Following Jonathan Crews’ demise, his close ones are of the opinion that his significant other, Brenda Lazaro, fatally discharged him in an envious fury subsequent to giving him an ultimatum.
They suspect that Lazaro delayed 30 minutes before informing the authorities about the incident, asserting that Crews had discharged himself in an ill-conceived effort to prove his affection for her.
The family of Jonathan Crews initiated legal proceedings by filing a wrongful death lawsuit after being dissatisfied with Brenda Lazaro’s account and the police’s investigation into his shooting.
In September 2022, a jury concluded that Lazaro, who was Crews’ girlfriend for three months at the time of his passing in 2014, was likely responsible for Jonathan Crews’ passing. Consequently, the lawsuit was settled.
Whilst she has not been indicted, the victim’s family and some companions still consider Lazaro a suspect.
An upcoming installment of NBC’s Dateline, titled “Behind Door 813,” will explore the perplexing shooting death of Jonathan Crews. The two-hour episode, airing on Friday, April 7, 2023, at 9 PM ET.
The synopsis of the episode stated, “After 27-year-old Jonathan Crews dies mysteriously in his Texas apartment, his family takes matters into their own hands in an effort to find answers.”
Who was Jonathan Crews & how did he pass away?
Jonathan Crews was a California native but spent his childhood in Irving, Texas. He was born to Pam and John Crews and was one of their three children.
John Crews worked as an attorney and a minister, while his wife Pam was a homemaker, caring for their children.
During his visits to his grandfather in Montana, Jonathan Crews learned how to shoot pistols and eventually acquired his own SIG Sauer 9-millimeter handgun. At the time of his passing at the age of 27, he was a gun owner.
According to D Magazine, Crew matured to become a tall, gangly adolescent who enjoyed playing the bass guitar and listening to bands such as Ozzy Osbourne and Green Day.
However, when he found out that his mom also liked those bands, he stopped listening to them. He had a generally reserved demeanor with people he didn’t know well, but he also had a relaxed personality and a friendly smile.
Jonathan Crews graduated from Baylor University in 2009 with a degree in History. During his time at Baylor, he lived with his friend Jacob Ramsey, whom he had known since the ninth grade.
According to the outlet, Ramsey mentioned that during his upbringing, he felt somewhat envious of a certain person who was very athletic, good-looking, and had the ability to always be kind.
Ramsey admitted that he could never get angry at this person, especially during their college years.
Who was Jonathan Crews dating?
Prior to Jonathan Crews’ demisal, he had been in a relationship with Brenda Lazaro, who was 26 years old at the time, for just three months when he passed. He worked as an operations director at an urgent care clinic.
Jonathan Crews and Brenda Lazaro first met at Wu Yi Shaolin, a martial arts school located in a Coppell strip mall. Crews’ mother, Pam, and his sister, Dani, also attended classes there.
D Magazine reported that Ramsey said he enjoyed being in a relationship and would always fully commit, often spending a lot of money. He had a strong desire to find a wife.
Mother Suspects that Brenda Lazaro played a role in his demisal
Jonathan Crews’ girlfriend at the time, Brenda Lazaro, was present at his apartment in Coppell, Texas on the night of February 2, 2014, when he sustained a fatal gunshot wound. They had been dating for three months.
Although Brenda Lazaro initially claimed that Jonathan Crews had discharged himself in a foolish attempt to prove his love for her, his mother Pam and other family members remained unconvinced.
Given Crews’ knowledge and expertise in firearms safety, they do not believe he could have accidentally taken his own life.
Instead, they suspected that he was assassinated and conducted their own investigation into his demisal when the police failed to provide satisfactory answers.
Jonathan Crews’ mother, Pam, believed that Brenda Lazaro was furious when Crews ended their relationship after she gave him an ultimatum to choose between her and his friend Emily.
According to Pam’s theory, Lazaro took Crews’ life in a fit of jealousy.
The 911 call made by Lazaro that night showed that she waited for 30 minutes before contacting the authorities after Crews was discharged. In addition, Lazaro did not attend Crews’ funeral.
It has been over nine years since Jonathan Crews was found deceased from a single gunshot wound to his heart in his apartment on February 2, 2014, which was also Super Bowl Sunday. Crews had been assassinated with his own SIG Sauer 9mm handgun.
When paramedics arrived at the scene, Crews was found lying on his back in bed with his arms outstretched.
Police found the gun on top of the blanket next to him. The authorities declared the cause of death as “undetermined,” claiming they lacked enough evidence to determine what occurred.
Jonathan Crews’ passing investigation uncovered new evidence
Jonathan Crews’ family filed a wrongful death lawsuit of 206 million dollars in 2016 against his then-girlfriend Brenda Lazaro, blaming her for discharging and taking the life of Jonathan, 27 years old.
During the family’s investigation, Jonathan’s mother, Pam, revealed some startling information and a long list of police inadequacies that determined “insufficient evidence” to charge Lazaro.
The family’s investigation revealed that certain important details were not disclosed to the medical examiner, who declared Jonathan’s death as “undetermined.”
Moreover, there were witnesses who were never questioned and forensic tests that were not conducted because they were deemed too expensive.
After a failed police investigation into the death of Jonathan Crews in 2014, his family filed a civil lawsuit against Brenda Lazaro two years later.
The lawsuit alleged that Lazaro was responsible for Crews’ passing. In September 2022, after a three-day trial, a jury found Lazaro likely responsible for Crews’ passing, resulting in a win for the Crews family.
According to the lawsuit filed by Jonathan Crews’ family, Brenda Lazaro, now known as Brenda Kelly, was accused of assassination and fabricating a story about Crews discharging himself.
The lawsuit cited her inconsistent statements to friends as evidence, with one friend claiming that she said Crews discharged himself in the head and another stating that she said he discharged himself in the chest.
However, Lazaro denies the allegations and has not been charged with any crime to date.
