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Duke LaCrosse Accuser Charged With Attempted Murder

By Jeralyn, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 09:06:00 AM EST
Tags: Duke LaCrosse (all tags)
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Crystal Magnum, the false accuser in the Duke LaCrosse case, has been charged with attempted murder, arson, and more:

Durham police arrested Duke lacrosse accuser Crystal Mangum, 33, late Wednesday after she allegedly assaulted her boyfriend, set his clothes on fire in a bathtub and threatened to stab him.

Authorities charged her with attempted first-degree murder, five counts of arson, assault and battery, communicating threats, three counts of misdemeanor child abuse, injury to personal property, identity theft and resisting a public officer.

The identity theft relates to her giving a false name and age to police when arrested.

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    Duke LaCrosse Accuser Charged With Attempted Murder | 29 comments (29 topical)

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    If this did indeed (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by Zorba on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 10:14:02 AM EST
    happen the way the article states (and, of course, she has not yet been tried and convicted), I think she may have a slight anger-management problem.  Either that, or she's a complete wack-job.

    She should ask Mike Nifong to defend her. (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by Buckeye on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 10:21:13 AM EST
    Oh wait...I forgot, he got disbarred for defending false accusations from her a few years ago.  Sorry.

    LOL, Buckeye! (none / 0) (#3)
    by Zorba on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 10:24:10 AM EST
    n/t

    Parent
    Wow..... (none / 0) (#4)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 11:16:52 AM EST
    I was less than thrilled with went down in her earlier history.  That was horrifying.  People do get raped every single day and need to have the ability to address that....and then you have Crystal Mangum.  If you have such a total lack of respect for other human beings as she has already exhibited though, if found guilty of this can any of us be surprised?

    Being treated on a regular basis (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by Peter G on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 11:53:15 AM EST
    like a piece of meat, or otherwise as something other than a human being entitled to full respect, could definitely contribute to having a lack of appreciation for how other people are entitled to be treated.  And if she did stab this guy and then set his clothes on fire, I'd definitely be interested in knowing what he recently -- or just then -- had done to her.

    Parent
    No one is entitled to respect (none / 0) (#7)
    by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 12:02:37 PM EST

    No one is entitled to respect, full or otherwise.  Respect is earned, and that does not appear to be one of that young lady's priorities.

    Parent
    So totally wrong (5.00 / 2) (#13)
    by MKS on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 01:05:18 PM EST
    Yes, everyone is entitled to respect....That is one of the values on which this nation was founded....Endowed by their creator with inalienable rights....

    Giving respect to others underlies the worlds great religions....

    Parent

    Respect (none / 0) (#14)
    by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 01:28:06 PM EST
    1.  A feeling of appreciative, often deferential regard; esteem. See Synonyms at regard.
    2. The state of being regarded with honor or esteem.

    Sorry, those attributes are earned.  Crystal is definitely not worthy of respect.

    When you try to railroad innocent persons to a life in the slammer, you have forfeit any claim to the respect of others.  However, that does not mean you can never earn back the respect you lost.

    Parent

    Still disagree (none / 0) (#15)
    by MKS on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 01:33:54 PM EST
    Christianity teaches respect for all....a principle many tend to forget....Under Christian principles, no one gets what they deserve....

    Sure, one can lose "respect" or esteem in the eyes of the community....But, even in such instances, people should still be treated with "respect"....Doing so is what makes us good.

    Parent

    You may (none / 0) (#18)
    by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 01:38:23 PM EST
    You may be confusing tolerance for respect.  

    Parent
    Common courtesy a better (none / 0) (#17)
    by Inspector Gadget on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 01:37:10 PM EST
    choice of words for you, maybe?

    If ALL people didn't deserve to be treated with respect, we'd have no recourse if everyone wanted to walk around punching people in the face for whatever reason, or no reason.

    Parent

    No, respect (none / 0) (#20)
    by MKS on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 01:47:51 PM EST
    And respecting people does not mean giving them carte blanche....

    And respecting especially those people who do create problems....It guides how one deals with problem people....Some practial things may need to be done....but the attitude that a person has forfeited respect can lead to over-reaching and devaluing of people....

    This is really a Christian concept.....Augustine perhaps putting it best:  There but for the Grace of God go I.  

    Parent

    It is about valuing them as human beings (5.00 / 0) (#22)
    by MKS on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 01:50:55 PM EST
    as flawed as they may be....We are all flawed...

    Parent
    Use the PARENT "button" (none / 0) (#28)
    by Inspector Gadget on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 10:01:04 PM EST
    when the nesting is tight. I was actually asking AA that question. I agree with you, MKS...except for the Christian part...I think the concept is part of humanity and not owned by one religious doctrine...

