Edgar Smith

Name

Edgar Smith

Background

Edgar Smith was born in 1934. He had been an unemployed mechanic at the time of the murder of Victoria Ann Zielinski. Smith was also described as an unemployed mechanic and, in later narrative, as a former Marine and itinerate mechanic. After being sentenced to death, Smith spent 14 years on death row. In 1962 his wife left him. In 1964 he was forced to become his own lawyer because of his financial situation. During incarceration, Smith took college courses through the mail. He read publications including the Peking Review and its sister publication, the National Review. In 1962, when a chaplain was transferred and Smith could no longer get copies of National Review, Smith received a year’s subscription to the magazine from William F. Buckley, Jr. Smith lectured at colleges and universities and made television and radio appearances after his release. He published a third book, Getting Out, and argued for penal reform. After his celebrity status declined, Smith began drinking heavily and suffering from debt. After the first prison release, he married a 19-year-old and moved to San Diego, California, where he worked as a security guard and later as a public relations director for a small firm in Chula Vista before becoming unemployed again.

Smith later sought further legal action against his sentencing in 1988 and 1990. He postponed his own appeal hearing in February 2004, and his health later deteriorated and he suffered several heart attacks. He had been denied parole as late as April 2009.

The offence

Murder of Victoria Ann Zielinski

In March 1957, 15-year-old Victoria Ann Zielinski of Ramsey, New Jersey, disappeared on her way home from a friend’s house. Her body was discovered on the banks of a nearby sand pit in Mahwah. Her skull had been smashed by repeated blows with one or more large rocks. The autopsy revealed “a total crushing of the skull,” with Victoria’s brain totally destroyed and her left eye destroyed. Her teeth were “hanging loosely” and her nose and jaw had “sustained multiple fractures.” There was “a hole knocked into the back of her head” and “most of her hair was missing.” The tuft of hair was later found matted and blood-soaked in the road near where her father first found her shoe. The coroner ruled that “there was no evidence of carnal assault.” Victoria’s sweater had been pulled up and her brassiere had been pulled down with such force that one of the straps snapped. Bite marks were found on her right breast, and her nails had been chewed to the quick.

Kidnapping and attempted murder of Lefteriya Ozbun

In San Diego, California, during October 1976, Smith drove his car up to 33-year-old Lefteriya Lisa Ozbun, and kidnapped her at knifepoint. Ozbun resisted while Smith attempted to drive her away. Smith stabbed Ozbun in her side with a six-inch long butcher knife. Ozbun was ejected from the car after Smith lost control and drove off the road. A nearby witness made a note of the vehicle’s registration, and it was later traced to Smith’s new wife, Paige. Ozbun survived her wound and testified in the trial. Smith claimed he was an emotionally disturbed sex offender and that his intent when he kidnapped Ozbun had been rape.

Investigation

On the night of the murder, Smith borrowed a friend’s car, and his later activities aroused suspicion. He excused himself from meeting the same friend in a bar early in the evening and had to remove his trousers, claiming he had been sick on them. When the murder was reported the following day on the radio, two of Smith’s friends joked with him as the murderer's car was reported to be the same make as the car Smith had driven the previous evening. One friend remarked that Smith had “a startled look on his face”.

A few days later drops of blood were found on the seats of the car. Smith was brought in for questioning and repeatedly could not account for a half hour gap during the night of the murder. He was also unable to account for his missing clothing, which police later located and which were identified by Smith’s wife. Faced with this evidence, Smith reportedly blurted out that Vickie had hit him in the face. He told police that he had picked up Victoria in his car, then attempted to grab her when she left; he said her attempt to leave had angered him.

Smith told police he had picked Victoria up and pulled into a dirt driveway leading to a local sand pit off Chapel Road at the point where Chapel Road intersected Fardale Avenue in Mahwah. Smith testified that Victoria had told him that his wife was having an affair with “the oil man” or words to that nature, and that he angrily told Victoria to leave. Smith testified that after Victoria left the vehicle he had been sitting in the car inside the sandpit area for a few moments before “hearing a commotion” from the vicinity of Chapel Road. Smith testified that in the darkness he could make out at least two people approaching his car and that he grabbed a baseball bat from the back seat for “protection,” fearing Victoria’s father had arrived and that Victoria was walking with him toward Smith.

