Jury convicts in 2023 Valentine’s Day murder
A jury convicted a 38-year-old woman for shooting and killing her former lover on Valentine’s Day 2023.
The jury spent less than 2 hours deliberating before finding Maryln Michelle Nieves-Collozo guilty of second-degree murder and using a firearm to kill Thomas Fredrick Crawley a few doors from her house. Mr. Crawley was found outside 1146 28th Street in Newport News having been shot six times in the head and torso.
While providing emergency medical treatment, Officers asked Mr. Crawley who had shot him. Mr. Crawley responded “my friend” and then said “Marlyn”. Mr. Crawley died 10 days later at Riverside Regional Medical Center. Dr. Nicole Masian, Assistant Chief Medical Examiner, testified that victim’s brain had died because it was no longer receiving blood flow and that Mr. Crawley’s cause of death “delayed death following multiple gunshot wounds”.
The day after the shooting, on February 15, Nieves-Collozo, told a longtime friend Christopher Thomas that she had shot someone. Mr. Thomas and his wife then got into a vehicle with Nieves-Collozo where they continued to talk about what had happened. The conversation in the car was recorded by Thomas and was later turned over to the police.
During the recorded conversation, Nieves-Collozo, said that she was with the victim, Thomas Crawley, the night before when he was shot. Nieves-Collozo says that Damian, identified by Thomas as Nieves-Collozo’s son, shot Mr. Crawley and that she took the gun and also “emptied a clip into him” because she did not want Damian to go down for it by himself. Mr. Thomas also testified to receiving calls from Nieves-Collozo while she was in jail. A portion of one call was played for the jury, in this call Nieves-Collozo described how Damian shot the victim, but at one point the Defendant said “I’m the one that did it. They have proof”.