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Narrator/Host
This episode contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.
Joanna
I met Juan back in second grade. Basically he didn't. He wasn't only my boyfriend, he was also my best friend.
Crystal
Real people in the beginning. We had a wonderful marriage. We had a wonderful life. I loved him who faced death.
Joanna
He pulled out a shotgun and he pointed it at me. At that moment my body just froze.
Narrator/Host
And lived to tell how.
Crystal (continued/emotional parts)
So I kept begging him to stop. I said no.
Crystal
My life was being shattered at that.
Crystal (continued/emotional parts)
Moment and it was my own husband that was doing like the worst possible thing to me that could ever be done.
Narrator/Host
This is I survived. It's March 2008 in Carlsbad, California. Crystal and her husband Shawn live in an exclusive gated community.
Crystal
I met Sean when I was 20 years old and he was 21 and we were both just in our last year of college and just fell in love head over heels almost immediately. He was really good looking, he was very smart, really funny. And we got married when I was 23 after I graduated from college and we had a really, really happy life in those early days.
Narrator/Host
For two years, Crystal and Shawn looked like the perfect couple.
Crystal
I had to drive him to work one day and while I was doing that, we were in a fight that morning and he reached over and he just, he backhanded me, you know, as sort of an open punch kind of. I was shocked and sad, you know, really sad because I was always the type of woman who always told myself that if any man ever hits me, I'm not going to stand for that and I'm out of there. And that's what I did. I ended up talking to an attorney and filing for divorce and everything. We did end up pressing charges what happened in the court was he was sentenced to anger management and a 52 week anger management course. I thought, well, this is a chance for us to keep our marriage. And so I very slowly reconciled with Shawn based on that. I felt like he had changed. He definitely seemed committed to the marriage and to acting correctly and doing the right thing and did not want to lose me. And we had some happy years after that.
Narrator/Host
Crystal's career as a stockbroker gave the couple a six figure income. When their first child was born, Shawn became a stay at home dad.
Crystal
He kind of knew that I had a philosophy which was, you know, before you have kids, you know, if the marriage breaks up, it breaks up, you know, but in my mind, when once kids are brought into the equation, you have to stick it out. Once our first son was born, he was sort of like, well, now I can kind of do whatever I want. I don't know, because it was such a change in his behavior. That's all I can think of to explain why he didn't try as hard anymore.
Narrator/Host
In 2005, Crystal and Shawn had a second baby.
Crystal
That exact same month that our second child was born, Shawn's father passed away. And Shawn's dad was the most important person in the world to him. Shawn completely detached from the family. He would delve deeper and deeper into this depression. He would sleep all the time. He played video games all night long, and then the sleeping all day long. I didn't want to put my infant in daycare. That was the whole point of Shawn staying home. But I would rather have him in daycare than have him being taken care of by somebody who's not looking after him. I said, fine, whether you get a job or not, you can stay home. Please let me just put him in daycare. And he refused. He would not allow it. In the beginning, you know, we had a wonderful marriage, we had a wonderful life. I loved him, but for the most part, I rarely, rarely saw him anymore in that light that I, that I loved. He was gone. He was gone.
Narrator/Host
Sean's controlling behavior became more aggressive.
Crystal
We had gotten in a big fight and I called the police and he took off before they even got there. And he didn't come back for a couple of days. And when he did come back, he told me, I'm sick of you telling me you're gonna, you know, leave me. And I'm sick of you calling the police. And it all ends today. And if you ever do that again, I'm gonna kill you. I'm living under the threat of death. And one time when I was at church, they had us do an exercise which was putting all your worries, you know, like, in God's hands. And they had us, like, write it down. I wrote, I'm afraid that my husband's gonna kill me and my kids will have no mother. And it just crystallized it for me, like, what I was dealing with. And so anyways, that's what I was living. That's what my life was.
Narrator/Host
Too afraid to tell anyone. Crystal tried to carry on as normal. She took Shawn and her sons to an Easter event at her church.
