Remember the woman who falsely accused three members of the Duke lacrosse team of raping her back in 2006? She now faces at least 14 years in prison for second-degree murder. Crystal Mangum, who is still known as the “Duke lacrosse accuser,” was found guilty of killing her boyfriend.
Mangum, who is no stranger to crime, was accused of killing boyfriend Reginald Daye in 2011. At the time, Mangum claimed the stabbing was in self-defense because Daye was attacking her.
“He straddled me, hit me, and then he started choking me,” Mangum said during her testimony. “I couldn’t breathe. My head hurt real bad. I was just trying to survive and I felt like Reginald was trying to kill me.” Mangum said she then grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Daye once in the side.
It’s possible that Mangum could have gotten away with her crime, except for the fact that Daye didn’t immediately die. He spent 10 days in the hospital before dying because of complications relating to the stab wound, and before he died, he gave a statement to the police. He said they did fight, but that Mangum tried to stab him several times before stabbing him in the side.
Even though Mangum played the victim card again, there were too many holes in Mangum’s story and she was eventually charged with first-degree murder. The scene of the crime was reportedly consistent with Daye’s story, but not with the chain of events Mangum provided. Even though the jury only found Mangum guilty of second-degree murder, she still faces a hefty prison sentence–Judge Paul Ridgeway ordered Mangum to serve a sentence of no less than 14 years in prison.
Mangum’s history is spotted with run-ins with the law. Aside from the false rape allegations, she has also been accused of attempted murder, child abuse, arson and trying to run over a police officer in the past, but she has never spent any significant time behind bars until now.
Some people believe that Mangum was only found guilty as punishment for accusing members of the Duke lacrosse team of rape, but Assistant District Attorney/prosecutor Charlene Franks said the Duke lacrosse case had nothing to do with it. “It was about Reggie Daye and what happened in April 2011,” Franks said.
As you can see from the tweets below, some people are chalking up the Duke lacrosse accuser’s prison sentence to karma:
The Duke Lacrosse accuser "liar" just sentenced to 14 hrs for murdering ex boyfriend. Karma biotch!
— Old Tom (@oldtomsvoice) November 22, 2013
Woman who accused Duke Lacrosse players of rape convicted if murder today, I wonder how many media outlets will cover that? #karma
— Brett Dillon (@Brett__Dillon) November 22, 2013
[Image via YouTube]