BROOKSVILLE — After more than three decades, the fate of Jeffrey Crum is now in the hands of a jury.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys delivered their closing arguments Thursday morning in Crum’s death penalty trial for the 1993 murder of 12-year-old Jennifer Odom.
Odom disappeared on Feb. 19, 1993, after getting off her school bus in rural Pasco County and beginning the roughly 200-yard walk to her home. She never made it home.
Her body was found nearly a week later in an abandoned orange grove in southwest Hernando County.
For decades, investigators pursued leads in the case. Children who were on the bus reported seeing a faded blue pickup truck following Odom as she walked home. Investigators eventually determined Crum lived in the area at the time and owned a blue truck.
The breakthrough came decades later through evidence from another case.
About 13 months before Odom disappeared, a 17-year-old girl was sexually assaulted after getting off a school bus in Pasco County. DNA collected in that case eventually led investigators to Crum through a familial match to his son.
Crum was arrested in 2015 and later received two life sentences for that attack. Investigators continued building the case against him in Odom’s death, and a Hernando County grand jury indicted him in 2023 on charges including first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery.
During the trial, Crum's son testified that his father admitted to killing Odom. Nicholas Romano, who was housed in the same jail cell as Crum, also testified that Crum confessed to the murder just last week.
The defense has argued prosecutors did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Crum was responsible for Odom’s killing.
If he is convicted, he could face the death penalty.
Jennifer Odom would be 45 years old today.
Share Your Story with Erik
For more than 15 years, Erik Waxler has called Pasco County home. He’s dedicated to helping his neighbors from New Port Richey to Dade City solve problems and celebrating those who help others. Share your ideas and tips with Erik below.
.
Challenges over Florida's school bus and school speed zone camera face setbacks as legal battles continue
Cameras catching drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses or speed through school zones are generating millions of citations across Florida — and a growing wave of legal challenges.
