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Angelo Smith is currently serving time in prison for the murder of his girlfriend, Bianca Tanner. He has been in Central Prison since 2016, following his guilty plea to charges related to her death, including manslaughter, kidnapping, and concealment of a death.
This tragic case is the subject of Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins: Into Thin Air, episode 11, aired on Saturday, October 26, 2024, at 8 pm on Oxygen True Crime.
The episode looks into what happened before and after Bianca Tanner's death. She was a teacher from North Carolina who went missing. As investigators and police tried to figure out what happened, they ran into a number of problems.
At first, her boyfriend Angelo Smith said Tanner had left his house after a fight. But her body was found later, and Smith was caught.
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The relationship between Angelo Smith and Bianca Tanner
Angelo Smith and Bianca Tanner had been in a relationship before things took a dark turn. Bianca, a dedicated teacher and mother, had recently moved into Smith's apartment in Charlotte. Their relationship, though initially smooth, soon fell out due to tensions over a mysterious text message.
This triggered the argument that escalated into violence, ending in Tanner’s death.
The day of the incident
On June 7, 2014, Angelo Smith and Bianca Tanner spent the day with Tanner's young son. They frequented parks and returned home with intentions to engage in solitary activities following her son's bedtime.
However, the day took a calamitous turn when Bianca read a message on Smith's phone addressing him as "sweetie." The communication precipitated a huge conflict.
Smith subsequently acknowledged in court that the altercation escalated to physical violence. He stated that Bianca exhibited aggression by initially brandishing a firearm and subsequently a knife.
In an effort to "subdue" her, Smith applied a chokehold. Regrettably, she lost consciousness and subsequently passed away.
Angelo Smith’s actions after the murder
After the incident, Angelo Smith didn't call the police out of fear. Smith instead called a brother in his fraternity. Together, they decided to hide her death because they were afraid of what would happen if they told the police.
They thought that getting rid of Bianca's body in the woods near Lake Wylie would end the nightmare.
For almost a month, the police and Bianca's family looked for clues. Angelo Smith took sleeping pills and avoided work during this time because he was always afraid.
Finally, Smith's fraternity brother helped police find the body, which led to Smith being arrested and charged.
The legal outcome
Nearly a month after Bianca Tanner's disappearance, her body was found when Angelo Smith Jr.'s fraternity brother led the police to the location where they had disposed her body.
This lack of conclusive evidence contributed to Smith accepting a plea deal, allowing him to avoid a First-Degree Murder conviction.
Angelo Smith took a plea deal in 2016 to avoid being found guilty of first-degree murder. He admitted to less serious charges, such as manslaughter and kidnapping. This deal was possible because Tanner's body was so broken down that it wasn't possible to say for sure what killed her.
Since there wasn't enough solid evidence, the prosecution had to make a deal rather than risk a trial where the accused might be found not guilty.
Smith was also found guilty of contributing to the delinquency of Bianca's son, who was there at the time of the crime but is said to have slept through it.
Angelo is still in Central Prison doing his time. In an interview with Chad Silber from WFMY News 2, he stated that he feels terrible about what he did and how it hurt Bianca's family, especially her mother.
Smith knows that his first lies about Tanner's disappearance made things worse and that he will never be able to say sorry enough.
He mentioned about the incident:
"What I was attempting to do was just sort of restrain her in a way to where she wasn't able to face me and stab me with this knife until she calmed down,” said Smith. “But in the middle of that, her body seized up, I believe she had a seizure. She fell to the ground, her eyes were rolled into the back of her head and there was foam coming out of her mouth."
The emotional weight of the crime continues to weigh heavily on Angelo. In interviews, he has spoken about the toll this incident has taken on him and the people involved.
He also acknowledges the catastrophic effects his decisions had on everyone connected to Tanner.
Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins: Into Thin Air is available to stream on Oxygen True Crime.
