The murder of Sherry Crandell was one of Prince George’s County’s oldest mysteries. For 27 years, investigators had no idea who attacked the nurse and administrator as she worked inside her office at Prince George’s Hospital Center.
Detectives had DNA but were unable to link it to anyone – until now. Police say genetic genealogy led them to a man who died six years ago, a bittersweet result for the lead detective and Crandell’s family.
On the January 1998 night Crandell was found murdered inside her office, a young detective took charge of the scene and never gave up. For 27 years, Bernie Nelson, now retired, interviewed witnesses, tracked down leads and, for the last five years, used genealogy to find the man who killed Crandell.
“It was a ton of people who worked on this case as a team. But as far as the bittersweet emotions that I’m going through, I am very happy that we have closure. I’m just upset that it took so long,” he said.
Edward Watts, who also went by Baari Shabazz, was 48 when police say he raped and strangled Crandell. A witness to the crime, a member of the hospital cleaning crew, told detectives the killer was wearing a white doctor’s coat and had a stethoscope around his neck.
“He is the type of person, based on his background, that would’ve just gone over to the hospital to steal. That was the way he operated,” Nelson said.
The detective said Shabazz had a long criminal history, including a conviction for the attempted rape of a pregnant woman in 1972.
“Today offers some closure for our family, friends, and, most importantly our mother,” said Darren Crandell.
He was in college when his mother was killed and rushed to the hospital when he got the news. His brother Luke and sister Tiffany stood to his left as he spoke.
“Our family knows Bernie never gave up on solving this case or forgot about our mother during these 27 years. To Bernie and to everyone involved in this investigation, thank you. Our family is forever grateful,” Darren Crandell said.
In the days after the murder, police conducted a DNA dragnet and asked workers at the hospital to voluntarily give up their DNA.
It was a decision made after police learned Crandell sent an email to hospital officials days before the attack complaining of recent thefts and feared for her safety.
But the DNA never led anywhere until a team of experts in genealogy got to work.
“They kept at it, following lead after lead, a thorough, detailed and time-consuming process that finally paid off this year,” Nelson said.
The FBI finally made the match when the DNA from the crime scene was compared with the DNA from a nephew of Shabazz.
Crandell’s murder was the subject of the 2021 WTOP podcast Murder in a Safe Place, part of the American Nightmare series. It was voiced and produced by News4’s Paul Wagner and the team at WTOP.
Darren Crandell said the FBI told him the team listened to the series and was energized to keep at it and find the man responsible for the crime.
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