Part 2 — But Why?
For almost 10 years, families in six different counties in Maryland were victimized by terrifying arson fires to their homes and cars. Two victims endured three separate arsons each on their property. Even though there were identical clues to the fires, the fact that they occurred in so many jurisdictions enabled the arsonist to go undetected for so long.
Police and prosecutors allege that former Chief of the Laurel Police Department David Crawford exacted revenge on people he apparently felt had wronged him by committing a series of arsons. In Part 1 of this report (Voices of Laurel, Summer 2024), I described in detail the six arsons that he was convicted of, and the seven other arsons that he has been charged with or is a suspect.
For all his crimes in Howard County, Crawford was convicted of multiple counts of attempted 1st degree murder and various arson charges and sentenced to two life sentences plus 75 years in prison. Crawford entered an Alford plea in Frederick County. Under an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but concedes that the State has sufficient evidence to convict. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for arson charges.
In Prince George’s County, Crawford was charged with multiple counts of attempted murder and arson. In Montgomery County, Crawford was charged with multiple counts of arson. Crawford’s trials in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties are pending. He is also a suspect in arson cases in Charles and Anne Arundel Counties, but charges have not been filed.
It Started After Laurel
Crawford began his law enforcement career with the Baltimore Police Department before starting a long career with the Prince George’s County Police. He retired from the PGPD in 2000 with the rank of Major. Prior to serving as Laurel’s Police Chief (2006–2010), Crawford was Chief of the District Heights Police Department from 2000 to 2006. It’s interesting to note that all his victims who were colleagues during his career were from the PG and Laurel Police Departments. As far as prosecutors are aware, there were no victims from the Baltimore or District Heights Police Departments.
The exact circumstances surrounding Crawford’s departure from the Laurel Police Department are not clear. The one person who could shed light on it, former Mayor Craig Moe, has been more forthcoming as Crawford’s trial unfolded.
When charges were filed, the Washington Post reported, “In 2010, the year before his first alleged arson, Crawford was asked to resign as chief of police in Laurel, court records say. Authorities did not elaborate on why he left.” Similarly, the New York Times reported, “When Mr. Moe announced in Oct. 2010 that Mr. Crawford was leaving as police chief, he said it was because of unspecified ‘personal reasons’.”
Later, however, the Baltimore Sun reported, “Laurel Mayor Craig Moe confirmed that he had told Crawford he wanted to ‘make some changes within the police department, and he understood and submitted his resignation’.”
And after Crawford’s trial in Howard County, the Laurel Independent said, “Mayor Craig Moe, who was Crawford’s boss while he was chief, declined to go into specifics about why he asked Crawford to leave. He did say, ‘I saw changes in performance and things that didn’t get done that I had asked him to do and decided to make some changes’.”
The circumstances of his leaving the Laurel post may be unknown, but his reign of terror started only six months after leaving Laurel.
Crawford told the Laurel Leader when he left, “I’ve been doing law enforcement for 40 years now, and I felt now is a good time to pull the pin and pass the torch. I need to commit time to my family. I will stay in the area and continue to be involved in the city and with the Police Department as a volunteer.”
A review of articles from the defunct Leader concerning Crawford during his years as Laurel Chief yielded some interesting quotes, given his crimes and victims:
“If you see what you believe to be a crime and don’t call, you are no longer a spectator, but an enabler,” he was quoted in 2007.
On crime in general, he said, “There are lots of folks in the shadows.”
“One of the things I’m trying to build on is to instill integrity, trust, and openness with the community,” he said in a 2007 interview.
“People don’t settle fights with fists anymore; they solve them with guns” Crawford said.
Sociopathy and Narcissism
In an effort to understand Crawford’s motives for his crimes, I interviewed dozens of police officers (most of whom worked with Crawford), prosecutors, his civilian colleagues, and most importantly, some of his victims.
While in custody, Crawford declined to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. It is any defendant’s right to decline, as anything they say may be used against them in court. But I was able to talk about the case with two psychologists who helped me understand someone like David Crawford. Since neither psychologist interviewed Crawford while in custody, they chose to remain anonymous for this article. They also made it clear that their comments were about behavior typically observed in individuals with various diagnoses.