Crystal
It didn't go well. Shawn was a jerk all day. And when we finally left, another car was coming straight at us in this makeshift gravel parking lot. And Sean did some gesture to this other driver. And I said, sean, can you please not do that to these people? These people I go to church with. And after I said that, I had sort of thought it was over. And I'm looking out the window, and he puts his finger into my windpipe, like, really hard. And, I mean, just totally cuts off my air. And I can't breathe. And I'm starting to just burst out tears because it's painful. And he says something like, well, you've been pushing my buttons all day, and now I'm going to push yours. Right at that moment, I just realized that he just hurt me in front of my kids. They just saw this. And, you know, both of the kids are, like, totally freaking out, crying. I just was in a box. I didn't know what to do. And I believed him. Like, he was very serious. And he meant every word he said. What can I do? Because if I do leave, I really do think that he's gonna make good on this.
Joanna
So.
Crystal
I felt trapped. He taunted me about calling the police. He's like, oh, you wanna call the police? Ha, ha. Call the police. I'd love if you call the police, you know? And it was humiliating. So I start thinking about how I can document what's happening to me. You know, how am I gonna prove that this crime is happening? I'm gonna see if I'm ever able to get these death threats on tape. I put my tape recorder in my drawer and I also made sort of a mental note of where the record button was so I could just hit it without even looking at it.
Narrator/Host
A few days later, Crystal was alone in the bedroom.
Crystal
Sean came into the room, and he immediately asked if he could have. If we could have sex. He started talking about how this was not up for negotiation. All of A sudden, I remembered I have that tape recorder in the drawer not far from where we were. I took out a pair of underwear, acting like I had a reason to open the drawer, and hit the record button as I did it on the tape recorder that was in there. I said, I do not want to do this. And that just sent him into a fury. He just flew off the bed, came straight over to me, grabbed me, and he's physically pushing my head onto him, literally making me gag on him. I'm gagging. I cannot breathe. I'm literally choking on. On him as well. My life was being shattered at that.
Crystal (continued/emotional parts)
Moment, and it was my own husband that was doing, like, the worst possible thing to me that could ever be done. And it's not just sex. You know, this is worse. It's like a betrayal of the highest sort. And so. So I kept begging him to stop. I said no. I said no more than 50 times, I said no. And he didn't care. In fact, I know he. I know he was enjoying that. And so I. I was trying to just get this over with. And so at some point, when he.
Crystal
Wasn'T happy with whatever I was doing.
Crystal (continued/emotional parts)
Whatever he was wanting me to do, he decided he was gonna rape me.
Crystal
And.
Crystal (continued/emotional parts)
And even then, I just cried the whole time. I couldn't fight anymore, though. When he finally finished, I just went. I got up and I went into the bathroom, and I just said, I cannot believe you just raped your own wife. And he came into the bathroom after.
Crystal
That, and he hit me again.
Crystal (continued/emotional parts)
And he. And he pushed me up against the shower, and he started choking me again. And he said, I don't want to be lied to.
Crystal
And I said, I haven't been lying to you. I said, I was confused by your question. And he said, you know, when I dump your body, when I kill you and I dump your body, I'll make sure to carve that on your forehead. I'm confused.
Narrator/Host
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Crystal
Guess I got myself cleaned up. And he went away long enough to where I could turn off the tape recorder. I was too afraid to call the police. I believe that if the police did arrest him, that he would be out the very next day and be even more angry and take his revenge on me. I did not trust the police or the justice system at all.
Narrator/Host
Four days later, Crystal arrived home from work to an enraged Shawn.
Crystal
And he says, where have you been all day? I said, I was at work. And he says, are you sure? You sure you're not lying again? And I realize immediately, like, I walked into the house of horror again, you know? And he says that he had been tracking me that day on my cell phone. And he said, go downstairs to the computer and you can check the tracker and see what a liar you are. And so he forces me. He tells me to go downstairs and look at it on the computer. On the computer. So I do. He comes up to me, and he puts his hands on my neck, and he starts choking me. And he starts choking me so hard and so long that I realize that this is. He's gone up a notch again. I thought I was gonna die. I mean, I thought, any second I'm going to black out, and I'm never going to wake up again. And he said, you. You lied to me again, and you have to be punished. So all I could think about at that moment was my boys, because my.
Crystal (continued/emotional parts)
Boys were upstairs, and I was worried about them.
Crystal
Sean. I said, you did.
Crystal (continued/emotional parts)
You just punished me right now. I said, you almost just killed me. Please, please do not do this.
Crystal
And he said, you're going to be punished.
Crystal (continued/emotional parts)
My heart just dropped, and I just begged him. But I looked in his eyes, and it was not my husband. Even there. He was not even there.
