Janet Jay Crouch, 37, was shot and killed at her West Ashley home on Hollywood Drive shortly after 8 p.m. on Mother’s Day evening, May 11, 2025. The shooting happened after she and her middle school‑aged son had finished dinner; the boy witnessed the attack and was later found hiding in a closet. Authorities do not believe the killing was random.

Crouch worked as a stylist at Vanity Salon in Mount Pleasant and was remembered by family and friends as a devoted mother to her 12‑year‑old son. Arrests in the investigation include her ex‑boyfriend, Jean Irene Lesperance, 36, of North Charleston, charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, and an accomplice, Jacinda Francesca Trader, 28, of Saint George, charged with murder.

Court documents cited an earlier report by Crouch in March 2023 that she had been held captive for three days and assaulted by a boyfriend identified in some reports as John Lesar, who was arrested then on kidnapping and domestic violence charges. Friends said Crouch felt unsupported in that prior prosecution, and her death has prompted questions locally about how domestic violence cases are handled.

Did anyone who knew Janet, her movements that evening, or her contacts in the weeks before her death speak to investigators or have information to share?