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Wife of slain Bell Gardens Mayor Daniel Crespo indicted
Lyvette Crespo's attorney Eber Bayona holds a Crespo family photo on October 3, 2014. Lyvette Crespo pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of her husband Daniel Crespo.
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Erika Aguilar/KPCC
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Lyvette Crespo, the wife of slain Bell Gardens Mayor Daniel Crespo, pleaded not guilty Thursday to a charge of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of her husband last September, the Los Angeles District Attorney announced Thursday.
Lyvette was arraigned Thursday at the Los Angeles County Superior Court and placed in custody. Her bail was set at $150,000.
Crespo, 43, allegedly shot her husband three times in the chest during an altercation in their Bell Gardens apartment on September 30, 2014 "upon a sudden quarrel and heat of passion," according to the indictment.
The couple's 19-year-old son Daniel Crespo, Jr. allegedly was involved in the altercation before Lyvette shot her husband.
At a press conference Thursday, Lyvette's attorney Eber Bayona said "defense of others and the battered-woman syndrome" would be part of her defense, according to The Associated Press.
After the incident in September, Bayona told reporters Lyvette had been a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of Daniel Crespo for years.
Lyvette is set to return to court on May 29 for a pretrial hearing. She faces up to 21 years in state prison if convicted.
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Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey's office would not comment on Crespo's indictment Thursday.
This story has been updated.
Lyvette Crespo's indictment
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