Crystal
He started tearing off my clothes, and.
Crystal (continued/emotional parts)
He very brutally did rape me.
Crystal
I was not his wife. It was like I was some object. And he kept trying to get me to say that. Like, he kept telling me, say I'm a liar and say that I deserve this. And I refused. I just.
Joanna
I couldn't do it.
Crystal
And so after it ended, I just immediately had to just clean myself off. I could not stand how I felt.
Crystal (continued/emotional parts)
And I was crying, like, the most deep, deepest cry I had ever cried in my life. And as I'm in the shower, my.
Crystal
Husband comes up, and he comes into the shower. He puts his head in the shower, and he says, are there gonna be any more lies if I leave? He'll kill me. Well, this night all of a sudden I realized I'm gonna be dead if I stay. And I felt like I, no matter what, I have to leave regardless of the consequence. At this point, it's about 6:30 in the evening and all I can think about is getting to my kids. I wanted to get them into bed. I felt like I couldn't make any moves for safety until I got them into bed. My adrenaline could not have been pumping more. It was so nerve wracking. I was just praying that Shawn would say this would be a night that Shawn would get on the computer. It would be rare if he didn't, but you never know. And so I told Shawn that I was going to bed and I put pillows in the bed where I would normally be sleeping and called my mom and just told her what happened and said, you know, should I, should I call the police? Should I, what should I do? But I was afraid to call them from inside the house. I didn't want to be caught on the phone or didn't want them to pull up. We live in a gated community. It's never easy to call the police from my house.
Narrator/Host
Waiting until Shawn was on his computer, Crystal crept down the hallway.
Crystal
We have an alarm system that makes a chiming sound every time a door is open or closed or a window is open or closed. And so I disabled that, that chiming sound. I walked down the stairs and I just kept one eye behind me and I opened the door and I walked out. All the while just freaking out, you know, thinking that he's going to realize I'm gone, he's going to come out looking for me. I immediately called 911 but you know, as I'm on the phone with 911, I'm you know, trying to find a good bush to, to be hiding in in case he comes out.
911 Operator
911 emergency. Yeah, hi, I need the police at my house. What's going on? My husband is starting to call me, okay? He choked me and erased me. Are you inside the house? House? No, I just, I'm outside the house. He doesn't know I'm gone. Okay? I don't want you to go back inside the house with him. I am not just the under form of ecrici. I want you to let you know that we have dispatched police. They're driving there as we're talking. So just stay on the phone with me, okay?
Crystal
They just went straight in and went straight up to the third floor with their guns drawn and said put your Hands up and put him under arrest. And that's the last time that I've ever spoken to him.
Narrator/Host
While awaiting trial, Shawn took Crystal to court.
Crystal
He took to the family court to continue his abuse there, and he petitioned the court for spousal support. Here's the guy who raped me, choked me, brutalized me, you know, tried to kill me, did all these things to me, and the judge orders me to write him a check every month. The original amount that he would have received in spousal support had he not raped me was $3,000 a month. But since the judge did make the finding of domestic violence, that he had raped me, the judge knocked that amount down to $1,000, making me pay $1,000 a month to my own rapist. It's sick.
Narrator/Host
Two years after his arrest, the criminal case against Crystal's ex husband went to trial.
Crystal
He was charged with three felonies. Forced oral copulation, spousal rape, and sodomy. And he was convicted only of forced oral copulation. It was a hung jury on the other two. Even in a case like this, where I had a tape recording of him raping me, the jury said that at that point, I wasn't fighting him enough. So, you know, that tells you what you need to know about spousal crimes. They're beyond difficult for a DA to prosecute.
Narrator/Host
Sean Harris was sentenced to six years in prison and was ordered to register as a sex offender for life.
Crystal
While he's in prison, I don't have to pay him because the state of California is supporting him. But when he gets out of prison, he'll be able to come right back in front of this judge and ask for spousal support again. I've gone on to try to change the law, and a bill has been introduced that will make it so that anyone who's been convicted of a violent felony. Violent sexual felony against their spouse will not be entitled to spousal support. And unfortunately, this bill, it won't help my case because it's not retroactive. But no woman, whoever goes through what I had to go through will be humiliated in the same way again. I survived because I always kept my kids in mind. I did everything with the end goal of our survival, of just thinking about what it would take to make sure that. That we were alive at the end of the day. Sean is released in May of 2014, and I believe that perhaps this was only round one for me. I'm still in fear of my life. I think that he will make good on his threats, or at least Try to, I'll do all I can to continue to be a survivor. But he, he scares me.