The first psychologist has years of experience working with police officers. The second has extensive experience with criminals of all sorts while working at the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, a maximum-security psychiatric hospital in Jessup.
They referred me to two psychiatric books that are considered the go-to references in the field: the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association) and Without Conscience (Robert D. Hare, PhD).
Through my conversations with them and consulting the books, and based on my review of the case, Crawford may have exhibited conditions commonly associated with antisocial personality disorder (also referred to as sociopathy) and narcissism. According to my experts, these conditions commonly overlap.
The psychologists said sociopathy is very difficult to diagnose, and sociopaths have no conscience or remorse. Based on the details that emerged after his convictions, many of the attributes of sociopathy and narcissism can be attributed to Crawford.
Insults, Slights, and Humiliations
The former Laurel Police Chief demanded to be in charge and plotted revenge against anybody who challenged his authority, Howard County prosecutors said. The New York Times described Crawford as being “consumed with grievances.”
Those grievances, however, were all petty, none of them what most people would consider a reasonable motive for what he did. The key, however, has to do with Crawford’s judgement. The insults, slights, and humiliations perceived by Crawford set his reign of terror in motion.
Many of the people I interviewed, especially his victims, requested their comments to be anonymous. The impact on his victims is evident. A few of his victims expressed the fear that he may someday be set free, even though Crawford is serving two life sentences plus 75 years from Howard County and 20 years from Frederick County. (As of this writing, Crawford is 73 years old.) Only a few agreed to using their names. Crawford’s alleged grievances with each of the victims described below are taken from charging and trial documents.
Crawford and Marty Flemion worked together in Laurel. Flemion was the Laurel Deputy City Administrator at the time Crawford was the Chief of Police. Although Flemion was involved in the hiring and firing of employees, Crawford’s fate was certainly not in his hands. Flemion told police that he and Crawford had a bad relationship. Crawford set fire to two of Flemion’s vehicles in his driveway.
Justin Scherstrom is David Crawford’s stepson, the son of his wife, Mary. Three separate fires occurred at Scherstrom’s home, with the last one happening after he had moved to a different location. Scherstrom described the relationship between Crawford and his family as strained and told investigators that numerous arguments occurred shortly before each of the fires. At Crawford’s trial, Scherstrom testified about his “tumultuous” relationship with the man who helped raise him. “He preferred that I call him ‘sir’ rather than ‘dad’.” In the first two fires, Crawford torched the base of the garage door at Scherstrom’s home. For the third fire, at a different address after the Scherstrom family had moved, Crawford again torched the base of the garage door.
Crawford’s wife, Mary, had complained to a Howard County judge about the “white privilege” concept taught at CASA/Voices for Children, a nonprofit organization in Ellicott City. Mrs. Crawford addressed her frustration with the program and its views as compared to hers. She discussed in her letter whether she should continue with the program, ultimately deciding that she would continue. But prior to the next session, Erica Bryne, the Executive Director for Voices for Children, contacted Mrs. Crawford and told her that she was not welcome back to the program. David Crawford set fire to her car in front of her garage.
Russell and Veronica Antico are chiropractors at Howard County Chiropractic and Sports, where they treated Crawford on 19 separate occasions. Detectives said the Anticos are the only victims with no apparent problems with Crawford. However, Crawford set fire to their attached garage.
Evelyn Henderson testified that she worked with him on a Howard County school redistricting initiative she spearheaded in their Ellicott City neighborhood. She told police that Crawford took the lead role in the group on his own accord without any formal assignment. Henderson believes Crawford didn’t want her to have a lead role in the group. At a big community meeting Henderson took the mic and cut him off. The next morning, Crawford sent out an organizational flow chart of their committee, placing Henderson at the bottom. Crawford set her house on fire twice—the second time after it had been renovated from the first fire. He also torched their front lawn in between the two house fires.
