Duke Lacrosse Accuser Crystal Mangum Convicted Of Murder

Crystal Mangum, the woman who falsely accused three Duke University lacrosse players of rape in 2006, was convicted of second degree murder today by a Durham, North Carolina, jury

In April 2011, Mangum, 35, stabbed her boyfriend Reginald Daye, 46, in the chest with a kitchen knife, and he died in Duke Hospital 10 days later from complications related to the attack.

Upon her conviction, Judge Paul Ridgeway sentenced Mangum to a minimum of 14 years behind bars. Mangum’s attorneys insisted that that she had acted in self defense during the couple’s violent argument. The prosecutors claimed that “Mangum deliberately attacked Daye and characterized her as a serial abuser with a history of physical violence towards boyfriends — including a domestic violence arrest involving another man in 2010.”

The jury found her not guilty of two counts of larceny in connection with the alleged theft of certain checks.

Daye’s sister told local media that “We’re just grateful that justice was served for Reggie today, for his family and his friends. We just thank everybody that played a part and thank God. We’re just happy.”

According to the Charlotte Observer, “Daye told investigators that Mangum stabbed him during the argument after she ‘disrespected’ him by bringing other men to his house.”

The Duke lacrosse case made national headlines at the time. ESPN summarized what happened in the high-profile case: “In 2006, Mangum falsely claimed Duke lacrosse players gang-raped her at a team party where she was hired as a stripper. The case caught the nation’s attention, as the coach was forced to resign and the university canceled the remainder of the team’s season. The three players arrested were eventually declared innocent by North Carolina’s attorney general after Mangum’s story crumbled and her mental stability was questioned. The Durham prosecutor, Mike Nifong, who championed Mangum’s case, was later disbarred.”

The Inquisitr previously reported that Mangum was arrested following a 2010 incident in which she allegedly scratched, punched, and threatened to stab another man before setting some of his belongings on fire in a bathtub.