DURHAM -- In a videotaped interrogation shown to jurors Tuesday, Crystal Mangum confessed to smashing her boyfriend's windshield, slashing his tires and setting his clothes on fire because she says he had punched her in the face repeatedly.
Mangum's attorney Mani Dexter had tried to keep the confessions out of evidence, arguing her client was medicated and hadn't gotten much sleep before her interview with Durham Police Detective L.C. Bond.
The Feb. 18 interrogation came hours after police had responded to a 911 call from Mangum's daughter reporting a fight between Mangum and Milton Walker.
Mangum initially denied the arson and vandalism, saying Walker damaged his own things because "he's crazy."
But Bond told Mangum her attempted murder charge seemed excessive and pressed her to admit to damaging Walker's property.
"People can understand being angry," Bond told her. "If somebody hit me in front of my kids, I'd be pretty ... pissed too."
Bond noted minor injuries to Mangum's mouth and eye, but Walker was never charged. In September, Walker tried to confess to starting the fire and damaging his own car, but the district attorney's office did not accept the evidence. It is not clear whether he will testify.
