A woman from West Virginia caught a goodnight kiss from her husband, not knowing it would be her last moment with him.
Crystal Samson posted footage from their bedroom camera on her TikTok (@beware868), which showed her husband, Charlie, leaning in to kiss her, just before the couple went to sleep on the night of July 6, 2024.
“It was a normal day for us,” Crystal, a mom of two, told Newsweek. “He came home from work. We were talking about my uncle passing away that same day; and he looked at our oldest son and said, ‘You never know; we are here today and gone tomorrow,’ and we had no idea he would shortly have to leave us behind.”
After reminiscing over photos from a recent family trip to Florida, the couple went to bed.
Crystal remembers her husband falling asleep unusually early. As he wrapped his arms around her, he kissed her shoulder—something he had never done before in their 19 years together.
“I was a different energy and a different kind of touch that I felt,” Crystal said. “It’s like he said goodbye in some way.”
Moments later, she felt his breathing change. Charlie started jerking—something Crystal said sometimes happened when he was falling asleep—but, this time, his body jolted hard, and he fell onto his back.
“I flipped the light on and was screaming his name, asking him to answer me,” Crystal said. “He was mumbling but couldn’t speak. I called 911 [and] told them he has shallow breathing—he was slowly slipping away in front of me and our sons.”
Their two boys, ages 13 and 16 at the time, witnessed a distressing scene. Crystal and her older son moved Charlie to the floor and began CPR until emergency responders arrived. At the hospital, Crystal made it there first.
Ten to 15 minutes after emergency medical services arrived, they told Crystal they had done everything they could.
Crystal said: “I [asked] the doctor to tell all of us together as a family as this was hard for me to comprehend and even tell my boys there is no hope. We all said goodbye to him that night.”
Charlie had previously survived a “widowmaker” heart attack in February 2024, which left his heart functioning at only 15 percent. Still, he returned to work shortly after receiving stents—refusing to slow down.
“He was a hardworking family man, loved us unconditionally and always provided,” Crystal said. “Everyone was asking him to slow down, but his words [were], ‘My family has to survive; I have to pay bills.’ He was a provider and showed his love to us daily.”
The couple’s relationship together hadn’t been easy. Both Charlie and Crystal had struggled with addiction and served time in prison for drug-related charges in 2011.
But, after their release, they rebuilt their lives, regained custody of their children, stayed sober, secured jobs and even purchased their home in 2022.
“It’s like he provided all he could and then got tired, but he made sure we were sheltered and provided for,” Crystal said.
Now navigating life without him, Crystal added that she leans on her faith, her kids and her healing journey.
“[I’m] continuing to exercise, staying focused on my health and my mental health, crying when I need to, talking to others, posting videos in his memory, and, of course, a big part is our children,” Crystal said. “I often listen to music that helps me deal with it and I talk to God.”
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