Deadly Engagement: "A Knife in the Night"

Podcast: Deadly Engagement (Dateline/NBC News)
Host: Josh Mankiewicz
Date: September 25, 2025
Episode Summary by Section with Timestamps and Quotes

Brief Overview

In this episode, Josh Mankiewicz delves deep into the tragic connection between Denita Smith, a talented graduate student, and Shannon Crawley, a determined single mother, whose lives intersected in a devastating love triangle with Jermir Stroud, a Greensboro police officer. What follows is an intricate tale of jealousy, betrayal, and shifting accusations, culminating in murder and a second, shocking allegation of assault. The episode meticulously traces the unraveling of all three lives in the wake of Denita's death, featuring conflicting stories, family perspectives, and investigative twists.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Portraits of Denita Smith and Shannon Crawley

• Comparison of Paths:
  • Both women described as creative, driven, and intelligent, but with distinct life trajectories.
  • Ann Crawley: “Very sensitive, very creative, very smart, very articulate. She's a writer.” (01:04)
  • Narration: Shannon overcame hardships as a young, single mother and later secured a solid job at a 911 call center.

2. Introduction of Jermir Stroud and the Love Triangle

• Both women, unknowingly, became romantically involved with Jermir Stroud.
• Shannon Crawley: “He was charming. It was very nice. We got along. We had a lot in common.” (03:04)
• Narration: The doomed triangle is set—"This isn't about did this person commit this crime? This one is about which one is it?" (03:11)

3. Murder and Conflicting Accusations

• Denita Smith is shot dead; suspicion quickly falls on Shannon Crawley.

• Shannon’s Version:

  • Claims Jermir orchestrated the murder, threatened her children, and forced her presence at the scene.
  • Shannon Crawley: “Either you die for your kids or the kids die for you. What's your choice?” (06:00)
  • Asserts she did not know Denita existed.
  • Shannon Crawley: “I never shot anybody. I didn't kill anyone. I didn't...I had never seen her before.” (06:19)

• Jermir’s Side:

  • Maintains innocence, paints Shannon as obsessive and erratic, denies knowing her location or stalking her after the incident.
  • Claims to have kept records and reported strange calls from Shannon to his department. (27:07)

4. Polygraph and Aftermath

• Shannon volunteers for a polygraph to prove her innocence—she fails.

• Polygraph Examiner: “She didn't pass the test, as we're not surprised.” (08:11)

• Examiner suspects Shannon took something to try to calm herself and beat the test.

  • “She made an effort to fool the test.” (08:20)

• Detectives’ Reaction:

  • Began to regard Shannon as more desperate and dangerous.
  • Suspicion intensifies: “I don't trust to be on the highway with her at the same time.” (09:08)

5. Allegations of Stalking and Harassment

• After Shannon posts bail, she claims Jermir aggressively stalks and harasses her, even after a failed restraining order.

• Shannon Crawley: “Immediately after I got out, he filed for a restraining order...then started calling me, wanting to know what I had told the police.” (11:48)

• She is instructed by the District Attorney to record calls for evidence.

• Shannon Crawley: “They then said, record the phone calls. And I did that.” (12:57)

• Family feels harassed and under siege; unsettling, constant phone calls reported.

  • Ann Crawley: “I remember I could hear someone whispering. It was very soft...a lot of expletives.” (14:30)
  • Keith Crawley Sr.: “We would always show a block number...after a while, even though you can't probably prove it was him, you know who it is calling?” (16:36)

• All members recount seeing Jermir in their neighborhood, watching, and following them.

  • Ann Crawley: “I chased him through the neighborhood one day...The kids would run in the house because they would see him.” (17:36)

6. DA’s Skepticism of Recorded Calls

• Despite the family’s certainty that the recordings incriminate Jermir, the DA expresses doubt—the voice might not be his.
• Shannon Crawley: “I felt betrayed.” (18:47)

7. Alleged Assault: The Knife in the Night

• The dramatic centerpiece: Shannon alleges Jermir broke into her mother’s backyard in Charlotte and raped her at knifepoint.

