The brother of Bell Gardens Mayor Daniel Crespo, who was murdered by his wife three weeks ago, is claiming that Lyvette Cespo did not kill her husband in self-defense, but instead executed a premeditated killing “with malice and in cold blood.”
William Crespo, who filed the lawsuit Monday on behalf of his mother, Otilia Santos–as he is acting as her guardian–is asking for over $53 million in damages, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The investigation of Daniel Crespo’s death is ongoing. Lyvette Crespo’s attorney has argued that she was a victim of domestic violence for years and was attempting to protect her son.
But the lawsuit alleges, “A reasonable person would have first called 911. Lyvette Crespo is a cold-blooded killer.” It adds that the murder was prompted by Lyvette refusing to let her husband sleep. The lawsuit alleges Lyvette Crespo initiated a fight knowing her son would become involved, then retrieved a pistol from a sage and fired at her husband, hitting him in the torso.
Lyvette Crespo’s attorney, Eber Bayona, said that the lawsuit was inaccurate, but would go no further. He said simply, “I don’t know where he’s getting his facts. There were only three people present.”
Investigators assert that Daniel Crespo did indeed strike his son in the face, and that action triggered the shooting. The 911 call made during the incident revealed the couple’s 19-year-old son informing dispatchers his mother was “defending herself…It wasn’t my mom’s fault….He hurt me, he hurt me. He’s on the floor dying….Nobody ever knew.”
Investigators asserted that Daniel Crespo Jr. and Lyvette Crespo did need treatment for facial injuries. Otilia Santos lives in a nursing home.
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