Source: Douglas Sacha / Getty
A Baltimore father and daughter have been caught in a murder cover-up scheme.
Keith Tyrone Smith had alleged that his wife, Jacquelyn Smith, was stabbed and killed as they drove home by a panhandler as his daughter, Valeria Smith sat in the back seat, the Baltimore Sun reported. He told the police that Smith was killed by a homeless man in a blue hoodie and was with a woman in a brown coat who was carrying a baby after she handed the panhandler $10 on Dec. 1, 2018. After she was stabbed, Keith Smith called 911 and took her to the emergency room of John Hopkins Hospital where she later died.
“You got to help me. They stabbed my wife, man!” he told the 911 operator.
As police investigated, they couldn’t find the crime scene and there were inconsistencies in Smith’s story. As they searched, they couldn’t find any homeless people matching the Smiths’ suspect description. Plus, no fingerprints were found on the car.
Valeria Smith later admitted in Sept. 2019 that she helped her father kill her stepmother and cover up the murder, the Sun noted. She told investigators that she left Jacquelyn Smith’s purse at a bus stop to make the panhandler story look true. Smith also told false stories to the police, helped her father dispose of the murder weapon and was aiding his attempt to leave the country. The two were apprehended as they were approaching the border of Mexico.
Smith has pled guilty to acting as an accessory after the fact and is facing 10 years in prison. She’ll also be testifying against her father during his trial next week. Her father has been charged with first-degree murder and a slew of weapons charges and is facing life behind bars.
Smith, 31, explained that her emotional well-being was compromised at the time of the murder. Her defense attorney also added that Smith has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
“I was strung out on drugs and scared for my life. My father made me leave the state,” she wrote to the judge.
Valeria Smith will be sentenced on Dec. 13.