• Ann Crawley’s Account:

  • Finds Shannon “half naked, crawling across the bedroom floor...hysterical.” (20:54)
  • Shannon, in distress, repeatedly claims Jermir “was here...he hurt me.”
  • Ann: “I just put my robe around her because she was. She was naked from the...I believe, from the waist down...” (21:49)

• Shannon’s Testimony:

  • Describes a protracted, brutal encounter—Jermir dressed in black, assaulted her, used a knife when he lost his erection.
  • Shannon Crawley: “He got on top of me and raped repeatedly...he used the knife to penetrate me.” (23:23)

• Medical chart records superficial wounds but not the severe injuries her story would suggest.

  • She reports fighting back and eventually escaping.
  • Shannon: “I got up and ran and he started to chase after me...he just stopped running and he just kind of laughed at me.” (24:25)

8. Police Investigations and DNA Requests

• Charlotte police respond to the rape allegation, interview both parties.
• Jermir Stroud: States he was nowhere near Charlotte, provides an alibi (work, friends, late night TV), and agrees to provide DNA.
  • “She was telling people I was contacting her and blaming me for the murder...they were going to try to make me look bad.” (29:06)
  • Expresses frustration and desires to be left alone: “When it shows that she's lying, I would like for some law enforcement agents...this is blatantly alive. I mean, I just want to be left alone.” (31:34)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Polygraph Moment:

  • "She did. We had from the North Carolina State bureau of Investigation, the head polygraph examiner for the state administered the test.” (07:28)

• Chilling Allegation:

  • “His exact words to me were, either you die for your kids or the kids die for you. What's your choice? So I went.” – Shannon (06:00)
  • “He got on top of me and raped repeatedly...he used the knife to penetrate me.” – Shannon (23:23)

• Family Under Siege:

  • "He would sit behind the house. The kids would run in the house because they would see him...driving through the neighborhood, and he would sit behind the house and watch." – Ann Crawley (17:36)

• DA’s Doubt:

  • “He didn’t believe the voice on those tapes actually belonged to Jermir Stroud.” (18:47)

• Denial and Desperation:

  • “I never shot anybody...I had no reason to. I didn’t know who she was. I had never seen her before.” – Shannon (06:19)
  • “I would like for some law enforcement agents because this is blatantly alive. I mean, I just want to be left alone.” – Jermir (31:34)

• Police/Ambulance Scene:

  • “She was hysterical and she’s shaking...she kept saying, he hurt me.” – Ann (20:54)

Important Timestamps

• 01:04: Ann Crawley describes Shannon’s talents and sensitivities
• 03:04: Shannon first describes how she met Jermir and her feelings toward him
• 06:00–06:19: Shannon recounts Jermir’s threat and denies knowing Denita
• 07:22–08:14: Polygraph testing and its results
• 11:48–12:57: Description of post-bail harassment and request to record calls
• 13:48–16:05: Audio evidence from recorded calls and family’s sense of terror
• 18:47: Shannon’s reaction to DA not believing her evidence
• 19:15–21:49: The night of the alleged attack in Charlotte
• 23:23–24:25: Shannon’s detailed account of the sexual assault
• 29:06–31:34: Jermir’s statements in police interview and his defense

Tone and Language

The episode retains the investigative, skeptical, sometimes gritty tone Dateline and Mankiewicz are known for. Both victim and accused are allowed to speak in their own words, including moments of desperation, confusion, and conviction. The language is direct, sometimes raw—never sensationalized, but always humanizing.

Final Takeaway

"A Knife in the Night" exposes the tangled aftermath of a love triangle turned deadly, overlaying conflicting narratives with the pain and suspicion that tear two families apart. Each side is fraught with fear—one with the burden of accusation and fleeing from a perceived threat, the other with repeated denials and claims of victimization at the hands of law enforcement and family vengeance. The truth remains elusive, with listeners left questioning who is protecting whom, and who, if anyone, is telling the whole truth.