Duke LaCrosse Accuser Found Guilty Of Murder In Own Trial

Crystal Magnum has been found guilty of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of her then-boyfriend Reginald Daye in 2011. The 12-person jury took two days to come to the guilty verdict in a case that pitted the prosecution’s version of murder against the defense team’s version of self-defense.

Taking the stand in her own defense, Magnum referred to the fatal stabbing as a “poke” in Daye’s side. He died 10 days after the altercation.

Magnum asserted that she had been abused by Daye and that she feared for her life at the time of the incident. “I was just trying to survive,” Magnum stated. Before his death, Daye admitted to dragging Magnum out of their shared bathroom by her hair on the night of the stabbing as well as kicking her out of their shared apartment. He asserted however that he was the victim and was trying to get away from Magnum when she stabbed him with a knife.

Daye’s family has asked the judge to be tough on Magnum and sentence her to the full extent allowed under the law. Second-degree murder in North Carolina is a class B felony. It is punishable by up to life in prison without parole.

In finding Magnum guilty of second-degree murder, the jury must have found that she intentionally caused his death. The act was not premeditated, willful, or committed during another felony; that would be considered first-degree murder.

Magnum is more widely known as the accuser in a sexual assault scandal that involved the men’s LaCrosse team at Duke University. The Attorney General eventually stepped in in that case, proclaiming the innocence of the accused based on the lack of credibility of the evidence against the men involved.

Source: WRAL, “Mangum found guilty in boyfriend’s stabbing death,” November 22, 2013