The wife of a suburban Los Angeles mayor who was shot in his home pleaded not guilty Thursday to voluntary manslaughter. Lyvette Crespo, 43, entered the plea to a grand jury indictment. She was ordered held on $150,000 bail and could face up to 21 years in state prison if convicted. Crespo shot Bell Gardens Mayor Daniel Crespo three times in the chest on September 30. The killing came after the late mayor's years of domestic abuse, the widow claims. However, the late Crespo's brother says those claims are all a lie and that he has evidence proving Mrs. Crespo is a cold-blooded killer. Indicted: Lyvette Crespo (right) allegedly shot her husband, Bell Gardens, California Mayor Daniel Crespo (left), in September during a heated argument about his infidelity. She's now been indicted on charges of voluntary manslaughter . History of abuse? The Crespos were high school sweethearts. Mrs. Crespo claims her husband had become increasingly abusive in the months leading to his death. She says she shot him after he punched their son, who'd tried intervening during an argument . In text messages that brother, William Crespo, provided to the LA Times, Mrs. Crespo appears to have threatened to shoot her husband at least once before doing the deed. 'I'll find out who ... u got flowers for. Has to be a bell gardens wh***,' reads a message from Lyvette to her husband. Mr. Crespo replied: 'It better last time U threaten to shoot me in head!!!' In a civil suit filed against Lyvette on behalf of his mother, William Crespo has asked for more than $53 million in damages for the death of his brother, who he says was killed 'with malice and in cold blood,' by Mrs. Crespo. Crespo has told authorities it was self-defense after he punched their 19-year-old son in the face after he intervened in the couple's argument. Counter claim: Daniel Crespo's brother William (pictured) says his ex sister-in-law's claims are all lies and that she killed her husband in cold blood . Broken family: In this file photo, attorney Claudia Osuna holds a photo of the Crespo family - from top left to bottom right, Bell Gardens, Calif., Mayor Daniel Crespo, his daughter Crystal, his wife Lyvette and son Daniel Crespo Jr. Daniel Crespo Jr. called 911 to report the shooting, telling a dispatcher: 'He's on the floor dying. He hurt me.' Daniel Crespo, a Los Angeles County deputy probation officer, was elected in 2001 to the City Council of Bellflower, a city of about 42,000 residents. The mayor's position rotated among council members. He and his wife were high school sweethearts and married as teenagers in 1986. However, the autopsy report contained allegations by a daughter, Crystal Crespo, that her father had been verbally and physically abusive toward her mother over two decades. She said the abuse had become more physical in recent years because of arguments over Daniel Crespo's infidelity, but it was never reported and never left serious injuries. Daniel Crespo's brother, William Crespo, has denied the abuse allegations. The mayor's mother filed a $53 million lawsuit last fall in which she calls Crespo a 'cold-blooded killer' who picked a fight with her husband knowing their son would intervene. What happened? Mayor Daniel Crespo, pictured with daughter Chrystal, allegedly told his brother William there was another woman . Crespo Indictment by scprweb .
Widow of slain Bell Gardens mayor Lyvette Crespo pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on $150,000 bond . The 43-year-old told authorities it was in self-defense after her husband punched their teenage son when he tried to intervene in the fight . Her former brother-in-law claims that allegations of years of abuse are all a lie and says he has text messages proving the slaying was in cold blood . Crespo faces up to 21 years in state prison if convicted .