When you're a teenager, you know, someone you're in love with chooses someone else, it's impossible not to get angry. You did something you regret and you can't take back. >> This teenager having a nuclear meltdown is 17-year-old Tanaya Lewis. Tanaya is currently being questioned for the murder of her classmate, Denina Gibson, as she attacked, assaulted, and killed her in her own high school, a crime she will learn comes with its consequences. >> Mhm, well, I think she's crazy. She made me so angry. So angry I couldn't feel anything. >> Because for months Tanaya believed 16-year-old Denina Gibson was secretly stealing the man she loved, pushing him away, an obsession that will now lead detectives down one of the most terrifying love triangles they have ever seen. >> She looked at me. Her eyes were so big. She was scared. >> Are you there, assistant, telling your side of the story to me? >> How come there's no cameras in here? >> The camera in this room is that device above you there. >> It was September 12th, 2018 in small-town Michigan when police received a flurry of panic calls from a local high school. >> Help. >> 911. >> Hello, hi. We need an ambulance to Fitzgerald High School. >> What's going on there? >> We have somebody bleeding. >> Is it a student? >> Yes. >> Inside a second period classroom, nearly 30 students watched in horror as 17-year-old Tanaya Lewis leapt from her seat and drove a knife to the back of another classmate, 16-year-old Denina Gibson. But she didn't stop there. She continued to stab Denina as classmates hurried out into the hall screaming, and a teacher shoved Tanaya into the hallway to separate her from her victim. A school resource officer rushed to tend to her wounds, but tragically things weren't looking good. >> Where are they bleeding from? >> Um, yeah. >> Or being told? >> Okay, do we know why? Okay, I want somebody to take a clean Listen, listen, I want somebody to take a clean cloth and apply pressure where they're bleeding from. >> By the time an ambulance arrived, Danina was unconscious, barely clinging to life. She was taken to a nearby hospital where she remained for several days until tragically she passed away. Danina was a straight-A student, someone who many others looked up to. She dreamt of one day working in computer engineering or robotics and was doing everything in her power to make that happen. That chance was taken away from her and police had one question, why? Law enforcement swiftly brought Taniya, who goes by T, in to questioning. >> Uh what kind of grades do you get? >> Straight A's. >> Oh. Um what uh what's your favorite subject? >> Psychology. >> Um so if you're getting all A's, you must be a pretty smart young lady. Fair to say? >> Um do you have any questions for me? >> I'm wondering this. >> Um yes or no, okay? Um the way every police investigation works from um a mailbox getting broken all the way up until you know the you know the crazy you know blowing up the World Trade Center. The way it works is the police's job is to gather up all the information, um find out what the truth is, gather all the evidence, okay? And then I present it to a prosecutor. All right? And then the prosecutor makes a decision on whether or not anyone's actually charged with anything. Um so obviously something took place at this school that you were involved in is my understanding. Um I've known you for all of about uh 5 minutes now. Um I'm trying to get to the truth and figure out the whole story, not just one version of it. Um I'm sure you've heard of you know, you've had cases in your childhood or in your your life where someone's one thing happened and then someone says this this and this happened, but the reality was was, only this. Does that make sense? Like sometimes people exaggerate or they make up stuff about what happened. And I found that usually if two people tell the same story, the truth is somewhere in between the middle of what happened. Now, in order for me to determine what happened and and find out the truth, I would like to talk to you. Okay? Just to hear what what your side of the story is about what happened. Are you interested in telling your side of the story to me? >> How come there's no cameras in here? >> There is a camera. Um No, the camera in this room is that device above you there. It's all being recorded. There's no need to I don't have anything to hide. I'm just going to ask you a question. >> Okay. >> After that creepy introduction and prolonged eye contact, police read Tanaya her Miranda rights. She agrees to them verbally, but then she backpedals. Before she signs anything, she wants to talk to her ex-boyfriend, a boy named Evan. Keep in mind, Evan's name is redacted in the following footage. >> If you would just please sign there