Loved Ones 'Stunned' In Wake Of Shooting Death Of Bell Gardens Mayor
BELL GARDENS (CBSLA.com) — Friends and family of Daniel Crespo gathered Tuesday at the Bell Gardens Police Department after news broke that the 45-year-old mayor had been shot dead.
Crespo's wife, whom authorities say shot and killed her husband, was questioned by police. The couple's son, Daniel Jr., 19, also spoke with homicide investigators. No arrests were made.
Authorities said the incident unfolded about 2:30 p.m. at the couple's home in a gated community in the 6300 block of East Gage Avenue after the couple got into an argument.
Nicole Nishida, a spokeswoman with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, said Crespo and his wife were involved in an argument that turned physical, at which point his wife, authorities believe, shot him multiple times.
Family friends say they're stunned.
"I just cannot see any of this ever happening," Elia Rivera, a family friend, told KCAL9's Dave Bryan. "They were a good couple and everything. Good parents."
Bryan also spoke with Crespo's brother, William. He said he was with the mayor and his wife Monday night and everything started out fine but the mood changed dramatically on the trip home.
"Last night, she was angry. She was kind of driving fast. And he was [in] the passenger's [seat], and I was in the back. She was just driving really fast," William explained.
Shortly before the shooting, William said, he was talking with his brother on the phone when he abruptly ended the call after a disagreement erupted.
"When he came from work, he wanted to lay down, and I guess the wife started arguing and screaming at him and she wouldn't let him lay down, and she wasn't letting him rest," William said. "That's as much as I know because I was on the phone, and he said, 'I'm tired, Willy. I'll talk to you later.' "
The Crespos, described as high school sweethearts, were married for 27 years, William told Bryan.
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