MATTHEWS, NC (WBTV) -
Kim Crespi says not a day passes that she doesn't grieve the deaths of her 5-year-old twin daughters, Tess and Sam.
"We live for them, we live for their sweetness, we long for them, but the reality is they're not in this life," said Crespi.
The girls were stabbed to death by their father, David Crespi, in the family's Matthews home in 2006.
Crespi pleaded guilty to the murders to avoid the death penalty. He's now serving two life sentences. The case rocked the community and made national headlines, but despite the tragedy, Kim Crespi remains by her husband's side
"It's horrible, it's absolutely horrible what happened to Tess and Sam and to David but it's just easier for society to leave him in prison and act like that and walk away," said Kim Crespi.
Kim says at the time of the murders, Crespi had begun taking multiple prescription drugs for anxiety, insomnia and depression. She believes the medicines caused him to become psychotic.
"Psychosis as a definition is hallucinations and delusions and in therapy the day before, David was delusional in a world is falling kind of way, but that doesn't mean he's going to go out and kill somebody," said Kim Crespi.
At the time, Kim says she didn't recognize the signs.
Now, she's teaming up with David Carmichael to educate families on the side effects of antidepressants. Carmichael was taking the antidepressant Paxil when he murdered his 11-year-old son in 2004. A Canadian court did not convict him on account of a mental disorder. Kim hopes their message will prevent other tragedies.
"We can't ignore what happened to us, because if it happened to us it could happen to somebody else and what can we learn from this?" said Kim Crespi.
Kim hasn't filed any paperwork to have her husband released, but she plans to hire an attorney to try and have his plea overturned.
Kim and Carmicheal will host an educational presentation on the side effects of antidepressants on Thursday, October 11th at 7pm at the South Charlotte Banquet Center, 9009 Bryant Farms Road, Charlotte, NC 28277.
WLBT 3 - Fox 40
