Crystal Gail Mangum was born on July 18, 1978, in Durham, North Carolina. She was the youngest of three children in her family. Her father, Travis Mangum, worked as a truck driver, and her mother, Mary, played a vital role in raising the children.

Crystal attended Hillside High School and graduated in 1996. After graduation, she joined the United States Navy. While in the Navy, she trained to operate radios and navigation technology. During her service, Crystal married Kenneth Nathanial McNeill. However, their marriage faced many challenges and quickly fell apart.

In 1996, when Crystal was 14 years old, she filed a police report claiming that she had been kidnapped and raped by three men, including her boyfriend, who was 21 at the time. She later retracted her statement, reportedly due to fear. Her father did not believe her claims, while her mother felt that something may have happened but doubted the timing of the event. Crystal's ex-husband believed her version of the story.

Crystal served in the Navy for less than two years before she was discharged because she became pregnant by another sailor. Following her time in the military, she returned to Durham. By 2002, she was working as a stripper. That year, she was arrested after stealing a taxi from a customer. This led to a police chase and several charges, including assault on a government official and driving while impaired. Crystal ultimately pleaded guilty and served weekends in jail, paid restitution, and was placed on probation.

In 2004, Crystal earned an associate degree from Durham Technical Community College. After that, she enrolled full-time at North Carolina Central University. She was studying police psychology and maintained a grade point average of 3.0 during her second year of studies.

In March 2006, Crystal Gail Mangum was hired as an exotic dancer for a party organized by members of the Duke University men's lacrosse team. She arrived intoxicated, having consumed alcohol and medication. After an argument with the party's attendees, she left the house. Following a fight with a fellow dancer, police were called. Mangum later made a false claim that she had been sexually assaulted during the party. This allegation led to a highly publicized legal case. District Attorney Mike Nifong took on the case despite doubts about Mangum's credibility. It was almost a year before the charges were dropped, and the players were declared innocent.

In February 2010, Durham police responded to a disturbance at Mangum's home after her daughter called for help. Mangum and her partner were involved in a fight, and she was accused of setting fire to his clothing, resulting in severe smoke damage to the property. She was arrested and faced multiple charges, including attempted murder and arson. Initially held on a $1 million bond, her bond was reduced later. In December 2010, she was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and other charges, but not arson.

Mangum was arrested again in April 2011 after stabbing her boyfriend, Reginald Daye. He later died from his injuries, and Mangum was indicted for murder. During the trial, she claimed she acted in self-defense. The prosecution argued that the evidence supported that Daye was trying to escape from her when he was stabbed. On November 22, 2013, she was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to serve a minimum of 14 years and two months in prison. Mangum has since filed for an appeal and addressed various issues related to her previous legal battles, but she remains incarcerated.