Police arrest husband, stepdaughter in murder of woman they said was killed by panhandler in Baltimore
Texas State Police on Sunday arrested the husband and stepdaughter of Jacquelyn Smith, a Baltimore woman who was killed in December. At the time of her death, her husband, Keith Smith, said she had been stabbed by a panhandler who asked her for money while they were driving.
Keith Smith, 52, and Valeria Smith, 28, were arrested in Harlingen, near the Mexican border, acting Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said. They were attempting to flee the country, hours after warrants charging the pair with first-degree murder were issued. "The information and evidence points it wasn't a panhandler," Harrison said. "People take advantage of Baltimore. We want to make sure the truth comes out and justice is done."
Police originally said that Jacquelyn Smith, 54, had been stabbed shortly after midnight on Dec. 1. Days later, her husband and stepdaughter appeared at a press conference, saying after Jacquelyn Smith handed money to a female panhandler in the rain, a man came up to the car, reached in the window, and stabbed her, stealing her necklace and purse.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Jacquelyn Smith's brother, Marcel Trisvan, and other relatives were skeptical of this story, Trisvan told The Baltimore Sun. "All the questioning has been specific to Keith," he said. "That kind of sums it right there. It never made sense. I told [detectives] from the very beginning there are no suspects out there."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
'Elevating Earth Day into a national holiday is not radical — it's practical'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant
Speed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 22, 2024
Cartoons Monday's cartoons - dystopian laughs, WNBA salaries, and more
By The Week US Published
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'
Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security law
Speed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitution
speed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidence
Speed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulations
Speed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriage
Speed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba have a rough day in defamation court
Speed Read Trump's audible grousing as E. Jean Carroll testified earned him a warning he could be thrown out of court, and Habba showed she 'doesn't know what the hell she's doing'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Anders Breivik to testify in prison isolation lawsuit against Norway
Speed Read Far-right fanatic who killed 77 people in 2011 claims he has received 'inhuman treatment' in custody
By The Week UK Published