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Keith Smith, a Maryland man who was thrust into the national spotlight in 2018 after inventing an elaborate tale of his wife's murder, will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Smith initially told police that his wife Jacquelyn Smith had been stabbed to death by a panhandler during a botched robbery in Baltimore. However, the investigation revealed that Keith Smith stabbed his wife brutally and created the panhandler to hide the crime. In December 2021, Keith Smith was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life behind bars.
The Killer Relationships goes behind the terror of the case, and how Keith Smith tried to manipulate authorities by telling them a false story until he was brought down by his daughter, Valeria Smith, who was a witness to the murder. The episodes air every Saturday at 8 pm CT and 7 pm ET.
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The mythic tale: Keith Smith lied to the public
Just a few hours after Jacquelyn Smith was stabbed to death on December 1, 2018, Keith Smith told detectives and the public that the killer accompanied a panhandler who his wife intended to help.
According to his account, the couple had been driving through Baltimore when Jacquelyn noticed a homeless woman carrying an infant so she asked her husband to stop the car to give the woman $10.
Keith testified that when Jacquelyn made a gesture to hand over the money, the panhandler attacked her, stabbing her numerous times through the open car window before fleeing with her necklace and wallet.
This account initially attracted massive media interest as an expression of debates on the dangers of panhandling and street violence without apparent cause. Keith emerged as a weeping husband to the cameras, pleading for justice over his wife. However, with time, the well-crafted story by Keith started crumbling as the investigation unfolded.
The investigation and Valeria Smith's confession
Keith's tale seemed plausible enough until the police dug deeper. The moment of no return for the investigation was when Keith's daughter, Valeria Smith, revealed that the panhandler story was a lie. She said she had witnessed her father stab her mother in Druid Hill Park.
They were also able to use the mobile data of Valeria and place the family in Druid Hill Park at the time of her murder, removing Keith's defense that the assault happened in northern Baltimore. Evidence was now clear: Keith murdered Jacquelyn and then attempted to shift responsibility to the crime by building a story that pointed to a street corner stranger.
Valeria, who initially had testified supportive of her father's version of facts, eventually agreed to testify against him in exchange for a promise of a reduced sentence. She pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and received a sentence of five years behind bars.
Keith Smith's verdict and life imprisonment
Keith Smith's case went to trial in December 2021. The court listened to voluminous evidence of how Keith stabbed his wife five times, all of which proved fatal when one penetrated her chest.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors unveiled how Keith had fabricated the panhandler story for his plan to evade detection, hence characterizing him as a cunning and violent person. All his schemes to hoodwink not only the public but also the law enforcement failed in the end since Keith was pronounced guilty of first-degree murder.
The court sentenced Keith Smith to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Thus, he will be spending the rest of his life behind bars.
Keith Smith is serving a lifetime term for the brutal murder of his wife, Jacquelyn Smith. His case seemed complicated with a myth story of violence from panhandlers until in court the daughter narrated the truth about the exposure of her father's crime.
Keith's attempts to deflect blame and control public opinion ultimately came to naught, and he was convicted in 2021. But Killer Relationships with Faith Jenkins revisiting this chilling case will explore the intricacies of the probe and the ruinous impact of Keith's cruelty on Jacquelyn's family.