At one point, Smith said he observed Donald Hommell of Ramsey’s vehicle parked along Chapel Road from his spot in the sandpit; this would have been impossible because obstructions made a clear view of Chapel Road from the sandpit impossible.

Smith’s interrogation resulted in often contradictory replies. Smith initially maintained that Don Hommell was the real killer and that his comments were inadmissible because he had not signed anything. Detectives testified about Smith’s continual claims that Hommell was the real killer, and Smith testified in court to his account of what happened.

According to Smith’s testimony, he soon realized it was not Mr. Zielinski with Victoria. Smith said he indicated that the male figure with Victoria was Donald Hommell, a friend of his, and that Victoria was bleeding from a cut on her head. Smith testified that he asked Hommell what had happened and Hommell told him that Victoria had fallen on the roadway. Smith testified that Victoria pleaded with him not to leave her with Hommell and that he acquiesced, helping the bleeding girl into the car where she sat with her head tilted back on the seat rest. Smith testified that Hommell had not allowed him to take Victoria to a local hospital but instead pulled her from the car and that she had fallen out, spattering Smith’s pants with blood. Smith testified that he decided to leave because Victoria was “Hommell's girl” and that Hommell encouraged him to leave. Smith testified that he drove away leaving Victoria in the sand pit with Hommell and did not come forward for fear that her death was his responsibility; he testified that he believed Victoria had bled to death from the injury he had observed.

Hommel told the court he was in the area and had been “casually” involved with Victoria. Police testified that both Hommel’s car and clothing had been checked and nothing had been found, and that the vehicle Hommel had been driving belonged to his employer and was not one Smith would have recognized.

Smith disposed of his blood-stained shoes at a location later used by police after he was arrested. Friends of Smith notified police and Smith was arrested for the murder.

For the October 1976 incident, Smith kidnapped Ozbun at knifepoint. Ozbun reported what she experienced during the incident. Smith was arrested after Buckley notified the FBI. Smith had contacted Buckley, who turned him in to the FBI.

Arrest

Smith was brought in for questioning by police after drops of blood were found on the seats of the car. Smith was later arrested for the murder and taken to where he had disposed of his blood-stained shoes.

Trial

Trial for first degree murder (Victoria Ann Zielinski)

The trial of Edgar Smith for first degree murder drew strong media attention. Bergen County Prosecutor Guy W. Calissi described the murder as the “most vicious, most brutal and the most sadistic I have ever seen.”

Witnesses included Myrna Zielinski, Victoria’s younger sister. Myrna testified she did not see her sister after about 7:40, though she had planned to meet Victoria at 8:45. At approximately 7:30, at Victoria’s request, Myrna had walked her sister partway to the home of Barbara Nixon, Victoria’s best friend. Myrna testified that at about 7:40, approximately two-thirds of a mile south of the Zielinski home toward Mahwah, she last saw Victoria when Victoria continued walking the route to the Nixon home by herself and Myrna returned home. Victoria planned only a short visit at Nixon’s residence. Myrna testified she and Victoria had pre-arranged to leave starting points at 8:30 PM. Myrna testified that when she left home at about 8:40, she walked the entire route to the Nixon house at an accelerated pace without encountering Victoria, who logically should have been walking northward on Wyckoff Avenue, the route between the two houses. Myrna testified she arrived at the Nixon home and was told her sister had left for home about ten minutes earlier.

Sixteen-year-old Barbara Nixon testified she was the last person before Edgar Smith to see Victoria Zielinski alive. She lent an item of clothing to Victoria, described as a head scarf or kerchief.

Victoria’s parents testified how they found her body and the location where they discovered it. They, together with Captain Ed Wickham of the Mahwah Police Department, found the body on the morning of March 5, 1957 in the area of a sandpit about two miles from the Zielinski residence. The jury found Smith guilty after two and a half hours of deliberation.

During trial, Smith testified his account of meeting Victoria, pulling into a dirt driveway, hearing commotion, taking the baseball bat “for protection,” and later leaving the scene with Hommell according to Smith’s version of events. Smith’s account included Victoria’s alleged statement about “the oil man” affair and Victoria’s supposed bleeding.

The trial transcript also recorded that Victoria’s finger nails were “badly bitten.” The Bergen County Coroner described the nails as “ripped.” The evidential value would prove elusive, and the testimony was used in discussion of the case.

