Crystal Theobald was an American woman who was killed in gang violence in February 2006. Her murder became widely known after her mother used social media networks to track down her killer.
Wiki/Biography
Crystal Theobald was born in California in 1982 (she died at the age of 24).
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 2″
Eye Color: Brown
Hair color: Brown
Family and Race
Parents and siblings
Her mother’s name is Belinda Lane.
Crystal Theobald and her mother
She has a brother named Justin.
Relationships and Children
She had a boyfriend at the time of her death named Juan Patran, and was the mother of two daughters.
Crystal Theobald and her boyfriend
Murder and Investigation
On February 24, 2006, Crystal Theobald was driving through Riverside, California, in her boyfriend’s car. Her car passed a group of assailants in two SUVs who began shooting at her car in retaliation for a previous attack; her brother and boyfriend were also in the car. Crystal was shot in the head at close range, and her boyfriend was shot in the abdomen. Crystal died two days later at Riverside Community Hospital. Her boyfriend underwent surgery and survived, and her brother was not shot. It was later discovered that none of the people in Crystal’s car were related to the assailants. It is unclear whether her killing was manslaughter. Her mother, Belinda Lane, was driving behind Crystal’s car and witnessed the incident. Belinda Lane began tracking down her daughter’s killer through the now-defunct social networking site MySpace. Belinda used two fake accounts on MySpace, and Jamie (Crystal’s cousin) pretended to be Crystal and contacted potential suspects so that she could help the police find their location. In a documentary, Jamie talked about this and said,
Pretending to be her, I think that’s what made it difficult in the end. It’s not a good feeling inside for someone to fall in love with a dead person.”
Crystal Theobald’s cousin Jamie
In 2016, Belinda’s efforts helped police arrest the suspect.
Facts/Trivia
- Cristo’s killers were either arrested or turned themselves in. In 2011, the shooter, Julio Heredia, was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Ten other convicts pleaded guilty to a range of charges.
- The final criminal was William Sotelo, the driver of the suspect SUV, who fled to Central Mexico after the murder, where he was arrested. Sotelo was charged with voluntary manslaughter as well as gang and gun charges; he pleaded guilty to all charges as part of a deal with prosecutors. On January 23, 2020, William Sotelo was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the killing of Krystal.
William Sotelo
- In April 2021, a documentary titled Why Did You Kill Me? was released on Netflix. The documentary tells the story of Crystal’s murder and how her family used social media networks to track down her daughter’s killer.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education