Dateline Bell Gardens – Calculatedly, the lawyer for shooter Lyvette Crespo this morning at a sprawling bi-lingual press conference on the lawn of one-story City Hall, ticked off names of the latest nationally disgraced domestically violent abusers.
Ray Rice.
Adrian Peterson.
Daniel Crespo.
The 45-year- old late Mayor Crespo of Bell Gardens was killed by his wife of 26 years in their bedroom two afternoons ago during what became a three-way physical argument including 19-year-old Daniel Jr., that left the faces of mother and son bloodily scarred.
The quintessential motivation for taking the final fatal step in the civically shocking case was not a mystery.
Money the mayor was spending on a home renovation and an affair he was having were believed to be the triggers – the clinching straws — in a relationship said to have been muddied from its early years by physical and psychological violence that targeted Mrs. Crespo and their two adult children.
‘With Dignity’
Mrs. Crespo was questioned on Tuesday about the shooting by the County Sheriff’s Dept., and the Bell Gardens Police Dept., and shortly released. No charges have yet been filed. Her attorney, Eber Bayona, who vowed she will “cooperate fully throughout the investigation” thanked both agencies for having treated his client with dignity.
Mr. Bayona, described as a longtime friend of both parties, hometown high school sweethearts, suggested unambiguously that Mr. Crespo’s silky smooth public image was harshly misleading, a lie.
He was joined at the microphones by Claudia Osuna, representing the Crespo children, indicating that seamier familial details will be emerging.
Mr. Bayona portrayed the three surviving family members as classic victims of husband-father abuse. Now come the twin towers of humiliation and inevitable embarrassment for them.
“The private matters that happen in a family are so sacred,” he said, “and it is terrifying for anybody to have all of those facts laid out on national television.”
Anti-Violence Month
Mr. Bayona said it was a “tragic coincidence that on the eve of Domestic Violence Awareness month I am called to help Lyvette Crespo in this very tragic, tragic situation.
“For 26 years, she has been a devoted wife and a devoted mother.”
Turning to the declared physical violence in the Crespo marriage, “looks at times may be deceiving,” Mr. Bayona said, baldly. “In this case, there may be an opportunity to learn about the difficult and intolerable home life for this family. Today we cannot turn a television channel without hearing about a celebrity or a high-profile individual involved in domestic violence.
“As a society, we cannot pretend these issues don’t exist in homes throughout America. Domestic violence is real. It leads to turmoil, to family tragedies.
“I hope people understand,” said Mr. Bayona, “that everyone in this situation is a victim. Lyvette, Crystal, Daniel Jr. are forever scarred. Domestic violence knows no barriers to class or culture.”
