Jennifer Ann Crecente
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Jennifer Ann Crecente born September 9, 1987, was an 18-year-old high school honor student who was shot and killed in Southwest Austin, Texas by an ex-boyfriend, Justin Crabbe on Wednesday, February 15, 2006. They were classmates at Austin's Bowie High School until Crabbe dropped out of school in the tenth grade.[1]
Crecente's murder was the first of 2006 for Austin.[2]
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[edit] Events
Crecente's body was found at night on Thursday, February 16, 2006 in a wooded area.[3] Crabbe was arrested on Saturday, February 18, 2006 on a charge of first-degree murder.[4]
Crabbe told police that he and a man named Richard were playing with a gun. Jennifer was about 20 to 30 feet away. The gun fired, and Jennifer dropped. Crabbe did not check on Crecente to see how badly she was injured before fleeing the scene.[5]
Videotape shows Crabbe with another man purchasing ammunition at a sporting goods store. [6] Crabbe was on parole from a prior felony conviction[7] and could not legally purchase ammunition.
[edit] Crime After-Effects
- Crabbe pled "not guilty" on Friday, September 22, 2006 [8]. He is in jail and not eligible for bail. He's facing a maximum sentence of life in prison.[9]
- On March 6, 2007 Crabbe's court-appointed lawyers request to have his videotaped confession thrown out. The hearing will continue on March 22, 2007. [10]
- On March 22, 2007 Judge Charles "Charlie" Baird denied Defense's request to throw out the videotaped confession. Judge Baird set the trial date for July 23, 2007.
[edit] Legislation
"Jennifer Ann's Group," a non-profit organization, was created in Crecente's memory to fight teen dating violence. The stated purpose of the organization is to "keep Jennifer Crecente's memory alive through education and good works."[11]
The Texas Psychological Foundation created The Jennifer Ann Crecente Memorial Grant[12] in Crecente's memory. The annual grant pays $5,000 to a graduate student studying violence against women. Crecente's grandmother, Dr. Elizabeth Richeson, Ph.D., M.S.PsyPharm is a psychologist and Crecente was considering pursuing a career in Psychology.
On February 5, 2007 the Texas Legislature's State Representative Dawnna Dukes entered a bill to require school districts in Texas to create policies regarding Teen Dating Violence. This bill was created in memory of Jennifer Ann Crecente and Ortralla Mosley.[13] Jennifer Ann's Group provided testimony on February 8, 2007 to the legislature in support of this bill.
On February 15, 2007, the one-year anniversary of Jennifer's murder, Senator Eliot Shapleigh entered a bill to grant posthumous diplomas to students that have been murdered during their Senior year of high school. The bill is named "Jennifer's Law".[14]
[edit] Media
Well-known video game blogger Brian Crecente was Crecente's uncle and wrote a blog entitled "Sometimes I forget why I'm sad"[15] about Crecente's murder.
A memorial video was created in memory of Crecente and is hosted on YouTube.