and that I read those to and you can look at the form. That's all it does is that um I read those to. >> Anything that happened after I signed that is going to get me in trouble. >> Not necessarily. Um >> Because everything up until this moment didn't matter because you never read me my rights. And now that I've been read my rights, anything I say or do can be used against me. >> Well, I don't know what you're going to say, so I can't predict the future. >> I'm going to tell you the truth, the whole truth. >> Well, I want to hear the truth. >> Okay. Can I sign that too? >> Um okay. Um let me try and figure that out, okay? You said his How old is he? >> I think he's 17. >> Okay. Let me see if I can work that out. >> Tanaya is left alone for 20 minutes and in that time the gravity of what she's done seems to hit her or maybe it's just her desperation to talk to her ex. And if you enjoy killers like this, realize they're not winning an Oscar, subscribe and check out our Spotify where we upload podcasts every week. >> [snorts] >> Relax. Relax. What happened? Hey. Hey. You're okay. >> I don't know. >> Oh no. >> Oh no. [screaming] >> Oh no. >> What happened? >> I DON'T KNOW. >> HEY. IT'S going to be okay. >> I'm okay. Take a deep >> TAKE A DEEP BREATH. RELAX. WE'RE TRYING TO GET HELP. >> [laughter] >> HAVE FIRE AND STANDBY. HEY. HEY. Look at me. Look at me. You're okay. You're okay. Deep breath. Deep breath. Okay, you're safe. Okay? Do you want to sit up? Here. You're okay. Roll Hey. Hey, roll over. Just roll over a little bit. You're okay. Hey. Hey, are you with me? >> Hey. Hey. Hey. [laughter] >> Look. Hey. You're okay. YOU'RE OKAY. >> [laughter] [screaming] >> I'M TRYING TO I'M TRYING I'M CALLING, OKAY? I CAN'T HAVE YOU TALKING. RELAX, OKAY? TAKE A DEEP BREATH. >> [laughter] >> WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU? WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU? >> [screaming] >> WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU? >> [laughter] >> I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM. >> YOU'RE AT THE LAUREL POLICE DEPARTMENT. My name is Okay? >> [laughter] >> Okay. Okay, take a deep breath. I can help you through this, but you got to relax, okay? Can I get something to eat? Relax. Take some deep breaths. I know that you're in a bad spot, okay? You want to talk? Okay. Please >> [laughter] >> Why don't you sit up? Sit up [snorts] and I'll get you a phone and you can talk but I can't let you talk to him until you show me that you can calm down, okay? Okay. Do you want help getting up? Sit up Can I help you? Let me help you get up, okay? You'll breathe a little better if you're sitting up. >> [gasps] >> Come on. Just use my hand, okay? We're going to sit you up, okay? You're at the Warm Police. Okay. Well, I'm not quite sure what's happening at the second moment but you said you wanted I'd like to help you up. I can get you a drink of water or something like that. You're okay. You want to sit in the chair or you rather be on the floor? Can you get up back in the chair? Just Do you want some water? I have him on the phone and I'm just waiting for you to stop screaming and then you can. Let me help Do you want to get up or you want to do it right there? Do you want to talk to him right there? >> [snorts] >> Hang on. Do you want a bottle of water? >> After her tantrum to get her way, police hand the phone over to Tanaya. Because she hasn't signed the sheet for her Miranda rights, everything she says to Evan was not admissible in court but for police it's a risk worth taking, especially to avoid her throwing herself on the ground and screaming bloody murder. The minute she puts the phone to her ear and hears her ex, all of her problems seem to melt away and what she's concerned with is shocking given the fact that she's literally just killed someone. >> Hey. >> I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. >> [snorts] >> I'm sorry. Do you love me? I'm sorry. I love you. >> If you want some privacy, we can put you back up in the chair. You can talk to him. I'll shut the door. >> I just want to put it all behind me. Everything. He's sorry. I'm sorry. Shh. You don't have to worry about him. I told you that we'd be together forever. Did you bother her? Did you follow her home from work? Shh. Did you bother her? >> The girl that she's asking about Evan having feelings for is none other than the victim, Danina. For months in their relationship, Tenaya accused Evan of having feelings for and cheating on her with Danina, despite the fact that in actuality, that never happened. >> I'm really sorry. >> Okay. Before we do that, okay? Are you okay now? Did you take some deep breaths? I mean, are you able to you understand what we talked about earlier? Okay. Well, here's