Police have arrested Jacquelyn Smith’s husband and his daughter, just months after Smith was said to have been murdered while giving money to a panhandler in Baltimore.
On Sunday, police reported the arrests of Keith Smith, 52, and his daughter, Valeria Smith, 28, for the Dec. 1, 2018 murder of Jacquelyn Smith. Both are charged with first-degree murder.
“During the course of our investigation, we have developed evidence that Mr. Smith was leaving Maryland, so we made appropriate national notifications, and the Texas State Police arrested him this morning (Sunday),” Harrison stated. “All of our investigators for both Keith and Valeria Smith, outlining the evidence in this case to a judge, who reviewed and signed the warrants for first-degree murder.”
Harrison did not mention a motive.
“The information and the evidence point to it was not a panhandler,” Harrison shared. “People took advantage of Baltimore.”
“In this particular case, often times we have these negative depictions about our city, and it’s rather unfortunate when people take advantage of these negative perceptions,” Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby stated.
Initially, investigators said 54-year-old Jacquelyn Smith acknowledged a woman holding a sign that read “please help me feed my baby,” with what looked to be a baby while she was riding in her car on Valley Street. Investigators said a man reached into the car after Jacquelyn gave the woman money, grabbed her wallet, stabbed her and took off. She later died at a hospital.
Police said both Keith and Valeria were with Jacquelyn the night she was murdered and informed the police that a panhandler stabbed her to death. However, after further investigation, officials turned their attention to Keith and Valeria. More than three months later, the two were arrested in Harlingen, Texas, near the Mexico border.
On Sunday, the mayor’s office shared a statement, saying, “Like everyone in our city, state and across this nation, we mourned the senseless killing of Jacquelyn Smith. To now learn that family members staged this brutal killing is beyond belief and represents a double tragedy. They were responsible for taking Jacquelyn’s life with unconscionable cruelty and contrived to do so in our city under the guise of random violence, exploiting the legitimate fears of our residents. I commend our homicide detectives for their expert and tireless work in bringing those truly responsible to justice in this very troubling and sad case.”
Mosby shared a statement, stating, “I’m disappointed that the two alleged suspects attempted to take advantage of negative perceptions of our city. I’m grateful for the collaborative efforts of my prosecutors and the Baltimore Police Department in getting to the bottom of a contrived and disturbing tragedy. We look forward to fighting for justice on behalf of Jacquelyn Smith and her family in a court of law.”
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