Keith Smith receives a life sentence for murdering his wife in 2018 – CBS Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ) – A Maryland man was sentenced to life in prison Monday for the 2018 murder of his wife and a subsequent attempt to cover it up.
Smith was convicted in December of first degree murder and a deadly weapon with intent to injure after a weeklong trial saw his daughter testify against him.
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Keith Smith was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife.
Here’s our story from when he was sentenced in December.
Keith Smith found guilty of first-degree murder for killing his wife – CBS Baltimore@wjzLIVE https://t.co/MeafKpMSkV
– Avajoye Burnett (@AvajoyeWJZ) February 28, 2022
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Jacquelyn Smith, an engineer with Aberdeen Proving Ground, was stabbed to death on December 1, 2018. Her husband called 911 that night, saying that a man stabbed his wife with a knife.
Her sister, Yzonne Saab, expressed gratitude after the sentencing, noting that the verdict was due to the “huge” amount of evidence against him.
“This doesn’t bring her back but we are elated and feel that justice has certainly been done,” Saab said. “And as I said in the file, the judge was very perceptive and precise. You can tell she really took this case seriously and made a decision that makes us very happy.”
Jacquelyn Smith is smart and witty, Saab said. She loves her mother, her two sons — both members of the US Coast Guard — and she wants her marriage to work for Keith, Saab said.
Keith Smith initially told investigators he stopped his car in the 1000 block of Valley Street and rolled down the side window so Jacquelyn Smith gave a female driver $10, according to authorities.
“Mr. Mr. Smith testified that at the same time, a man also went to the passenger side of the car where his wife was sitting and the man asked Mr. Smith if he could thank his wife for giving her money. female or not,” the officials said. “Mr. Smith said he replied ‘Yes.’ He then testified that the man started stabbing his wife several times, snatching her necklace and purse from her lap, and then fled with the female henchman.
Keith Smith and his daughter run away from town after his wife is murdered. They were arrested three months later near the US-Mexico border, about 1,700 miles from Maryland.
At the time, investigators obtained cell phone records and wiretapping orders showing that Keith Smith “made two phone calls to book a flight and attempted to book a one-way ticket to Cuba and Canada, ‘ the officials said.
He was unable to carry out the original escape plan because he did not have a US passport to travel out of the country, according to authorities. Keith Smith also asked about the possibility of flying to the US Virgin Islands.
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Investigators also found that Keith Smith used an online search engine to ask if he needed a passport to get to Jamaica or was there a way to get to Mexico without going through one of the gates. border or not, according to the authorities.
After the arrest near the US-Mexico border, Valeria Smith “admitted that the henchman’s story was a hoax by Keith Smith and that she witnessed when he killed Jacquelyn in Druid Hill Park,” the official said.
JUST IN: A mug shot for Keith Smith and his daughter Valeria Smith. Both are accused of orchestrating the murder of Jacquelyn Smith in #Baltimore, said she was stabbed to death while giving money to a merchant. Duo was arrested in Texas near the Mexican border @wjz pic.twitter.com/Uurv9SNDVk
– Rick Ritter (@RickRitterWJZ) March 4, 2019
Valeria Smith pleaded guilty in September 2019 to the fact of first degree murder.
Testify against her fatherValeria Smith recalls how the family celebrated a belated birthday that night when her father made a detour to Druid Hill Park.
At one point, she said, he slowed down and crashed into his wife. She said her father remained calm afterward, but his attitude changed when he called 911.
She testified in court that once her father left a murder weapon, a knife, in the woods, he told her to lie to the police and said that a knifeman had stabbed his wife.
She said a day or two after the murder, her father went to his wife’s place of work to get paperwork for her life insurance policy. He is the beneficiary.
An FBI agent also testified, saying Google and cell phone data placed both Smith and his daughter in Druid Hill Park at the time of the killings.
Keith Smith’s defense attorney says he is innocent until proven guilty and that she “has not seen anything to prove him guilty”. Keith is accused of murdering his wife. @wjz pic.twitter.com/ZRLeLPKWkq
– Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) March 21, 2019
Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby said Monday that Keith Smith deserves to spend “the rest of his natural life in prison for his deplorable and reprehensible actions.”
“Keith Smith will now only serve a life sentence in prison for brutally stabbing his wife to death and then creating an elaborate cover-up scheme to blame cowards for his gruesome assault. ,” Mosby said. “Today, the public can rest assured that justice has been served in a case that has manipulated the hearts and minds of our nation.”
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Mosby noted that her victim’s advocates will continue to support “Jacquelyn Smith’s family as they mourn the devastating loss of their loved one.”