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Baltimore Man "Manipulated" Daughter into Concealing Stepmom's Murder: "Awful"
“The Jacquelyn Smith case became a very high-profile case very quickly, and it was all hands on deck,” Baltimore detective Jill Beauregard said of the search for a homeless couple that turned out to be a lie.
What started as a birthday celebration turned into a night of terror, as 52-year-old Keith Smith called dispatchers in Baltimore, Maryland on Dec. 1, 2018, claiming his wife had been stabbed by a homeless person — while he and his daughter, Valeria, were in the vehicle.
54-year-old Jacquelyn “Jacqui” Smith was dead when her husband and stepdaughter arrived at Johns Hopkins Hospital with her. She had multiple stab wounds in her chest.
Keith Smith claimed he had pulled up to an intersection where a homeless woman with a baby was asking for money, and Jacqui Smith gave her 10 dollars. Then, he alleged, another man came up to the vehicle.
“And as soon as he walked up to the car, the next thing I know, this man starts stabbing my wife,” Keith Smith said on recorded police audio, adding the panhandler also stole his wife’s necklace and wallet.
But to police, the story didn’t add up, as the location of the alleged robbery and stabbing was an unpopulated area.
“You knew that was not an area that panhandlers would frequent,” said Baltimore detective sergeant Daniel Santos on Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins, airing Saturdays at 8/7c on Oxygen. “There’s something else that they’re not telling us.”
As public panic over the stabbing and robbery grew, police dug deeper into the Smith family dynamics — and they soon discovered both Keith Smith and his daughter had a reason to want Jacquelyn dead. The ultimate truth would shock everyone.
“People were appalled that he would use this story: a bleak East Baltimore street, a panhandling person, a random violent attack on his generous wife,” said Baltimore Sun columnist Dan Rodricks on Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins. “It’s just awful. It exploited all the fears people had about Baltimore.”
Jacquelyn Smith's Strained Relationship with Her Stepdaughter Valeria
In the fall of 2013, Jacquelyn met Keith Smith at a friend’s birthday party. Within nine months, the couple was married — much to the dismay of Keith’s daughter, Valeria Smith.
“The wedding was great,” Marcel Trisvan, Jacqui Smith’s brother, said. “But I think his family, especially Keith’s daughter Valeria, was a little bit perturbed that it was so early on in the relationship.”
After an argument at the wedding, Valeria Smith had to be escorted out of the reception, according to friends and family. But that was just the start of their disagreements.
“[Jacqui] was a successful, college-educated woman,” said Baltimore detective Jill Beauregard. “Valeria was unfortunately a drug addict. And there’s lots of problems with her.”
Tensions grew after Jacqui Smith urged Keith Smith to sell his house, forcing Valeria Smith to find somewhere else to live.
“Valeria had a history of violence,” said Patrick Seidel, former Baltimore City Assistant State’s Attorney. “She had actually been accused of a domestic incident involving a knife.”
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CCTV cameras and cell phone data cast doubt on Keith and Valeria Smith's stories
When officers reviewed recorded footage of the roads Keith Smith claimed to have driven the night his wife was stabbed, they found discrepancies in his story.
“That route of travel has 30 plus CCTV cameras … none of those cameras captured his vehicle,” Beauregard said.
A look at Keith and Valeria Smiths' cell phone data also cast doubt on what really happened.
“What we discovered was mind-blowing,” Beauregard said. “Jacquelyn’s phone was turned off and has no data. Keith Smith’s phone is turned off and has no data. But Valeria’s phone shows that they turned and go to Druid Hill Park.”
Data shows the car was stopped in the park — in the opposite direction from where the pair claimed the stabbing occurred — for about 15 minutes.
More evidence came up when the medical examiner’s report was released. It showed Jacqueline Smith’s DNA on her right hand, but also an “overwhelming” amount of Keith Smith’s DNA on her left hand.
“It was as if she’s trying to stop him because he’s reaching across and stabbing her,” Beauregard said. “She’s grabbing, grabbing, and grabbing at him.”
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What happened to Keith Smith?
On Feb. 14, 2019, an anonymous tipster told police Jacqui Smith was considering divorcing Keith Smith, and Keith Smith had told his brother, Vick Smith, about it — a fact the brother confirmed.
“Vick Smith, he started telling us that Keith and Jacqui were not happy in their marriage,” said Baltimore detective Michael Moran on Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins.
The couple had bought cars and even a yacht during their four-year marriage.
“They were living the high life,” Seidel said. “And when we looked at the banking records, most of that high life was being financed by Jacquelyn.”
Keith Smith was also the sole beneficiary of Jacqui Smith’s life insurance policy. If she was murdered, the amount he’d receive was $804,000.
Police confronted Keith and Valeria Smith with all the information, and the father and daughter eventually fled to Texas and made plans to cross the border to Mexico, police said. Stopped by Homeland Security officials, Keith Smith was charged with first-degree murder and Valeria Smith with conspiracy to commit murder.
“He definitely used his daughter,” Santos said. “He manipulated her and used her as his alibi.”
After her arrest, Valeria Smith flipped on her father, confessed, and testified against him in court.
“We found out that Keith had this relationship with another woman,” Seidel said. “So, the theory was that Jacquelyn had somehow found out and she was threatening to leave him. And this was going to put him in a difficult financial situation.”
Keith Smith was found guilty of his wife Jacqui Smith’s murder and sentenced to life in prison. Valeria Smith was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Watch all-new episodes of Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins on Saturdays at 8/7c on Oxygen.
