Slain woman’s sister says suspect’s son had her fooled
AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - It’s been a long road for the family of Krystal Anderson, an Aiken County mother who’s been missing since August.
Now investigators believe she is dead. Her boyfriend his son Darius this week was arrested on a charge of accessory to murder after the fact.
INSIDE THE KRYSTAL ANDERSON CASE: Watch extended video below
Authorities believe Tony Berry killed Anderson on Aug. 20 and stuffed her body into the trunk of his car. Authorities believe Darius helped his dad conceal the evidence by burning the car in Newberry County on Aug. 28.
When all of this started and Anderson was thought to have been kidnapped, her sister Shadira Smothers was leaning on family like Darius for any leads on where Anderson might have been.
She never imagined he may be connected to it all.
“I’m sitting here like, ‘OK, well, you know, this, this sounds like he really is innocent.’ And then a day later, I find out that he’s arrested and tied into it, which my gut told me from the beginning,” she said.
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She’s referring to messages sent by Darius this week on the day his father would be charged with Anderson’s murder.
When Darius was arrested the next day, Smothers was speechless
“I was completely shocked because, like I said, like, the day that Tony received the murder charge. He inbox me and, and was just telling me that you know, his prayers was with me and, you know, he hoped my family gets the closure that they deserve,” she said.
She said she’d been receiving messages from Darius since Anderson disappeared.
She said Darius’ shared theories on Anderson’s whereabouts, how his father allegedly harmed her, the reason behind the burned car and where her body might be.
“I think throughout the process, he started realizing the person that his father really was,” she said. “He started believing the things that people were saying that his father has done to other victims. But at that point, it was too late. It was too late, whatever was done was already done.”
Smothers says she wanted to believe he was sincere
“My heart was believing that, hey, Darius just got caught up in something that his father did. You know, this kid, maybe he really didn’t have anything to do with it. You know, he started being sincere. That’s what I thought,” she said. “And it turned out that I was misled the whole time by him.”
She says she’s been telling law enforcement about these messages for months.
“We all have spoken with Aiken County and giving them information from day one,” she said. “And it’s like having to repeat ourselves all over again, when this could have been solved months ago.”
She believes if something had been done sooner, the family might have been spared extra months of pain.
“I don’t think it would have gotten to this extent. And I don’t even think that Tony wouldn’t have been able to hide what he has done, if they would have listened from day one. I don’t think he would have even gotten a chance to hide what he has done. I think he probably would have got caught right in the process. If they would have listened and was proactive from day one,” she said.
“Tony is just – he’s, I’m sorry – he’s just able to even bring his own child. He’s ruined a lot of lives. A lot of lives – his children, his family, our family, friends. He’s ruined a lot of lives. And I just hope that we receive the justice and he gets the max time as possible.”
The sheriff’s office confirms they held a t search with Newberry Police for her body in Newberry County with cadaver dogs but could not release the location. They say the leads and evidence processed during the course of the ongoing investigation led them there.
Deputies outline the allegations
Authorities say in the arrest warrant that search warrants and tracking of cellphone data and internet searches led them to these conclusions:
- Tony Berry purchased numerous items that could be used to aid in the disposal of human remains, including a gas-powered auger, shovel, premixed fuel, plastic coveralls, gloves, a box of trash bags, as well as a large roll of plastic.
- The defendant was in the area during this time frame, along with his son, Darius Berry.
- Additional evidence has been found showing that the defendant researched how to carry out this crime and leave no evidence of it.
Darius Berry is suspected of knowingly assisting his father with the destruction of evidence.
According to an arrest warrant released Friday, Darius Berry burned the Cadillac on Aug. 28 between 2:40 and 4:30 a.m.
“Additionally, evidence has been found showing a coordinated effort between the defendant and his father, to conceal and withhold evidence and information related to this murder,” the arrest warrant states.
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