The accuser in the infamous Duke Lacrosse rape trial was found guilty Friday of stabbing and murdering her boyfriend, ESPN reported. Her accusations against Duke lacross players were dismissed in 2006.
Crystal Mangum, 34, claimed Reginald Daye, 46, dragged her by her hair from the bathroom when she used a knife, "poked him in the side," and killed him in April of 2011, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Assistant District Attorney Charlene Franks poked holes in Mangum's self-defense story and re-emphasized the lack of supporting evidence during her closing arguments.
"It did not happen the way the defendant said it happened. No, not at all," Franks told the Charlotte Observer.
Mangum's defense didn't hold, but it could have been worse, according to her attorney Daniel Meier. After two days, the jury convicted her of second degree murder and 14 to 18 years in prison, ESPN reported.
"We are thankful that it did not go with first-degree murder," Meier said.
In 2006, Mangum claimed members of the Duke lacrosse team hired her as a stripper and later raped her. Again, evidence didn't support her story and the defendants were cleared of all charges - though not before the team was forced to cancel their season, the accused players were arrested, and the coach was fired. The story attracted mass media attention. The prosecutor in charge of the case was disbarred, according to ESPN.
This case wasn't about 2006, according to Franks. "It was about Reggie Daye and what happened in April 2011," she told the News Observer.
Mangum wrote a book about her experience in 2008 called "The Last Dance For Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story," which questioned the unequal legal representation during the case, among other things.