The trial transcript also included Myrna identifying items Victoria had been wearing when last seen: “boy's blue jeans”, a coral cardigan sweater, a blue and gold campus jacket, penny loafers, a Wittenaur white gold wristwatch, and a silver heart locket on a long chain. Myrna remembered Victoria carried a natural leather purse, an accounting school book and a writing tablet. With the possible exception of the wristwatch, these items were found near the crime and introduced into evidence.

Smith’s friends’ remarks included jokes about the murderer's car and that police were “looking for a Mercury,” which were linked to suspicion about Smith. One friend remarked Smith had “a startled look on his face.”

Trial for kidnapping and attempted murder (Lefteriya Ozbun)

In the later trial for the October 1976 incident, Ozbun survived and testified. Smith claimed he intended rape, and he claimed to be mentally disorganized.

Smith was convicted of kidnapping with intent to rob, attempted murder, and sentenced to life.

Sentencing

After Smith was found guilty of first degree murder, he was sentenced to death in New Jersey’s electric chair and was sent to death row at New Jersey State Prison, where he spent 14 years.

Smith pursued appeals; his death sentence was postponed on several occasions and his appeals were repeatedly dismissed.

On June of 1971, his confession was ruled to have been obtained unfairly, and he was offered parole if he accepted a charge of second degree murder under a deal approved by Judge Morris Pashman. Smith accepted. On December 6, 1971, he pleaded guilty to second degree murder and he was released from prison at age 37.

For the October 1976 incident, after being found guilty of kidnapping with intent to rob and attempted murder, Smith was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Later legislative changes erased the without-parole possibility from his sentence.

Appeals

Smith won a retrial after pursuing a 19th appeal against the fair nature of his trial in 1971. He claimed his confession was obtained under duress. The confession had been obtained eight years prior to the introduction of Miranda rights, and his appeal was treated as carrying weight on that basis. The confession was ruled to have been obtained unfairly, leading to the possibility of accepting a charge of second degree murder.

Smith appealed at every opportunity after his second incarceration; each was turned down. He postponed his own appeal hearing in February 2004.

Outcome

Smith’s 1957 murder conviction was overturned, and he accepted a conviction to the lesser charge of murder in the second degree. He was released after pleading guilty to second degree murder on December 6, 1971.

After his later conviction for the kidnapping and attempted murder of Lefteriya Ozbun in 1976, Smith was convicted of kidnapping with intent to rob and attempted murder and sentenced to life. Legislative changes removed the “without parole” possibility from his sentence. His last parole hearing was in April 2009, when the 75-year-old Smith was denied parole and told he could not apply again for another fifteen years.

Aftermath

Smith became a celebrity after the retrial outcome and release. He was involved in lecture tours at college campuses and made television and radio appearances. He wrote and published books including A Brief Against Death and Getting Out and argued for penal reform.

William F. Buckley, Jr. corresponded with Smith and wrote about the case, including in Esquire. Buckley later wrote a 1979 article about being won over by Smith’s innocence claims, to his later regret. Buckley died in 2008.

During the aftermath of the October 1976 incident, Smith was on the lam for about two weeks. He borrowed money from relatives and stayed in cheap hotels until he contacted Buckley, who was out of town at the time. Smith left a room and telephone number with Buckley’s secretary; the message was passed along to Buckley, who notified the FBI.

In the aftermath of the 1976 case, Smith had sued for divorce in 1979 with his second wife. He sought further legal action in 1988 and 1990 against his sentencing. His parole denials continued up to April 2009.

Other details

Victoria Ann Zielinski timeline and discoveries

Victoria Ann Zielinski disappeared on the night of March 4, 1957. Her body was discovered just after 9 AM on the morning of March 5, 1957. One of her shoes, a black penny loafer, was discovered the following morning on the roadside by her parents at an intersection and at a point described as about twenty feet up the road for the headscarf. Her head scarf or kerchief was found the next morning on Fardale Avenue approximately 500 yards from the crime scene.

Her father, Mr. Zielinski, continued searching on foot after a shoe was found, while her mother contacted the police. Mr. Zielinski observed a pair of gloves lying in the dirt of a sand pit located a few hundred yards from where the shoe was found. Together they waited for the police. After the police arrived along with Captain Ed Wickham, the search resumed and Victoria’s body was discovered on the banks of the nearby sand pit.

