The Crystal Taylor murder was a 2001 murder-for-hire in Hawthorne, California, in which 27-year-old Crystal Dejuanna Taylor, roughly five months pregnant, was shot to death outside her apartment by a gunman hired by her boyfriend, Derek Paul Smyer, because she refused to end the pregnancy. The case sat unsolved for a decade until the shooter, Skyler Jefferson Moore, confessed from prison. In 2017, a Los Angeles County jury convicted both men of murder. Smyer was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and a California appeals court upheld that sentence in July 2024.
What Happened on September 25, 2001
Crystal Taylor was shot in the carport of her apartment in Hawthorne, in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County, on the evening of September 25, 2001. She was between 21 and 22 weeks pregnant. The unborn child, later named in court filings as Jeremiah Johnson Taylor, died with her. Taylor left behind a young son, Javonte, who had been born on the day she turned 17.
No arrests followed. There was no physical evidence tying anyone to the scene, and a police sketch circulated at the time pointed to a suspect who did not match the man later charged.
Why Derek Smyer Wanted Her Dead
Smyer, Taylor’s boyfriend, did not want the child. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Detective Dave Coleman later put it plainly: Smyer “did not want to be a father so he wanted to get rid of Crystal and the baby.”1ABC7 Chicago. Man Charged in Murder of Pregnant Hawthorne Woman When Taylor refused to have an abortion, prosecutors said, Smyer arranged to have her killed.
At trial, prosecutors presented evidence that this was a pattern. Another woman, Traci Williamson, was pregnant with Smyer’s children and was attacked by an associate of his in April 1998, and again months after Taylor’s killing. Williamson and her babies survived.2CBS News Los Angeles. Mistrial Declared in Case Against Man Accused of Hiring Hitman to Kill Pregnant Girlfriend
How the Hit Was Arranged
Smyer met Skyler Moore at the basketball courts at Anderson Park in Redondo Beach. Moore was a gang member new to the South Bay area. According to Deputy District Attorney Rosa Zavala, he “was looking to build a reputation for himself.”3Daily Breeze. Man Who Ordered Killing of Pregnant Hawthorne Girlfriend Fails in Appeal of Life Sentence
No money changed hands. Prosecutors described the payment as “Smyer’s loyalty,” an allegiance that would help Moore establish himself locally.4NBC Los Angeles. Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Pregnant Girlfriend’s 2001 Murder There was no written agreement between the two men.
How a Decade-Old Case Broke Open
By 2011, Moore was already serving a life sentence in state prison for an unrelated killing of a rival gang member that same year. He agreed to speak with Los Angeles police detectives. In three interviews, including one on November 6, 2011, he admitted killing Taylor and said Smyer had told him Taylor was “trying to trap him.”2CBS News Los Angeles. Mistrial Declared in Case Against Man Accused of Hiring Hitman to Kill Pregnant Girlfriend Before those interviews he had repeatedly denied any involvement.
Prosecutors acknowledged Moore’s cooperation was tied in part to a desire for improved prison conditions. At trial, Moore’s defense argued the confession was coerced, saying police had offered him a safer facility in exchange for his statements, and pointed to the absence of physical evidence and the sketch of a different suspect.3Daily Breeze. Man Who Ordered Killing of Pregnant Hawthorne Girlfriend Fails in Appeal of Life Sentence Formal charges against both Smyer and Moore were filed in November 2011, ten years after the killing.
The Trials and Verdicts
The case was tried in Los Angeles County Superior Court at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center before Judge Ronald S. Coen, with Deputy District Attorneys Danette Meyers and Rosa Zavala prosecuting.5Los Angeles County District Attorney. Two Men Found Guilty in 2001 Murder for Hire of Pregnant Woman The first trial ended in a mistrial on August 17, 2016, when the jury deadlocked six to six.2CBS News Los Angeles. Mistrial Declared in Case Against Man Accused of Hiring Hitman to Kill Pregnant Girlfriend
At the second trial, on May 8, 2017, both men were convicted. The jury found Smyer guilty of first-degree murder for the death of the unborn child, Jeremiah, with special-circumstance findings of murder for financial gain and multiple murders. It found him guilty of second-degree murder for the killing of Taylor herself; the financial-gain allegation was found not true as to her death. The jury also convicted him of two counts of solicitation of murder and one count of conspiracy.
Moore was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances of lying in wait and multiple murders, plus one count of conspiracy.6ABC7 Los Angeles. Man Convicted in 2001 Murder of Pregnant Girlfriend, Unborn Son
Prosecutors argued Smyer’s motive was to avoid the financial obligations of fatherhood, which grounded the financial-gain finding tied to the killing of the fetus. Smyer, they told jurors, “needed someone else to do it for him” after Taylor refused his demand to end the pregnancy.7Daily Breeze. Boyfriend-Hired Killer Convicted of Murdering Pregnant Hawthorne Woman
How the Unborn Child Could Be a Murder Victim
California treats the killing of a fetus as murder under Penal Code Section 187(a), which defines murder as “the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought.” The statute was amended in 1970 to include a fetus. Viability is not required; the fetus must simply have developed past the embryonic stage of roughly seven to eight weeks.8Stanford Law – Supreme Court of California. People v. Taylor At 21 to 22 weeks, Jeremiah was well past that threshold.
Sentencing
On June 1, 2017, Judge Coen sentenced Smyer to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He rejected defense arguments that the evidence was insufficient and told the courtroom: “You know, to murder a lover is terrible. But to destroy the most innocent of innocents is the ultimate evil and that cannot be forgiven.”4NBC Los Angeles. Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Pregnant Girlfriend’s 2001 Murder
Moore, already serving life without parole for the separate 2001 murder, faced a penalty phase to decide whether he would receive the death penalty. That phase was scheduled to begin on May 10, 2017.5Los Angeles County District Attorney. Two Men Found Guilty in 2001 Murder for Hire of Pregnant Woman
The 2024 Appeal
Smyer’s first round of appeals failed. The California Second District Court of Appeal rejected his direct appeal in April 2019, and the California Supreme Court denied review that July.3Daily Breeze. Man Who Ordered Killing of Pregnant Hawthorne Girlfriend Fails in Appeal of Life Sentence
He tried again on a different theory. California had amended Penal Code Sections 3051 and 4801 in 2017 and 2019 to extend youth offender parole hearings to people who committed their crimes before age 26. Smyer was 20 at the time of the murder. He argued that excluding him from those parole proceedings violated equal protection and amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.
On July 30, 2024, a three-justice panel of the Second Appellate District rejected both arguments. On equal protection, the panel relied on the California Supreme Court’s decision in People v. Hardin (2024), which upheld the exclusion of offenders sentenced to life without parole for special-circumstance murder from the youth offender parole scheme. On the cruel-and-unusual-punishment claim, the court held that Smyer’s sentence was not “grossly disproportionate” given the planned, unprovoked nature of the murder-for-hire.9Horvitz & Levy. People v. Smyer, Case No. B328617
Smyer, 43 at the time of that ruling, remains in state prison serving life without the possibility of parole and has exhausted his known legal challenges.