementary school, which is when they were actually making records,” the band’s Patterson Hood told The Associated Press in 2002, saying he rediscovered a love for their music after buying a vinyl copy of the pre-crash double live set “One More for the Road” years later.
“After the crash, I didn’t really care for the other Southern rock being made at that time,” Hood said. “A lot of Southern rock took a right-wing direction after the plane crash.”
In the span of half a century, Lynyrd Skynyrd morphed from playing pivotal rock ‘n’ roll into a near tribute band to itself. They were rebellious longhairs who became entrenched in a culture aligned with the conservative establishment. And Rossington was there for all of it, with his rhythmic and crunchy guitar keeping the band rooted.
“This kind of rocker is gone now,” Erlewine said of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s last surviving original member.
Added Paul: “Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of the biggest bands of the mid to late ’70s. When rock and roll was really at the center of the cultural conversation — in a way that arguably hasn’t been since and certainly isn’t now.”