Mr. Zielinski and Captain Wickham returned to the sand pit where they found tire tracks and foot prints. At a mound of dirt, Mr. Zielinski found Victoria’s silver locket, her other loafer and stones covered with blood. Looking past the stones, he saw “brains scattered for seven or eight feet along the bank.” Looking over the mound he saw Victoria’s body “in a jackknifed position.”

The coroner described the autopsy findings as “a total crushing of the skull,” and Victoria’s brain was totally destroyed, as was her left eye. The coroner described that her teeth were “hanging loosely” and that her nose and jaw had “sustained multiple fractures.” The coroner also described “a hole knocked into the back of her head” and that “most of her hair was missing.” The autopsy narrative included that there had been “a total crushing of the skull.” The tuft of hair was later found matted and blood-soaked in the road.

Myrna Zielinski testimony and distances

Myrna Zielinski testified about the pre-arranged meet point and the route details between Wyckoff Avenue in Ramsey Borough and the Township of Mahwah. The houses sat approximately four-fifths of a mile apart. In 1957, West Crescent Avenue intersected Wyckoff at the border between Mahwah township and Ramsey borough. Up to that juncture Wyckoff Avenue was described as very dark, and a sidewalk was provided for pedestrians at the intersection where Wyckoff became lit with street lights.

Barbara Nixon testimony and lending clothing

Barbara Nixon testified she was the last person before Smith to see Victoria alive. She lent a head scarf or kerchief to Victoria, described as found the next morning on Fardale Avenue approximately 500 yards from the crime scene.

Smith’s friends and specific remarks

Smith’s friends jokingly told him about the murderer's car matching the make of the car Smith had driven previously, and the police being “looking for a Mercury.” One friend remarked Smith had “a startled look on his face.”

Ozbun incident details and quotes

During the kidnapping and stabbing, Ozbun told Smith: “Where are you doing? What do you want with me? Where are taking me?” Smith replied: “Shut up! I’m going to take your money and stick a knife in you.” Ozbun later described: “I could see it in his eyes,” “I’d never seen eyes like that. They were so cold and filled with hate. I knew if I didn’t fight I would never see my kids again.”

Before forcing her into the car, Smith told Ozbun: “Keep your mouth shut or I’m going to cut your throat right here.”

Mentioned individuals

Andrew Zielenski was Victoria’s father. Mrs. Zielinski contacted police and searched for Victoria with Andrew Zielenski until 2:00 a.m., then resumed the search at daybreak. Captain Ed Wickham of the Mahwah Police Department was involved in the search and discovery. Guy W. Calissi was the Bergen County Prosecutor. Morris Pashman was a judge who approved a deal for second degree murder in 1971. Myrna Zielinski was Victoria’s younger sister and testified at trial. Barbara Nixon was Victoria’s best friend and testified as the last person to see Victoria alive. Don Hommell and Donald Hommell were referred to by Smith as the real killer and were questioned in court. Lefteriya Lisa Ozbun testified in the trial for the October 1976 incident and survived her wound. Paige was identified as Smith’s new wife connected to the traced registration. William F. Buckley, Jr. corresponded with Smith and later notified the FBI after Smith contacted him during the second crime.

Timeline

• March 4, 1957 — Victoria Ann Zielinski disappeared on her way home from a friend’s house.
• March 5, 1957 — Victoria’s body was discovered just after 9 AM on the banks of a sand pit area; one of her shoes was found at an intersection on the roadside by her parents.
• 1962 — Smith’s wife left him; Smith began correspondence with William F. Buckley, Jr.
• 1964 — Smith was forced to become his own lawyer because of his financial situation.
• November 1965 — Buckley’s article in Esquire drew national media attention.
• 1968 — Smith’s book Brief Against Death was published.
• June 1971 — Smith’s confession was ruled to have been obtained unfairly, and Smith was offered parole if he accepted a charge of second degree murder under a deal approved by Judge Morris Pashman.
• December 6, 1971 — Smith pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was released from prison at age 37.
• 1976 (October) — Smith kidnapped and stabbed Lefteriya Lisa Ozbun in San Diego, California.
• 1979 — Smith sued for divorce with his second wife.
• 2004 (February) — Smith postponed his own appeal hearing.
• April 2009 — Smith was denied parole at age 75 and told he could not apply again for another fifteen years.