    Parent
    Isn't she choosing how she is being (none / 0) (#8)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 12:18:26 PM EST
    treated though?  As a woman, and responsible for my own choices, I am responsible for a lot of what I take part in.  I'm not always responsible for everything that happens to me but we do know that often people are attracted to being abused as well and will not save themselves from it even if they can.  They choose to interact with it.  Granted some of this can have a lot to do with the early life someone is exposed to also, but.....when does she become responsible for her own life choices and how she permits people to treat her and what sort of interactions with others she takes in and/or rejects and refuses to take in, or empower, or allow in her life?  By the way, you sound like a wonderful person with a dude name.  You display a lot of human kindness and decency.

    Parent
    Yep. He was asking for it. (none / 0) (#11)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 12:51:41 PM EST


    Parent
    This comment is a bit funny (none / 0) (#25)
    by CST on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 03:16:58 PM EST
    considering the discussion we had the other day about the root causes of homophobia.

    Although I think in general people tend to confuse the difference between a reason and an excuse.  I think it's important to understand reasons (root causes) - and also important to understand that having a reason doesn't always mean having an excuse.

    Parent

    Oh come on, it was funny regardless! (none / 0) (#26)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 03:34:04 PM EST
    A root cause of homophobia. :-)

    Yes I was living up to my moniker with my "he was asking for it"  comment...

    Parent

    She did not have to be a stripper. That was her (none / 0) (#12)
    by Buckeye on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 12:57:18 PM EST
    choice.  And nearly all strippers do not try to put people in prison for 20-30 years for something they knew did not happen.  Furthermore, if this case is true, and we have no idea at this point only if it is (only the media is telling us and they are hardly reliable), then she also tried to set someone on fire.  Tried to run another over with her car.

    Parent
    Anger Management (none / 0) (#5)
    by blogtopus on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 11:49:00 AM EST
    or serious misogynist tendencies? Because it seems that she is angry at a particular... segment... of the population.

    She's responsible for whatever she does as an adult, to be sure, but I'd HATE to know what happened in her early years to foster this kind of rage. It can't be good.

    Of course, this is all puff talk. It all might be a misunderstanding.

    I think you may mean (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by Zorba on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 12:18:28 PM EST
    "misandrist," blogtopus.  A misogynist is one who hates or has contempt for women.  A misandrist is one who hates or has contempt for men.  But it does seem as though she has had a troubled life. (Apologies for linking to a Fox News report, but it seemed to have the most details about her life that I could quickly find, including quotes from her relatives.)  Her life doesn't excuse her actions, but it may provide some insight.  

    Parent
    I'm interested (none / 0) (#10)
    by bocajeff on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 12:39:32 PM EST
    In whether the people who came to her defense the first time around (University Professors, activists, etc...) attempted to help her once the accusations proved to be false. It seems, and I could be wrong, that this was a troubled woman who was used by some to promote a particular agenda and then dumped once she was no longer useful. Shame.

    Isn't falsely reporting a crime (none / 0) (#16)
    by Inspector Gadget on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 01:34:30 PM EST
    its own crime? The DA was disbarred for his part. Was she ever charged with anything? Seems she used/wasted plenty of police and DA time on her false report. Even runaway bride got charged and fined for her misuse of public officials.

    Parent
    I think the real lesson (5.00 / 0) (#19)
    by MKS on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 01:42:08 PM EST
    to be learned from the Duke LaCrosse case is that if rich, white college boys can be railroaded by the criminal justice system, it can happen to anybody.

    Just like it can and did happen to Henry Nicholas and Henry Samueli--the mega wealthy founders of Broadcom who were railroaded by bad U.S. prosecutors....Guilty pleas thrown out because of prosecutorial misconduct....

    The prosecution has all the advantages and often can put anyone in jail it wants to....

    Parent

    It happens everyday (5.00 / 0) (#23)
    by Inspector Gadget on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 01:53:03 PM EST
    under our system. That lesson seems to be a really hard one to teach as those in authority do it over and over again. Thank goodness for organizations that work so hard to try and undo the damage.

    Parent
    I think you well know the answer to your question. (none / 0) (#21)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 01:49:20 PM EST


    Parent
    i was wondering (none / 0) (#24)
    by cpinva on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 02:00:38 PM EST
    the same thing bocajeff. since i don't know the entire circumstances surrounding this latest incident, i really can't even semi-intelligentally opine on it.

    that said, the young lady did (and seems to still have) some serious problems, that don't appear to be being addressed appropriately.

    fortunately, no one was seriously hurt. perhaps now she'll get the help she so clearly needs.

    Parent

    I'm interested (none / 0) (#27)
    by jbindc on Thu Feb 18, 2010 at 03:39:05 PM EST
    if they'll help her again.  Fool me once, shame on you....

    Parent
    Negligence in past (none / 0) (#29)
    by diogenes on Fri Feb 19, 2010 at 01:11:29 PM EST
    If they had sent her to prison for filing assorted false reports and for perjury, then this would not have happened.

    Duke LaCrosse Accuser Charged With Attempted Murder | 29 comments (29 topical)

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