this. Just there. All this says is that I read them to you, okay? If you decide that you don't want to talk to me anymore, just say, "Okay." I really do just want to get the truth. I want to hear what happened. Um your side of the story, but um it's up to you, okay? Whenever you're ready, man, what happened? >> This is my girlfriend. And we split up like that, and then we broke up, and then we straight up left. And people don't like her. Nobody even asked me to do that. >> Police asked T about Danina, though keep in mind her name is redacted. >> Do you know a girl Who is that? You got How do you know her? >> I don't like her. >> Why is that? >> Because I hate her. >> Okay. What caused What did she do that caused you to hate her? >> Everything. >> I would like to understand why you don't like her. So, anything you could tell me more specifically um would really help me understand what happened. >> She She was just never >> boyfriend or a former boyfriend? >> He's the love of my life. >> Okay. How long have you guys been dating or >> We've known each other like 2 years. >> Okay. Did you break up recently? >> He broke up with me. >> When did that happen? >> Like 2 months ago, I think. I don't remember. >> Did he give you a reason or what? >> We were trying to work things out. And I'm trying to work things out for a really long time. And he It's really hard on me. >> Did she start dating? >> She wouldn't have broken up then. >> Okay. >> Now, this is where things get interesting because actually T and Denina were best friends for quite some time. However, the year prior to this, Denina and Evan were set up to do a group project together. From that point on, T became convinced that Evan was cheating on her with Denina and nothing either of them could do or say could sway her. They went from friends to enemies, at least from T's point of view, and for Evan things quickly went downhill. T began to obsessively stalk Evan, going so far as to delete every female contact from his phone and to force him to share his location with her at all times, which is ironic when you hear what T was up to during that time. >> That's got to hurt pretty bad if you care about somebody and uh they leave you. >> They all just think I'm crazy. Everyone I talk to thinks I'm crazy. I'm not crazy. >> Why do you think that Why do they say that? >> They say I'm attached to him. And he thinks I'm crazy. He doesn't go to therapy. >> Have you been diagnosed with anything or are you just >> [snorts] >> I'm just depressed and anxious. He said I might have a mood disorder. She was just mad at me because I was talking to her ex-boyfriend. >> Are Are they still dating? Or does she think they're still dating? >> Is she okay? >> The doc She's at the hospital. I don't know. What happened today? >> Someone hurt her. >> What's that? >> Someone hurt her. >> Okay. How did she get hurt? >> She >> Okay. Where did >> I don't know what it is. I just saw her. >> Do you know who >> Him. >> Okay. >> And she was dark. And her skin was gray. And she was sweating. And then he took me to another room. And [snorts] he took me downstairs. I don't know what's going on. >> Are you the one >> I don't know what to >> Well, >> [snorts] >> we all make mistakes when angry. >> So, what if I hurt someone I love? What am I going to do? >> And that's important and that's kind of why That's why >> [snorts] >> That's why I'm here talking to you because I know there's two sides, okay? You told me you got straight A's. You told me that you've never been I I reviewed your record, you know, you've never been arrested, never gotten in trouble before. Okay? I had this I I I don't know you real well, but I asked the school resource officer to talk to the principal and stuff about you. Everyone said you're a good person. Okay? >> I don't remember anything. >> My experience is that we all have a limit. At some point, we just we get so mad, we do things we wouldn't otherwise do. >> I don't remember anything. I don't remember anything after I talked to >> Okay. >> [snorts] >> Is it possible that while you were angry, you did something you wouldn't otherwise do? >> I don't remember anything. >> Okay. >> Just saw him in the hallway. And then I just And then I remember I was screaming and she was running and the room was dark and they took me out. >> [snorts] >> Okay. Did you bring a knife to school today? >> I don't remember. >> Okay. Do you you Do you sometimes carry a knife? >> No, I don't even carry pepper spray. >> [snorts] >> Danina was stabbed with a small kitchen knife, and at this point, police are certain it came from T's home. The fact that she brought it implies premeditation, that the murder was planned, not a split-second decision. And if it was premeditated, she's in big, big