The son of slain Bell Gardens Mayor Daniel Crespo told a police officer that his mother shot his father three times in the side last fall during an argument that he tried to break up but couldn't after his father punched him in the eye.
Daniel Crespo Jr. had come home from school early Sept. 30 after getting a text message from his mother saying, "Come home, it's your father," according to Bell Gardens Police Officer Victor Ruiz in grand jury testimony released Monday.
When Daniel Jr. arrived home he told his mother to defend herself and later heard his parents arguing in a closed office in the home, the officer said.
Daniel Jr. said that he heard his mother scream and then numerous thuds before he knocked on the office door, the officer testified.
At that point, the son said his father answered the door and said, "Don't f--- with me," and punched him in the eye.
The impact left a cut on the boy and caused him to fall backward down the flight of stairs.
The son told the officer he coaxed his father down the stairs to protect his mother. At that point, according to the officer, Daniel, Jr. saw his mother appear at the top of the stairs and shoot his father three times in the side.
The son said his mother had been beaten numerous times by his father over the previous 15 years.
The 1,500-page transcript details the questions and answers from April hearings that lead to a criminal indictment against Crespo Sr.'s wife Lyvette, whose attorney claim was a battered spouse.
Testimony comes from witnesses to the shooting as well as police officers who arrived on the scene that afternoon.
Crystal Crespo, the couple's daughter also testified about prior physical abuse in the home. She claimed her dad choked her once after she got into trouble at school when she was 15, claiming he would always make it up to her by taking her to Disneyland.
Crystal Crespo denied she embellished any testimony to help her mother avoid prosecution.
Lyvette Crespo, 43, has pleaded not guilty to voluntary manslaughter charges.
The former mayor's brother denied the abuse claims and has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit. The lawsuit seeking punitive damages portrayed Lyvette Crespo as a "coldblooded killer" who threatened many times to kill her husband.