With the Prince Georges County Police, Crawford often worked for then-Deputy Chief Clark “Bud” Price. In 2000, as Price was preparing for retirement, the current Chief of Police asked Price for a recommendation to fill his position. Instead of nominating Crawford to succeed him, Price nominated another officer. Later, Price told investigators, during Crawford’s tenure as Laurel Police Chief, they saw each other at a funeral in Laurel. Price believed there were no ill feelings between him and Crawford but was told by another person present that Crawford was saying that Price should have been fired from the Prince George’s County Police Department. Crawford set fire to the attached garage at Price’s home.
Crawford also worked at the PGPD for Deputy Chief Alphonso Hawkins, Sr. When Hawkins retired, Crawford was not promoted to a Deputy Chief position. But in this case, Crawford set fire to the wrong victim. He mistakenly torched a vehicle in Hawkins’ son’s driveway.
Crawford’s Deputy Chief in Laurel was Richard McLaughlin. McLaughlin told investigators that there was definite animosity between him and Crawford. He also told the Sun, “That’s a long time to hold a grudge. The big question I have is, why?” McLaughlin said that though he lost touch with Crawford after 2010, he saw nothing to indicate violence. “I have racked my brain. I have tried to come up with some incident, but it just doesn’t make sense. There’s nothing I can recall that would indicate this,” reported the Sun. When he left the Laurel Police Department, Crawford told the Leader, “I’ll be on administrative leave through Dec. 1 and available to help Rich in any way I can.” Crawford set fire to two cars in the driveway and the detached garage at McLaughlin’s home.
Scott Crawford is David Crawford’s nephew. The parties had a falling out around the time Scott Crawford was hosting a pool party in 2019, and Crawford was not invited. Crawford set a backyard pool, privacy fence, and deck on fire after the nephew deleted him as a friend on Facebook.
Two Sides to Crawford
In the dozens of interviews I conducted, two distinct personalities of David Crawford emerged: the one displayed to his bosses, and the one displayed to those who worked for him.
To his bosses in the PGPD, Crawford was professional and “always got the job done,” according to Bud Price. David Mitchell, currently the Chief of Police at the University of Maryland and a former boss of Crawford’s at PGPD, saw “no behavioral issues with Crawford,” said he was a hard worker, and never had “any indication something was amiss.”
The one exception was Kristie Mills who, as Laurel’s City Administrator, was technically Crawford’s boss in Laurel, even though he felt he only reported to the mayor. Mills described to me Crawford’s big ego: “You knew he was in the room because his ego got there first.”
To Crawford’s subordinates, it was “his way or the highway.” Former cops who worked for him described Crawford as “creepy” and said he always displayed dictator leadership.
Former Laurel Police officer Carl DeWalt, who went on to serve on Laurel’s City Council, said of Crawford: “If you looked up in the dictionary the word ‘bully,’ that’s the kind of person he was. He fit the description of a bully, only because of the power of the title.” During command staff meetings, DeWalt said, Crawford frequently became irate with colleagues, and retaliated against those who upset him, such as taking away DeWalt’s vehicle when he missed a weekend meeting.
Former Laurel Detective Bob Altoff said he would never work for Crawford again and agreed with DeWalt that there were lots of complaints against Crawford. Former Laurel Police officer Ray Boone said Crawford was not well liked in PGPD or Laurel and that Crawford had a hard time getting along with people. Another former Laurel officer, Mike Bleything, had Crawford speak at a Lions Club meeting and “could tell he was narcissistic and tried to avoid him.”
Unusual Behavior
There were numerous examples of unusual or inappropriate behavior by Crawford both before and after his arrest. Prosecutors claimed Crawford inserted himself in the victims’ lives after the fires. Crawford reached out to victims on Facebook or email after setting fire to their property or went to the scene himself to take pictures of the aftermath.
The most blatant example involves Evelyn Henderson, who received a phone call from Crawford immediately after the first house fire. She thought it was odd because Crawford was questioning the cause of the fire and the identity of their insurance company. Henderson became upset by Crawford’s questions and hung up. Not to be dissuaded, Crawford contacted Henderson’s neighbors inquiring about surveillance video and circumstances surrounding the causes of the fire as if he was conducting his own investigation. Crawford shared photos of the damage with the public in the NextDoor app. Contractors working on the home after the fire indicated that Crawford came into the home one day and was looking around before being told to leave by contractors.
