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Duke lacrosse accuser gets new lawyer in murder case

A Durham woman who falsely accused three Duke University lacrosse players of rape in 2006 has been appointed her third attorney to represent her in a separate murder case.

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Crystal Mangum mug shot
DURHAM, N.C. — A Durham woman who falsely accused three Duke University lacrosse players of rape in 2006 has been appointed her third attorney to represent her in a separate murder case.

Crystal Mangum, 34, is charged in the April 2011 death of Reginald Daye, 46, who was stabbed with a kitchen knife during an argument at his Durham apartment, police said. They had been dating for about a month at the time of his death.

Daniel Meier was appointed Wednesday as Mangum's new attorney. He said he hopes to meet with her next week.

Last week, a judge allowed defense attorney Scott Holmes to withdraw from the case because of a conflict of interest through his new position as director of the Civil Litigation Clinic at the North Carolina Central University School of Law.

Holmes had represented Mangum since March. Her first attorney dropped out last year, saying her supporters had suggested she was unhappy with his defense. She also has represented herself for part of the case.

Mangum gained notoriety from her March 2006 claim that three players on the Duke lacrosse team trapped her inside a bathroom at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd., where she was performing as a stripper at a team party, and raped and sexually assaulted her. Her story about the incident was so inconsistent that Attorney General Roy Cooper later declared the players innocent, saying there was no credible evidence against them.

Her murder trial is set for Nov. 12.

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