trouble. >> Let's start with some simple questions, okay? What time did you wake up today? >> I don't know. It was I think it was 3:25. >> 5:00 in the morning? Okay. What do you normally do to get ready for school? >> I take my dog outside. >> What kind of dog do you have? >> He's a golden Siamese terrier. >> Oh, yeah? Does uh Does he go number two pretty easily, or do you have to walk him around for a while cuz my dog's a pain. Well, I got to walk him up and down the block to get him to go before I go to work. >> I take him in the backyard. >> Does he usually go pretty quick? >> Yeah. >> That's good. >> Yeah. And then I cleaned it up. >> Okay. Then you probably get ready for school. >> Yeah. I went back inside and I gave him his food. And then I brushed him and cleaned and washed my face. School work and get dressed and yet I [snorts] checked the weather and it said that it was going to be 70s around 2:00. >> Okay. >> And then Teddy ate his food and I ate my breakfast. >> Did you have anything for breakfast then? >> No. I don't eat breakfast at home. I thought I was just going to eat breakfast when I got to school. >> What do you usually have for breakfast? Do they have a breakfast provided or do you just go to some kind of a vending machine? >> No, breakfast is free because my family doesn't make a lot of money, so they make sure that I get free lunch and free breakfast. >> Okay. It's nice the school to do it. I It probably makes life a little harder not having a lot of money in the house. So, what's your first class or where do you go first when you get to school? >> I go to the tech building. >> Okay. What do you Are you guys in a certain program or are your classes in the tech building? >> I have a web design class. >> How do you like that? >> I don't really like I'm just really good at the passwords on there. I was just listening to music. I was listening to X Tour Life. And Lil Uzi Vert. And then I kept playing it over and over. >> Is that one of your favorite songs? >> No. >> Just sounded good today? >> I don't know. I was just supposed to listen to his music because he said anyone who listened to him is going to hell. That's all I remember, so I kept listening. >> What's the song about? >> Pushed until the edge. All my friends are dead. Pushed until the edge. >> I sometimes listen to music that matches my mood. You know, if I'm in a good mood, I'll listen to a happy song. >> I don't want to care who I cry to. No one should ever know why. All my friends are dead. >> Have you been feeling pushed to the edge lately? >> Yes, my friends are dead. But trapped. >> That's a tough place to be. I remember when I was 16, 17, 18 years old, it was hard figuring everything out and everything seemed um because of your age, everything is more intense. You know, I don't have the uh the lens, you know, if I I wish I could go back and take 18-year-old, 17-year-old Jim by the neck and uh explain things, you know, how the world is actually not the way I thought the world was when I was a young man. Cuz I remember all the emotions I used to feel were far more intense, just far more like overwhelming than they are now, now that I'm kind of getting closer to middle age. And I wish that I, you know, I could explain to myself not to be I wish I could tell 17-year-old Jim not to be so hard on himself, you know? Not to be so worried about what other people think and stuff, you know, just the random stuff that I've picked up in the last 18 years, 19 years, you know. And I wish I'd go back and tell myself you know, it really wasn't it really wasn't as bad as I thought it was. Maybe you could just relax a little bit. Um so that you must really be feeling I mean don't be your head, you must be really feeling a lot of pressure. >> So many times. >> Okay. >> He didn't talk for years. >> What makes you feel that way? >> He just stayed quiet. >> Did this other girl talk to you today? >> Mhm. Last night we talked to her last night. >> Where did you see her first today? What did you Oh, I'm sorry. What did she say to you last night? What was the conversation about last night? >> She said she told him. And I told him, you know, what's going to happen next, right? >> What did she tell him? >> Something she shouldn't have. It wasn't her place to tell. And she told him. >> And what did you tell her then? >> She shouldn't have done that. >> What did you say next then? >> She said to stop talking to her. Or else she's going to get me in more trouble. She made me so angry. I just blocked her. She made me upset. She made me so angry. So angry. Couldn't feel anything. >> What Danina told Evan was that she discovered T had been cheating on her, despite the fact that T was obsessive and constantly accusing Evan of cheating, she was actually