The wife of a suburban Los Angeles mayor who was shot in his home pleaded not guilty Thursday to voluntary manslaughter . Lyvette Crespo , 43 , entered the plea to a grand jury indictment . She was ordered held on $ 150,000 bail and could face up to 21 years in state prison if convicted . Crespo shot Bell Gardens Mayor Daniel Crespo three times in the chest on September 30 . The killing came after the late mayor 's years of domestic abuse , the widow claims . However , the late Crespo 's brother says those claims are all a lie and that he has evidence proving Mrs. Crespo is a cold-blooded killer . Indicted : Lyvette Crespo ( right ) allegedly shot her husband , Bell Gardens , California Mayor Daniel Crespo ( left ) , in September during a heated argument about his infidelity . She 's now been indicted on charges of voluntary manslaughter . History of abuse ? The Crespos were high school sweethearts . Mrs. Crespo claims her husband had become increasingly abusive in the months leading to his death . She says she shot him after he punched their son , who 'd tried intervening during an argument . In text messages that brother , William Crespo , provided to the LA Times , Mrs. Crespo appears to have threatened to shoot her husband at least once before doing the deed . ' I 'll find out who ... u got flowers for . Has to be a bell gardens wh*** , ' reads a message from Lyvette to her husband . Mr. Crespo replied : 'It better last time U threaten to shoot me in head ! ! ! ' In a civil suit filed against Lyvette on behalf of his mother , William Crespo has asked for more than $ 53 million in damages for the death of his brother , who he says was killed 'with malice and in cold blood , ' by Mrs. Crespo . Crespo has told authorities it was self-defense after he punched their 19-year-old son in the face after he intervened in the couple 's argument . Counter claim : Daniel Crespo 's brother William ( pictured ) says his ex sister-in-law 's claims are all lies and that she killed her husband in cold blood . Broken family : In this file photo , attorney Claudia Osuna holds a photo of the Crespo family - from top left to bottom right , Bell Gardens , Calif. , Mayor Daniel Crespo , his daughter Crystal , his wife Lyvette and son Daniel Crespo Jr. Daniel Crespo Jr. called 911 to report the shooting , telling a dispatcher : 'He 's on the floor dying . He hurt me . ' Daniel Crespo , a Los Angeles County deputy probation officer , was elected in 2001 to the City Council of Bellflower , a city of about 42,000 residents . The mayor 's position rotated among council members . He and his wife were high school sweethearts and married as teenagers in 1986 . However , the autopsy report contained allegations by a daughter , Crystal Crespo , that her father had been verbally and physically abusive toward her mother over two decades . She said the abuse had become more physical in recent years because of arguments over Daniel Crespo 's infidelity , but it was never reported and never left serious injuries . Daniel Crespo 's brother , William Crespo , has denied the abuse allegations . The mayor 's mother filed a $ 53 million lawsuit last fall in which she calls Crespo a 'cold-blooded killer ' who picked a fight with her husband knowing their son would intervene . What happened ? Mayor Daniel Crespo , pictured with daughter Chrystal , allegedly told his brother William there was another woman . Crespo Indictment by scprweb .
wife of the Bell Gardens mayor Lyvette Crespo pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on $ 150,000 bail . The 43-year - old told authorities it was in self - defense after her stepfather punched their teenage son when he tried to intervene in the incident . Her former brother - in - law claims that allegations of years of abuse are all a lie and says he has text messages proving the slaying was in cold blood . Crespo faces up to 21 years in federal prison if convicted .