John Amos Small

Case record: John Amos Small

Outcome

John Amos Small was sentenced to death on June 19, 1996 after being convicted of murder and attempted rape. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence in November 1999 and denied reargument in January 2000. After he filed a Post Conviction Relief Act petition, Small was granted a new trial, but the Supreme Court reversed that decision and reinstated the death sentence on Oct. 5. Execution was scheduled by execution warrants signed in 2001 by Ridge and in October by Rendell, and execution by lethal injection was set for Dec. 16.

Timeline

• Sept. 15, 1981 — Cheryl Smith’s badly decomposed body was found just east of Kridler’s Schoolhouse Road near the Maryland state line, yards from the roadway in West Manheim Township.
• Aug. 6, 1981 — Small’s ex-wife, Janice Small, said Small and Charles Small came home early and told her they had hit a woman over the head and dumped her body in the woods.
• 1981 — Cheryl Smith was reported missing; she was murdered in West Manheim Township.
• June 19, 1996 — A jury convicted John Amos Small of first-degree murder and attempted rape and sentenced him to death.
• November 1999 — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence.
• January 2000 — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied reargument.
• Dec. 2004 — A judge overturned John Small’s conviction and ordered he receive a new trial.
• Oct. 5 (year not specified in text) — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the new-trial ruling and reinstated the death sentence.
• 2001 — Execution warrants were signed in 2001 by Ridge; execution dates were stayed pending appeals.
• Oct. 28, 2009 — Governor Edward G. Rendell signed an execution warrant for John Amos Small.
• Oct. 29, 2009 — Small was reported to be set to die by lethal injection on Dec. 16 at the state prison in Greene.
• Oct. 30 (year not specified in text) — Small filed a petition for a stay of execution before the U.S. Middle District Court of Pennsylvania.
• Dec. 16, 2009 — Execution by lethal injection was set for Small.

The offence

Cheryl Smith was murdered in a wooded area in West Manheim Township in 1981. The body was found about five weeks after she disappeared. She was described as nude from the waist down and missing several front teeth, with her skull smashed. Prosecutors believed two blows to Smith’s head, delivered by a rock or similar hard object, killed her. Prosecutors also said they believed the assailants tried to rape her, but forensics experts could not determine whether that was the case because of the body’s decomposition.

Cheryl Smith was described as a 17-year-old teen and was associated with a drinking party in the woods where other teens and young adults were present.

Investigation

The murder went unsolved until the mid-1990s, when Small’s ex-wife, Janice Small, broke years of silence. Police eventually charged John Small and his friend, James Frey, after “over a decade of silence from several witnesses.” The charges were filed after witnesses did not come forward earlier, despite knowing what happened.

A hunter found Smith’s badly decomposed body on Sept. 15, 1981, just east of Kridler’s Schoolhouse Road and yards from the Maryland state line.

Forensics experts could not determine whether the assailants tried to rape Smith because of the decomposition of the body.

“Finally -- justice for Cheryl Smith and her family,” District Attorney Stan Rebert said Thursday morning.

“After over a decade of silence from several witnesses, police finally charged Small ... in Smith's death,” Rendell's office said.

Arrest and charges

John Amos Small and his friend, James Frey, were charged in Smith’s death after police finally charged them in connection with the murder.

Small was charged with first-degree murder and attempted rape and was convicted at trial.

The text also indicates that Small’s co-defendant James Paul Frey and other individuals were charged in connection with homicide and attempted rape, and that those charges and outcomes occurred for the other individuals.

Trial

In 1996, a jury convicted John Amos Small of first-degree murder and attempted rape and sentenced him to death on June 19, 1996.

Chief deputy prosecutor Chuck Patterson, who tried the case, said:

“not one speck of doubt” that Small murdered Smith.

Sentencing

John Amos Small was sentenced to death on June 19, 1996.

After Small filed a Post Conviction Relief Act petition, he was granted a new trial, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed that decision and reinstated the death sentence on Oct. 5.

A judge overturned Small’s conviction and ordered a new trial in December 2004.

“huge,” District Attorney Stan Rebert called the Supreme Court ruling.

Appeals

Small filed a Post Conviction Relief Act petition. After the Supreme Court reversed the grant of a new trial, the death sentence was reinstated on Oct. 5.

Small filed a petition for a stay of execution before the U.S. Middle District Court of Pennsylvania on Oct. 30.

Other details

The murder scene was described as a wooded party spot known as “The Pines.”

Smith’s description at discovery included being nude from the waist down, missing several front teeth, and having her skull smashed.

Prosecutors believed the killing involved two blows to Smith’s head delivered by a rock or similar hard object.

The text described two Small brothers who were charged in addition to Small:

• Charles Small, 58, of New Oxford — charges were dropped because prosecutors believed he asserted he was in Florida at the time of the murder; later prosecutors suspected he had lied. In September 2003, charges of perjury and false swearing were filed against Charles Small, but they were later withdrawn.
• James Paul Frey, 52, formerly of Heidelberg Township — charged with homicide and attempted rape; Frey was serving eight to 18 years in prison after pleading no contest to third-degree murder.
• Lawrence Neil Tucker, 45, formerly of Littlestown — charged with homicide and attempted rape; Tucker testified at trial in exchange for a lesser sentence after pleading; Tucker pleaded guilty to interfering with the investigation and received 20 to 40 months in prison.

The text described witnesses associated with the victim and partygoers who knew what happened but did not come forward.

Governor Edward G. Rendell signed an execution warrant on Oct. 28, 2009.

Small was scheduled for execution by lethal injection at the state prison in Greene on Dec. 16.

Execution warrants were signed in 2001 by Ridge and in October by Rendell, with execution dates stayed pending appeals after the 2001 warrants.