Henderson also recalled that Crawford made disparaging comments about their yard looking bad during the time the home was under repairs from the first fire. Shortly afterward, Henderson’s lawn was torched.
When Crawford was arrested at his home in Ellicott City, Howard County Police made a “tactical entry” at 4:00 a.m. and broke down Crawford’s front door. Most people freak out in that situation, but Crawford was somewhat nonchalant. It seemed like he was waiting for them. Instead of reacting normally, he offered the police coffee.
Other witnesses who testified at Crawford’s trial described being bombarded with unwanted and unsolicited contact from Crawford.
According to the Sun, Scherstrom testified that he was haunted by what Crawford said to him after each of the fires: “Arson is one of the most difficult crimes to solve.”
“Ma told me about ur garage ... if u think I would be of any value I will be glad to meet u at the garage tomorrow and take a look,” Crawford wrote in a text to Scherstrom days after the garage fire. “Who is your fire investigator? Any video? Did they search your backyard?”
After Price’s fire, Crawford told him “how lucky he was to have an outstanding fire department.” According to WBAL TV, “Price told the jury that less than two hours after he posted about the fire on a private Facebook group for retired police, Crawford popped up in his direct messages asking for photos of the fire. Price said Crawford wrote ‘scary stuff,’ like, ‘As they (say), it’s better to be lucky than good. You are both. Cheers.”
Howard County prosecutors recalled some unusual behavior in the courtroom during his trial. Crawford acknowledged people he knew as if he was at a social gathering. When Crawford entered the courtroom in a wheelchair, the prosecutors objected. They knew it was not necessary. The judge agreed and told defense counsel he wanted medical evidence supporting its use. It was never used again.
Effect on Victims
Testimony at Crawford’s trials reflected the damaging effect on victims.
As recounted in the Sun, Henderson testified about the night of the first fire and Crawford’s response. “Evelyn Henderson awoke to the urgent voice of her husband, Scott, around 3 a.m. on Dec. 9, 2017: ‘Get up. Get up. Get up.’ Smoke had filled their bedroom in Ellicott City and grew thicker as they approached the kitchen, they would later testify in court. Scott pulled open the door that connected the house to the garage, revealing a wall of flames. ‘I screamed,’ Evelyn said, recounting the family’s escape. Hours later, Evelyn received an email from her down-the-street neighbor, former Laurel Police Chief David Crawford. They had worked together on a Howard County school redistricting initiative but had a falling out after she interrupted his presentation at a community meeting. ‘Evelyn, we were most distressed to hear of your home and its fire,’ Crawford’s email read. ‘Thankfully, nobody was injured or worse, but nevertheless a devastating impact to your family. ... Your help in the redistricting effort was instrumental and critical to our success. We should feel blessed to help. Just let us know.’”
The Hendersons also testified about taking out a second mortgage to rebuild their home. Nine months later, when the repairs were complete, Crawford torched the house again, but this time, it was a total loss.
At his trial in Frederick, “the victims, who spoke in court about the 2018 incident, said the experience left them feeling unsafe in their home. ‘We could have been killed,’ one victim said tearfully, adding he should be in jail for longer,” reported the Frederick News-Post. Bud Price told me he and his wife still worry—the side of their house that burned is where their grandkids sleep when visiting.
“After 33 years of law enforcement, I thought I’d seen pretty much everything,” McLaughlin said in the Washington Post. “This dropped me to my knees.”
The Post also said of Scherstrom: “Having been the victim of three arsons over four years, Justin Scherstrom—married with three kids under 5—was rattled. And while he’d had a rocky relationship with Crawford, his stepfather, he never considered him a suspect. After the third fire, in fact, the two were getting along well enough for Scherstrom to send him video of the blaze and get his opinion as a retired police chief on what was behind the fire. ‘I completely trusted him,’ Scherstrom said. ‘He was the person I looked to for help.’”
“Sitting in the courtroom gallery, Crawford’s estranged daughter, Carrie Turner, said afterward that her dad needed no egregious slight to hold grudges,” the Sun reported. “Turner recalled advice he gave her when she was having a dispute with someone in grade school: ‘If somebody hits you, you hit them harder’.”