Narrator/Host
It's March 2007 in Cleveland, Ohio. Joanna lives with her grandparents.
Joanna
When I was 13 years old, my mother got really, really sick. My dad signed the papers, they turned the machines off. She died 11 days after my mom passing. My father got into a car accident and passed away instantly. I was 13 and my brother was 11 years old. When my parents passed away, I took the big sister role. I took care of him alongside with my grandparents because they took care of us. They took us in.
Narrator/Host
In High School, 15 year old Joanna began dating a classmate named Juan.
Joanna
What really attracted me to him wasn't only how he was good looking because he was, but he was very, very funny and very smart. I met Juan back in second grade. We actually grew up in school together. We were friends before we even thought about dating. My family got along with Juan, they loved Juan. So I mean, people thought we were a great couple. My family thought we were a great couple basically. He wasn't only my boyfriend, he was also my best friend. About four to five months in the relationship with Juan, he began to be a very jealous person. He accused me of cheating. If he saw me give a guy a hug or when, when he saw me laughing with a guy or talking over classwork or something, he will accuse me of either flirting that I was, that I want that guy. And I just knew something just wasn't right. But I just didn't. I just looked past it. I thought that, not that it was normal, but I thought that it was something that happens in relationships that I can deal with it. The controlling and emotional abuse, you know, the verbal abuse went on for a year. I mean, it was horrible, you know, controlling me. I couldn't wear certain clothes, I couldn't wear shorts or skirts. He would verbally attack me, tell me that I was fat and ugly, worthless, cursed at me constantly. It wasn't till after a year where it actually became physical. He slapped me across my face. And from there I just remember I was just so in shock really that he actually put his hands on me and I told him that I just, I'm like, if it's gonna be like this, I'm not gonna be with you. But then yet he cried. He said that he was sorry. He held me in his arms and he promised that he will never hit me again. And since I was in love with him and I wanted to believe in his words, I went back to him.
Narrator/Host
By their senior year, Juan had become Even more possessive.
Joanna
He's like, if you really, really love me and care for me, you will talk to me and not your friends, you know? He wanted my password for MySpace, Facebook. Also taking my phone away from me, looking through my phone, like, every day. Every day when I went to school, he would take my cell phone during the day, and he would give it to me by the end of the day when he dropped me back off at home. Juan and I dated for two years total. I knew that every time he kept saying, baby, I'll change. I want to be different. It's going to be different. I can't do it without you. Please stay with me. In time, those promises just. They just didn't mean anything to me anymore. I'm so drained. I'm not the person I used to be. I feel lost. I don't see five years with him. I don't see forever with him. And I called him and I broke up with him. I told him that I just can't do it anymore. After the breakup, he just had his friends come up to me to talk to me, and he left me gifts on my doorstep. He went straight to the garbage, said I didn't want nothing to do with him.
Narrator/Host
A week later, Joanna was woken by a noise outside her bedroom window.
Joanna
It was Juan. Juan was out there. He started banging on the window really loud. And my brother's bedroom was right next door. I didn't want him waking up, so I finally let him in. He hopped from my window. He came in, he grabbed me and slammed me on my bed. And then he asked me for another chance. He asked me to go back out with him, that he loves me. And I told him, I'm sorry, but no, I don't want to be with you anymore. I'm not even in love with you anymore. It's over. It's done. So he was like, okay, fine. And he grabbed this coat, and he took out two kitchen knives. Then he put one on my chest and one on my throat. And he told me, give me another chance or I'm going to kill you, that I'm going to kill myself.
Narrator/Host
High school seniors Joanna and Juan break up over Juan's possessive behavior. Juan, refusing to accept the breakup, comes to Joanna's window one night. When she lets him in, he pulls out two knives and threatens to kill her.
Joanna
He was like, give me another chance or I'll kill you. And I'm telling him, stop. Just stop it. Just don't. Don't do anything. I am crying. I'm terrified. I didn't want to scream for help as much as I wanted to, because if my family would have came to my rescue to help me, who knows what could have happened? And I told myself, tell him what he wants to hear and maybe he won't hurt you. So I told him that, fine, we're back together. Just put him down. So that's where he put the knives, though. He started talking to me like nothing ever happened. Then he went for a kiss. I lightly pushed him off and said, no, just stop. But he wouldn't stop.