the one who cheated, which is pretty classic, sadly. When Danina found out from classmates, she told Evan, wanting what was best for him. Sadly, that meant that all of T's rage fell on her and her alone because in T's mind, it's not her own fault for cheating, it's Danina's for telling Evan. >> I wish she never got to school. She didn't feel right. And the air felt thick. It was hard to breathe. My vision got blurry. T wanted to give everything. I didn't have any. I had $100 in my pocket. Dan knew I wasn't going to be using it, so I gave it to him. And then I knew he was so mad at me. I gave it to him anyway. And then I walked to class. I remember her watching me. And no one noticed. So, I could accept something was wrong. And I can't at the same time. I shook my head and felt shame. She asked me how I was doing and I didn't say anything. I sat down at my desk. I don't remember I looked. Her desk was empty. Wasn't there yet. So, I sat down. I tried to listen. I tried to focus. I tried writing the assignment on the board. I don't even remember what it was about. And then they said She said something about moving to groups or something. And then I remember her looking down at her arms. And then nothing. Darkness. >> Then what happened? >> She looked at me. And her eyes were so I was so scared. I mean she just started screaming and >> What was your body doing when this happened? >> I don't know what my body was doing. I don't know what my body was doing. >> Could you see what your body was doing? >> No. I just wanted to watch. She ran. She ran towards the door. And then she turned around and looked at me again. I was there. I wanted to keep her away. I didn't want her to get hurt. I didn't know what was going on. She ran around my body. >> Unfortunately, her classmates remember much more. After stabbing Denina, witnesses in the room were called T running after her, laughing and smiling as she chased her down and repeatedly attacked her again. Denina's last moments were filled with terror, and in those moments, T showed nothing but glee. >> I mean, if you could take back what happened today, would you? >> I don't know what happened. Did I hurt her? >> T, it appears from what the other kids have told us that you're the one that hurt her. Um We have a small knife that uh we recovered that we think has some DNA on it. Um I noticed that you have a small cut on your hand that looks like it could be from a knife. And I think maybe you made a a mistake today that you wish you could take back and your mind is having a hard time processing what happened. It's obviously It's obvious It's obvious that you're a decent person, okay? And it's obvious that you're under a lot of stress. Okay? And when you're a teenager and you know, someone that you you're in love with chooses someone else and then that person is is mean to her or says says stuff that upsets you. [snorts] It's It's impossible not to get angry. Okay? I don't think that this is something you intended to do. Okay? I think you got really angry and you did something that you regret and you can't take back. I think I think that you'll feel better you know, if you talk about it a little bit. >> [laughter] >> Sorry. >> And I'll talk And um I know that you talked to him a little bit, but you were a little upset. And um maybe uh maybe you can call and get him to come. >> [laughter] >> Um I guess the the question I'm I'm having is you know, where did the knife come from? >> He wanted to tell me to eat. >> He what? >> He wanted to tell me to eat in the house to eat. He was sitting. He had hot chips. He was still eating his hot chips. I went to the kitchen. I took a small knife. And I walked out the door. >> What does the knife look like? >> It's black. Everything is black. >> Do you think that's the same knife that cut >> I don't know if I have that. >> Do you think that's probably the same knife that the police department has and has blood on it from her? >> I get a lawyer. >> It's up to you do you want a lawyer? >> Mhm. >> It's okay. Um sit tight, okay? So, I can't get you the lawyer immediately, but we'll work on that, okay? While you're waiting, do you want any food or water? All right. >> Ultimately, Tinaya Lewis was found guilty of the murder of Danina Gibson. As a result, she was sentenced to prison as an adult and is now set to serve 27 to 60 years behind bars. Our thoughts are with the family, friends, and classmates of Danina Gibson, >> [music] >> who was taken far, far too soon. Thank you for tuning in. Besides subscribing to help us make more videos exactly like this one, you can also listen to all of our crime podcasts over on Spotify. And before you go, check out one of the craziest cases I've ever covered right here, or one of my newest uploads right here.