Borderline Retarded Killer Claims: "I was bored."
Teenager Sentenced For Murder and Rape of Sister, Injuring 2 Year Old With hammer
By: John Brown's Bones
An unrepentant young man stands in a Spotsylvania County Circuit Court room. The Virginia man stands before Judge David H. Beck guilty of the gruesome murder and aborted post mortem rape of his 22-year-old sister and attacking his two-year-old niece with a sledgehammer. The man looks off into the distance now and again like he is distracted by sounds that no one else can seem to hear. The 18-year-old man, who has been found borderline retarded with an IQ of 75 but competent to stand trial, does not seem to be interested or aware of the proceedings in the court room, although these proceedings will determine rest of his life.
This is the final phase of Walter Leon Smith Jr.'s murder trial, the morning of January 28th 2009. Smith is about to plead guilty to second degree murder in the September 2nd 2007 death of his sister Betsy Smith and the violent assault on his two-year-old niece w/a sledgehammer when Smith was a 16 year old admittedly high on crack cocaine.
The case began when a Spotsylvania toddler was brought into the local emergency room with severe injuries. The grandmother of the the toddler, Mary Smith, insisted that the child had fallen into something in the house then quickly left the hospital without allowing the toddler to be treated.
Sheriff Howard Smith, of the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Department, in speaking with local reporters, said a detective was sent to the Smith's Brock Road home on suspicion of child abuse after a hospital worker made a report.
After a short investigation at the Smiths' home, the toddler was flown to a hospital in Richmond where she was listed in serious but stable condition with a fractured skull and nose. Police asked where her mother, Betsy Smith, was.
After getting no answers, officers broke down a padlocked door at the Smiths' home and made a horrific discovery. They found Betsy Smith dead on her bedroom floor. She lay half-naked, bloody and dead with half of her skull caved in.
Police questioned Betsy’s brother, 16-year-old Walter L. Smith Jr., who made a startling confession. Smith told investigators that he had beaten his sister to death with a sledgehammer and then had tried to have sex with her corpse. CSI found no DNA from Walter Smith in the corpse's body but all the signs consistent of rape - including extensive defensive wounding were present. During the attack, Smith's 2-year-old niece (Betsy Smith's daughter) began to cry, at which time he also hit the toddler with the sledgehammer.
After the attack, Smith went on to say that he had locked the child, along with her 1-year-old brother, inside the bedroom with his sisters half-naked, bloody corpse. The children had remained in the padlocked room with the corpse for approximately 12 hours after the murder.
Both of Walter and Betsy's parents were home at the time of her murder and rape apparently unaware that anything was wrong. Even after the murder of their daughter they seemed not to notice their daughter was dead or that their son was acting strangely.
Following a bungled suicide attempt by Walter Smith Jr., when he was initially confronted by officers, he was charged with first-degree murder, rape and malicious wounding. After his arrest, the key to the padlock outside Betsy's room was found in Walter Smith's pocket.
"This is probably one of the more brutal cases that I've been involved in here," said Sheriff Smith, who has been with the sheriff's office for 22 years.
Two years later, if any of these events were going through Walter Smith Jr.'s mind it did not show. Judge Beck looks down from the bench at the teenager and announces a sentence of 27 and half years in prison. Smith doesn't even blink.
When asked why he killed and raped his sister, during the original investigation Smith said: "I was bored."
References:
PYSIH: Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, Walter Smith Jr. Pleads Guilty
WJLA Channel 4, Teen Accused of Killing Sister with Sledgehammer
In Cold Blood Blog, Walter Smith Jr. Held In Rape-Murder
By: John Brown's Bones
An unrepentant young man stands in a Spotsylvania County Circuit Court room. The Virginia man stands before Judge David H. Beck guilty of the gruesome murder and aborted post mortem rape of his 22-year-old sister and attacking his two-year-old niece with a sledgehammer. The man looks off into the distance now and again like he is distracted by sounds that no one else can seem to hear. The 18-year-old man, who has been found borderline retarded with an IQ of 75 but competent to stand trial, does not seem to be interested or aware of the proceedings in the court room, although these proceedings will determine rest of his life. This is the final phase of Walter Leon Smith Jr.'s murder trial, the morning of January 28th 2009. Smith is about to plead guilty to second degree murder in the September 2nd 2007 death of his sister Betsy Smith and the violent assault on his two-year-old niece w/a sledgehammer when Smith was a 16 year old admittedly high on crack cocaine.
The case began when a Spotsylvania toddler was brought into the local emergency room with severe injuries. The grandmother of the the toddler, Mary Smith, insisted that the child had fallen into something in the house then quickly left the hospital without allowing the toddler to be treated.
Sheriff Howard Smith, of the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Department, in speaking with local reporters, said a detective was sent to the Smith's Brock Road home on suspicion of child abuse after a hospital worker made a report.
After a short investigation at the Smiths' home, the toddler was flown to a hospital in Richmond where she was listed in serious but stable condition with a fractured skull and nose. Police asked where her mother, Betsy Smith, was.
After getting no answers, officers broke down a padlocked door at the Smiths' home and made a horrific discovery. They found Betsy Smith dead on her bedroom floor. She lay half-naked, bloody and dead with half of her skull caved in.
Police questioned Betsy’s brother, 16-year-old Walter L. Smith Jr., who made a startling confession. Smith told investigators that he had beaten his sister to death with a sledgehammer and then had tried to have sex with her corpse. CSI found no DNA from Walter Smith in the corpse's body but all the signs consistent of rape - including extensive defensive wounding were present. During the attack, Smith's 2-year-old niece (Betsy Smith's daughter) began to cry, at which time he also hit the toddler with the sledgehammer.
After the attack, Smith went on to say that he had locked the child, along with her 1-year-old brother, inside the bedroom with his sisters half-naked, bloody corpse. The children had remained in the padlocked room with the corpse for approximately 12 hours after the murder.
Both of Walter and Betsy's parents were home at the time of her murder and rape apparently unaware that anything was wrong. Even after the murder of their daughter they seemed not to notice their daughter was dead or that their son was acting strangely.
Following a bungled suicide attempt by Walter Smith Jr., when he was initially confronted by officers, he was charged with first-degree murder, rape and malicious wounding. After his arrest, the key to the padlock outside Betsy's room was found in Walter Smith's pocket.
"This is probably one of the more brutal cases that I've been involved in here," said Sheriff Smith, who has been with the sheriff's office for 22 years.
Two years later, if any of these events were going through Walter Smith Jr.'s mind it did not show. Judge Beck looks down from the bench at the teenager and announces a sentence of 27 and half years in prison. Smith doesn't even blink.
When asked why he killed and raped his sister, during the original investigation Smith said: "I was bored."
References:
PYSIH: Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, Walter Smith Jr. Pleads Guilty
WJLA Channel 4, Teen Accused of Killing Sister with Sledgehammer
In Cold Blood Blog, Walter Smith Jr. Held In Rape-Murder
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