Narrator/Host
Juan forced Joanna to have sex during the rape.
Joanna
I. You know, I kept crying. I kept crying. I tried not to show it. I tried not to show any type of emotion because I know it would have angered him even more. So I bet in his mind, in his eyes, he didn't feel or even thought it was rape. But I. I know it was because I didn't want any part of it. I didn't want. I was just afraid because the knives were there and I didn't want to fight him off. After everything was over, I remember I just felt lost. I thought about the good moments we had and how disgusted I felt at that moment of actually knowing him and that I actually had love for him before. He basically just said if I said anything to anyone that he was going to kill me. Then he went home, he jumped off the window and left. The next day in school, I had first period. Class was gym class, and I hung out with two girls. They asked me what was wrong with me, and I started crying. And I ended up telling them that Juan raped me. And I didn't know what to do about it. So they told me, of course, that I had to tell someone, that I had to call the police. And at first I was too afraid to do it, but something in me just told me that I had to do something. And the police officers came in, told them what happened. And I believe it was a few hours after that Juan got arrested while I was going to the hospital. I felt relieved, actually, because he wasn't out in the street. I knew that he wasn't going to hurt me or anyone else. The feeling changed after four days of his arrest because he was let out on house arrest. I tried to convince myself that while he was on house arrest, nothing would happen since he had an ankle bracelet on. But I was wrong. He stalked me everywhere. I was. He was around the corner. I was very scared. Not only was I scared, but I couldn't sleep that night. Now I remember I actually put a knife underneath my Pillow at night. Just. That's how scared I really was. I didn't sleep in my bedroom. I ended up sleeping on the couch in the living room. I felt safer. I just didn't walk alone anymore. If I wasn't driving, I had someone walk with me every day to school and to go home. I was so scared and cautious. I was afraid that he would be there. And most of the time, he was there.
Narrator/Host
One afternoon, Joanna was getting ready to go out.
Joanna
Something didn't feel right, but I just ignored the feeling because I was feeling that way for two long weeks. And I just. Basically, I'm just paranoid. I'm fine. Everything's okay. And I walked up to my car. Something moved on my left side. And I. I looked. I took a look. I saw someone come out from the back of my garage dressed in all black. And then he pulled out a shotgun, and he pointed it at me. I knew that it was Juan. At that moment, I just look at him, and he's looking at me, and all these thoughts running through my head, like, why is he here? He's not supposed to be here. What's going to happen? Juan was about 15ft away from me, pointing the gun at me. He looked at me and he smiled. My body just froze. I had no reaction. All I was able to do was just look at him. And I'm thinking about the good times that we had together, how sadly it ended. And I am facing him now, and I snapped out of it. I snapped out of the thought. And I go to turn the car on, and it was too late. After that, Juan had already shot me in the face. I felt him come, like, come towards the car to see if I was dead or not. I had a huge, huge feeling I was not going to make it. I had. I was so sure I was going to die. I knew there was no way I was going to survive. And my grandmother, I hear her screaming my name. My hair was long at the time, and it was covering my face. And she's trying to get the hair out of my face. And next thing I know, she just starts screaming. And then she's asking me, who did this to you? Who did this to you? And with all the energy I had, I said, juan did.
Narrator/Host
Joanna was rushed to a nearby hospital.
Joanna
The doctors in the emergency room basically told my family that half of my lower face was gone and that there was a high chance that I would not make it. And so my family were actually prepared for the worst. And I was prepared for the worst. I have had about nine To a dozen surgeries. It took about four years. Now that I look the way I look today, the main surgery to reconstruct me a new jaw was actually a month after the incident when they did the big surgery, which was obviously a big success. I still have more surgery to go through, but it's very slow. It's a slow process.
Narrator/Host
Within an hour of shooting Joanna, Juan was arrested at his home. He pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated murder, rape, retaliation, and escape.
Joanna
At his sentence, I was able to say something to him. I told him that I didn't hate him, that I wasn't mad at him, that I forgive him, that I pray for him every single day. But whatever he had come into him, he deserved it.
Narrator/Host
Juan Ruiz was sentenced to 27 years in prison with no parole. Joanna is engaged to be married and is now a teen educator at a domestic violence center.
