Memphis murder suspect gambled company\'s money away
By SAM GARCIA
4/14/2003

His love for singing was his ultimate demise.

Joseph Leroy Crouch, Jr. was wanted for allegedly shooting his wife to death while she slept at their residence in Memphis, Tennessee, according to the FBI. Crouch disappeared shortly after her murder in June 2001.

Crouch, 60, was a credit and mortgage businessman, according to the Associated Press ( AP).

He gambled his company's money away and was heading towards bankruptcy, according to America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back -- which featured him on one of its shows. He reportedly claimed he didn't want his wife to suffer the embarrassment of the company going into bankruptcy.

The television show, which said Crouch's was the "747th capture for the show," highlighted Crouch's love for singing at karaoke bars.

The blue-eyed fugitive, which the FBI said was a habitual gambler and avid golfer, had been suspected of fleeing to New Orleans.

AP reported that Memphis police said they received dozens of tips from people in Florida, Mississippi, and New Orleans that recognized Crouch from karaoke sessions. Following up on one of those leads and armed with a SWAT team, police stormed a Daytona Beach, Florida condominium where Crouch -- using the alias Jay Nelson -- was staying and took him into custody, America's Most Wanted reported.

Crouch, who reportedly supported himself by robbing about 40 stores and banks along the Gulf Coast, plead innocent, according to AP.

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