Daughter Accuses Crawford
Crawford’s history with his daughter, Carrie Turner, is unrelated to any of the arson cases but provides more insight into Crawford.
“My dad and I have had a tumultuous relationship. Ever since I would say ... my teen years,” Turner told WUSA, “So again, if I wanted to do normal teen things, he would retaliate in some, usually an emotionally abusive way.”
In 2007, Turner was trying to escape a violent marriage, so she willingly gave her father and stepmother shared custody of her then 5-month-old daughter. But she told WUSA9 her parents only victimized her again when she tried to regain custody.
“I divorced him (her husband at the time) and filed for sole custody of her and then suddenly all the crimes kicked off,” she said.
“Turner claimed she endured threats and attacks between 2008 and 2010: gunshots in homes, gas cans left in cars, anonymous letters left at work from the so-called ‘York Boyz,’ according to a lawsuit filed in Howard County Circuit Court,” reported WUSA.
“I did think [it] could be him. However, your mind doesn’t let you go there, like ‘No, there’s no way your own father would do something like that,’” said Turner.
“My dad is super funny, so charming. He’s like a Jekyll and Hyde kind of person. Unless you had a run-in with him, you would never know,” Turner told the Sun.
There were numerous shootings and threats directed at Turner amid the custody dispute. The incidents were purportedly committed by a gang out of York, Pennsylvania, who signed their name to some of the notes. Crawford cited the incidents as evidence that her home was an unsafe environment.
Though Turner didn’t think anything of it at the time, the shooting came five days after a terse exchange between Turner and Crawford’s wife, according to the petition to regain custody. The lawsuit also alleges that the adoption was forced through Crawford’s acts of “terrorism and fraud.”
Turner told WUSA9 the activity stopped once she signed adoption papers granting full custody to her father and stepmother. Mary Crawford still retains custody of the girl after her husband’s incarceration.
Justice
Victims and prosecutors had a lot to say to the media after he was sentenced in Howard County. WBAL TV reported that “the judge spent more than a half hour explaining how he came to his sentencing decision, even quoting victim statements. The judge noted two things that were especially disturbing: that Crawford’s vanity license plate on his car was the same as the brand of gasoline he used to light the fires and that Crawford contacted his victims to see how they were doing after setting their homes on fire.”
“My dad used to say, ‘many hands make light work,’” Carrie Turner said to the Sun. “In this case, many hands make justice work.” Turner attended the trial every day. She told the Sun the verdict made her feel “vindicated.”
Henderson’s teenage daughter, Quinn, told WBAL TV after the sentencing. “I’m really relieved because I feel like I’ve been going through a lot the past few years with just the anticipation of everything.”
Howard County Assistant State’s Attorney Scott Hammond said, “Just because he’s bad at murder, he doesn’t get a pass.”
“Mr. Crawford is someone who lacks basic humanity,” Howard County State’s Attorney Richard Gibson added. “It really is sad that he was able to carry on for so long.” Gibson said Crawford’s decision to contact the victims after he had burned down their homes was especially shocking.
“Contacting the victims to find out, ‘Hey, how’s it going? How’re you doing?’ when he caused the suffering just shows a real indifference to human pain. It is despicable, and it shows someone who has an evil intent,” Gibson said. “It’s not just losing your home. It’s losing the baby blankets, things you’ve worked on.”
As reported by WBAL TV, at his sentencing “Crawford was given the chance to speak before the sentencing. He talked about his renewed faith in God during the past few years in jail but never expressed remorse for what he had done. ‘With God, all things are possible,’ Crawford said. Crawford did not apologize to any of his victims in the courtroom.”
“I thought it was all BS, honestly. I thought it was all a load of you know what,” Quinn Henderson told WBAL TV. “His mention of God was so hypocritical when he literally ruined a bunch of people’s lives. I’m ready to just live my own life without him looming over me and without me being afraid.”
Kevin Leonard is a founding member of the Laurel History Boys and a two-time winner of the Maryland Delaware District of Columbia Press Association Journalism Award.
Comments