Dateline: Behind Door 813 – Who was Jonathan Crews and what happened to him? Details of the 2014 homicide, explored

Jonathan Crews was just 27 when his life ended under deeply suspicious circumstances. On the night of February 2, 2014—Super Bowl Sunday—he stayed home in his Lewisville, Texas apartment while his friends celebrated elsewhere. Hours later, Jonathan’s girlfriend Brenda Lazaro called 911 and said something no one was ready for: Jonathan had shot himself.

But if that story already sounds strange, you’re not alone. That 911 call sparked a case so baffling it’s still haunting his family and friends more than a decade later. NBC’s Dateline: Behind Door 813 takes viewers into the heart of this mystery—peeling back the layers of what really happened that night and why the person closest to Jonathan may know more than she’s ever admitted.

Correspondent Josh Mankiewicz guides the emotional and investigative deep dive, talking to the Crews family, investigators, legal insiders, and jurors who helped deliver a verdict in civil court—even if criminal justice never came.

Dateline: Behind Door 813- A story that never sat right

From the beginning, Brenda Lazaro’s version of events raised eyebrows. She claimed Jonathan, in a dramatic expression of love, picked up his handgun and shot himself in the chest. Not in front of her. Not in a note. But supposedly in the heat of a conversation. The problem? No one—not Jonathan’s family, his best friend Emily Ramsey, or even forensic experts—believed it made sense.

Jonathan had no history of mental illness or suicidal thoughts. In fact, he was the one people leaned on.

“He was the glue,” Emily says in the special. “If something was wrong, Jonathan would fix it. He wouldn't give up on life.”

The crime scene also presented inconsistencies—including evidence suggesting Jonathan was lying in bed when he was shot, something hard to square with Lazaro’s explanation. Her own reluctance to cooperate with law enforcement over the years hasn’t helped her credibility.

Justice by jury, but not in the way they hoped

With no criminal charges ever filed, the Crews family took matters into their own hands. In 2022, they sued Lazaro in civil court for wrongful death—and won. Jurors found her responsible and awarded the family over $200 million in damages. The verdict wasn’t just about the money; it was a message.

One juror, Eddie Brown, told the Dateline: Behind Door 813 team that the evidence simply “didn’t support her version of the story.” And while it’s not the same as a conviction, it was a kind of closure for a family who’d waited years for someone to say what they already knew: Jonathan didn’t do this to himself.

Even so, Brenda Lazaro has never faced criminal prosecution, and she’s maintained her silence ever since. Jonathan’s mother, Pam Crews, says she’ll never stop fighting for justice.

“She took our son, and then she walked away,” Pam tells Dateline. “That’s not something a mother ever lets go.”

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