In the early morning hours of November 18, 2020, a simmering argument between two longtime friends at the Alder Park Apartments in Smyrna, Georgia, escalated into a tragic and fatal encounter. Juanita McFadden, a 27-year-old female, was visiting the apartment of Carl Anthony Crawford, a man she had known since middle school and with whom she had intermittently lived. The two had been close for a decade, with McFadden having previously dated Crawford's roommate.
On this particular evening, what began as a verbal dispute turned violent. Crawford attempted to physically force McFadden out of his apartment, but she resisted. The ensuing physical altercation culminated in Crawford pulling out a 9mm handgun and shooting McFadden at least nine times in the arms, legs, and torso. A friend of McFadden's, whom she had called to pick her up, was walking toward the apartment when he heard two gunshots and McFadden's voice cry out, 'Did you just shoot me?' followed by several more shots and screams. Shortly after, the friend saw Crawford emerge from the apartment.
Crawford himself called 911 to report the shooting. When Smyrna police officers arrived at the Cumberland Crossing complex just before 1 a.m., they found Juanita McFadden deceased in the entryway of the apartment from multiple gunshot wounds. Crawford was taken into custody at the scene and admitted to shooting his longtime friend. He was arrested and booked into the Cobb County Jail.
The legal proceedings that followed brought the full weight of the justice system down on Carl Crawford. In March 2022, his trial commenced. The prosecution built a case that led a jury to find him guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. On March 28, 2022, a Cobb County Superior Court judge sentenced Crawford to life in prison without the possibility of parole, with an additional five years to be served. An appeal of his conviction was later denied.