Joanna
I just want to basically tell these girls that are going through abusive relationships, you need to get out of it early. Don't let it get to being physical. I hate when people ask, why does she stay? Because that's the wrong question we should be asking. The question we should ask is, why is he being that way? People tend to judge the victim when we should be pointing the finger at the perpetrator. I survived because of my family, especially my baby brother. Also to help young women on this cause teen dating violence, that they deserve better, that they could get out, that there is a brighter future, that if I was able to make it, so can they.
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Crystal
This is the mindset.
Narrator/Host
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Crystal
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Joanna
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Crystal (continued/emotional parts)
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Crystal (continued/emotional parts)
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Crystal
You're welcome.
Date: January 31, 2026
Host: Marisa Pinson / A&E
Runtime: ~38 minutes (excluding ads, intros, outros)
This harrowing episode of Cold Case Files focuses on two remarkable women, Crystal and Joanna, who survived unimaginable abuse at the hands of men they once loved and trusted. Through detailed, first-person testimonies, the episode explores themes of domestic violence, trauma, survival, the complexities of leaving abusive relationships, and the ongoing quest for justice and healing.
Background and Early Relationship (02:04–04:05)
First Signs of Abuse (02:41–03:50)
Escalating Control and Isolation (04:05–06:06)
Threats and Daily Fear (06:06–07:13)
Physical & Sexual Assaults (07:22–16:35)
The Assault Caught on Tape (09:27–12:11)
Struggle to Escape (13:20–18:23)
Rescue and the Legal Aftermath (18:54–22:24)
Trial and Conviction (20:09–20:44)
Lifelong Impact (20:52–22:24)
“I survived because I always kept my kids in mind. I did everything with the end goal of our survival… of just thinking about what it would take to make sure that we were alive at the end of the day.” — Crystal (21:30)
Early Trauma and Bond With Her Brother (22:31–23:08)
Relationship With Juan: From Friendship to Abuse (23:08–25:35)
Breaking Up and Escalation (25:40–27:05)
The Attack: Rape and Life-Threatening Assault (27:05–29:34)
Reporting and Immediate Aftermath (29:34–32:45)
Attempted Murder and Survival (32:49–35:18)
Justice and Advocacy (36:17–36:57)
“Don't let it get to being physical… The question we should ask is, why is he being that way?... People tend to judge the victim when we should be pointing the finger at the perpetrator.” — Joanna (36:57)
| MM:SS | Segment | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------------| | 00:51 | Content warning and episode setup | | 02:04 | Crystal recounts marriage’s early happiness | | 02:41 | Onset of abuse, legal action, attempted reconciliation | | 04:54 | Shawn's father dies, family detachment | | 06:06 | Escalation to threats of lethal violence | | 07:22 | Assault at church event | | 09:27 | Crystal records rape and abuse | | 13:48 | Shawn chokes, rapes, and terrorizes Crystal again | | 17:44 | Crystal’s escape and 911 call | | 18:54 | Police arrest, legal drama over spousal support | | 20:09 | Criminal trial, challenges in prosecuting spousal rape | | 20:44 | Sentencing, legislative advocacy | | 22:31 | Joanna’s background, losing both parents | | 23:08 | Early relationship with Juan, controlling behaviors | | 25:40 | Breakup, Juan’s stalking escalates | | 27:05 | Home invasion, knife threat, rape | | 30:00 | Joanna reports rape, police involvement | | 32:49 | Attempted murder—Juan shoots Joanna | | 35:18 | Joanna’s survival story, recovery | | 36:17 | Juan’s arrest, sentencing, Joanna forgives | | 36:57 | Joanna’s advocacy message for young women |
Both Crystal and Joanna articulate their trauma and survival with raw honesty, emotional clarity, and an urgent desire to educate and empower others. The narrators maintain a sober, respectful tone, emphasizing the reality and prevalence of intimate partner violence and the failures—and hopes—of the justice system.
This episode of Cold Case Files serves as a sobering look at the realities of domestic and dating violence, the long journey to justice for survivors, and the resilience needed to endure both the crimes and their aftermath. Both narratives reinforce the importance of listening to survivors, advocating for systemic change, and remembering that survival is as much about courage and community as it is about escape.
If you or someone you know is experiencing violence, please reach out for help.