In Netflix series, Kansas City man tells story behind his murder of local police clerk
A Kansas City man convicted of killing a retired Independence police clerk in 2010 is the subject of the first episode of Netflix’s new season of “I Am a Killer,” which became available for streaming Wednesday.
The show seeks to paint complete portraits of convicted murderers, allowing them a chance to give an account of their crimes and lives prior to becoming a killer.
One of its newest participants is 37-year-old Anthony Standifer, who told camera crews his story from the Jefferson City Correctional Center. He is serving two life sentences with an additional 60 years for the death of 69-year-old Beverly Crowl.
In the episode called “Family Matters,” Standifer said he and others planned to rob a drug dealer’s house for $80,000 and 50 pounds of marijuana. After kicking in the door of Crowl’s home on March 19, 2010, however, they realized they had the wrong residence.
Regardless, Standifer, previously convicted of first-degree tampering of a vehicle and drug-related charges, decided it best to leave no witnesses.
“I thought, ‘I don’t want to go back to prison. She’s seen my face,’” he recalled. “‘Okay, why don’t I kill her?’”
Suspects Darrin Jefferson, Melissa Farris-Visnich and Nicholas Krejci were sentenced for their alleged involvement in the scheme, but Standifer testified in the episode that he stood over Crowl and pulled the trigger. He was arrested 12 days later and charged with second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and two counts of armed criminal action.
Several years later, Standifer told Netflix audiences he looks back at his past with regret.
“To make those kinds of decisions – it’s disgusting,” he said. “I sincerely apologize. Every day I wish I could go back and do something different.”
Troubled childhood
Standifer and several family members described his rocky childhood as the episode cut to shots of Kansas City’s landmarks and street signs. Standifer bounced between the care of the state, family members, and his mother. Standifer’s mother struggled with substance abuse, and his father was abusive when he was around.
Standifer entered the foster care system at age 11, where his aunt, Susan Thompson, said he was molested. After returning to his mother at 13, Standifer joined the Kansas City Crips and said he finally felt a sense of belonging. He began committing petty crimes as a teenager.
While at the now-closed McCune School for Boys in Independence, Standifer received a call saying his brother had been murdered.
“With my brother gone, I wasn’t the same person,” Standifer said. “I adopted an attitude. I didn’t care about anything or anybody.”
Show producers interviewed Crowl’s family as well, including her daughter, Dana Crowl, who said Standifer had the option to not let his past define him.
“I don’t like to use the word, ‘monster,’ but there it is,” she said. “I don’t know what made him do it.”
Beverly Crowl’s identical twin, Barbara Draper, said she felt like she’d lost a piece of her the day her sister died.
“My other half is gone,” she said.
Trial and sentencing
Draper testified to a Jackson County judge in 2011, asking for the maximum sentence in Standifer’s case.
According to The Star’s previous reporting, Standifer recanted his confession at his trial, saying he lied to cover for someone else, though he did help plan the robbery. He also claimed at the time that he was not present when the victim was killed.
Today, however, Standifer takes responsibility for pulling the trigger.
Thompson, Standifer’s aunt, called the situation a complicated tragedy, brought about by the failure of the system, society and most notably, his family.
“From the time that kid hit the pavement he was labeled, ‘bad,’” she said. “We wonder, ‘How do people grow up to do things like this and act like this?’ Well, hell, take a look at the whole picture and ask yourself, ‘What did you do to help?’”
Standifer’s episode is one of six in the show’s fourth season.