Family's 'Perfect Life' Shattered

David Crespi's wife, Kim, still insists that she married her soul mate.

ByABC News
June 3, 2008, 11:44 AM

June 4, 2008— -- Every Saturday morning, Kim Crespi gets in her car for the 90-mile trip from her home outside Charlotte, N.C., to the maximum security prison where her 46-year-old husband, David, will spend the rest of his life.

Like thousands of other wives whose husbands are in prison, Kim cherishes the few hours she and her husband have together, sharing news about their children, their church and their friends. But what makes these visits unusual and the bond between Kim and David different is that David is serving a life sentence for murdering their twin daughters.

Kim Crespi reminisced about happier times, telling ABC News Senior Law and Justice correspondent Jim Avila that, "It was a house of love, peace and fun. We had a perfect life."

Married for 12 years, the Crespis had five children. The youngest were identical twin girls, 5-year-old Tessara and Samantha.

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"Tess and Sam were precious to us," David said. "They were incredible. They were a gift. I mean, we were just so thrilled to have them."

The Crespis lived in a large home in a fast-growing suburb outside Charlotte. David had a high-powered job as a vice president at Wachovia Bank while his wife stayed home to raise their large family.

"I had the American dream," said David.

But he also harbored a dark secret that destroyed it all.

In his late 20s, David suffered his first episode of severe depression. During the course of more than 10 years, he says he sought help from psychiatrists who treated him with therapy and antidepressants. His depression sometimes became so acute that despite being a devout Catholic, David attempted suicide.

"I did certain things where I attempted to take my own life -- running a car in the garage. I hung off a bridge in California," he said.

The attempts stopped after his wife, Kim, made him promise not to kill himself. But David said his thoughts continued to focus on death. "I thought about killing other people. They were irrational, random, crazy thoughts that horrify me."