Crystal Smith arrived at the Receiving and Orientation Section in the Women's Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Vandalia, Missouri. She would be there for two weeks before being sent to a permanent section to serve her sentence. She never had a chance to serve her sentence. She died because she had a condition known as hyperthyroidism and was not allowed to have her medication.

Crystal had been up all night asking to go to medical. She was crying, up at the intercom at 1:30 a.m. and stating she had been vomiting pure blood. She was freezing and couldn't warm up holding her throat and stomach. Mo Clark kept telling her to go lay down, go lay down. Crystal was sitting on her cot and rocking and crying.

Crystal had been up there off and on all night. Finally they realized that Crystal was dead. Her roommate could tell she had died siting up in agony. Her feet were still partially on the floor. Crystal had just slowly fallen to the side with her feet still hanging off her cot.

Other inmates had asked Kapouski if they intended on helping pay for her body to be moved to her hometown, Kansas City. The answer was no, her family would have to cover that expense. The facility was not required to help with the cost.

All Crystal needed was her thyroid pill. The denial of one little pill cost her, her life. Now her children no longer had a living mother and her mother no longer had a living daughter.