Samuel Smithers

Case information

• Name: Samuel Smithers
• Date of birth: 01/30/53
• Case information: SC96690 opinion SC07-2258; DC # 124639
• Jurisdiction: Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Hillsborough County
• Case number: 96-8093
• Sentencing judge: The Honorable William Fuente
• Trial attorney: Daniel M. Hernandez – Special Public Defender
• Direct appeal attorney: Douglas S. Connor – Assistant Public Defender
• Collateral appeals attorney: Richard Kiley – CCRC-M

Timeline

• 05/12/96 — Date of offense
• 05/28/96 — Date of offense
• 06/25/99 — Date of sentence
• 10/06/99 — Smithers filed his direct appeal in the Florida Supreme Court
• 05/16/02 — The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence
• 09/13/02 — Rehearing denied; mandate issued
• 12/11/02 — Smithers filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court
• 02/24/03 — The United States Supreme Court denied the petition
• 12/20/03 — Smithers filed a 3.850 Motion in the Circuit Court

The offence

Samuel Smithers was convicted and sentenced to death for the murders of Cristy Cowan and Denise Roach.

In 1995, Smithers made an agreement with Marion Whitehurst, who he had met through church, to maintain the lawn at her vacant Plant City house, which sat on 27 acres of land. Whitehurst gave Smithers a key to the gate but not one to the house. In 1996, Smithers again agreed to take care of the lawn at the Whitehurst’s vacant property.

On 05/28/96, Whitehurst stopped by the Plant City house and found Smithers cleaning an axe on the carport, which he said he had been using to cut down tree limbs. Whitehurst also noticed a pool of blood on the carport. Smithers speculated that it might have been made by someone killing an animal and told Whitehurst that he would clean up the blood. Whitehurst contacted the local Sheriff’s Department.

Later that evening, a deputy visited the Whitehurst’s property. The pool of blood was gone, but the deputy noted drag marks that went from the carport to one of the ponds on the property. Upon arriving at the pond, the deputy found the body of Cristy Cowan floating in the water. A dive team was called in and found the body of Denise Roach in the same pond.

The state also determined that both Cowan and Roach were prostitutes who worked the same area. Bonnie Kruse, another prostitute who worked that area, recognized Smithers as a previous customer. Another prostitute claimed that she gave Cowan a condom on the day that she disappeared, which was similar to the condom wrapper found inside the Whitehurst property.

Investigation

Officers searched the Whitehurst residence and accumulated evidence against the defendant. They found a condom wrapper and a semen stain in one of the bedrooms. Officers also found Smithers' fingerprint in the kitchen.

Using DNA testing, the blood in the carport was found to match Roach’s DNA. Additionally, Smithers and Cowan were seen together on a convenience store security camera tape on the day of Cowan’s murder.

Arrest and interview

Two detectives visited Smithers’ home. Smithers agreed to go with them to the sheriff’s office for questioning and requested that his wife join them.

At the conclusion of the interview, Smithers consented to take a polygraph test the next day. According to the polygraph test results, Smithers was not telling the truth. A detective explained this to Smithers and then Smithers made incriminating remarks about his involvement in the murders. Smithers again requested that his wife be present during the questioning. Smithers subsequently confessed to the killings of both Cristy Cowan and Denise Roach.

Confession and accounts given by Smithers

Roach

According to Smithers, he was mowing the grass on the Whitehurst property on 05/07/96 when Roach approached him. Roach explained that she had permission to be on the property. On 05/13/96, Smithers said that Roach was still there. Smithers asked her to leave, but she refused.

Smithers told the officers that Roach hit him on the arm and that he then hit her in the face. Roach picked up a planter on the carport and threw it at his truck. Smithers shoved her against a wall causing a piece of wood to fall off of a shelf and hit her on the head, knocking her unconscious. Smithers left the property but returned the following day and moved her body to the pond.

According to the medical examiner, Roach’s body was very decomposed and had probably been in the water for seven to ten days. Roach had 16 puncture wounds to her skull, fractures to her face and skull, and injuries consistent with manual strangulation. The medical examiner also noted two large slits in Roach’s clothing caused by a sharp instrument. The medical examiner determined that Roach died from the combination of strangulation, puncture wounds and blunt trauma to the head.

Cowan

In regard to the Cowan murder, Smithers told police that he stopped to help a car that was pulled off to the side of the road. The driver was Cowan. Smithers drove her to a nearby convenience store. When they were getting back into Smithers’ vehicle, Cowan demanded money or she would accuse him of rape.

Smithers took Cowan to the Whitehurst residence and gave her all his money, but she was not pleased and threw a drink at him. Smithers reacted by picking up an axe and hitting Cowan in the head, knocking her unconscious. Smithers dragged her to the pond.

Smithers was cleaning the axe on the carport when Whitehurst arrived. Smithers claimed that he could hear Cowan making noise while he spoke with Whitehurst. After Whitehurst left, Smithers returned to Cowan and hit her in the head again to make her be quiet and threw tree limbs at her.

According to the medical examiner, Cowan had been dead a few hours when her body was found and had probably been alive when put in the water. Cowan had injuries to her eye and lip. Cowan sustained blunt trauma to her jaw and chop wounds to the top of her head and behind her ear. Cowan also had injuries consistent with manual strangulation. The medical examiner determined that Cowan died from the combination of strangulation and chop wounds.

Trial

Indictment and verdict

On 06/12/96, Smithers was indicted on the following counts:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder
• Count II: First-Degree Murder

On 12/18/98, Smithers was found guilty on all counts charged in the indictment.

Advisory sentencing

On 01/24/99, upon advisory sentencing, the jury, by a 12 to 0 majority, voted for the death penalty for each count of First-Degree Murder.

Conflicting trial testimony

During the trial, Smithers offered a different testimony. Smithers claimed that he lied to detectives because he feared that his family would be harmed.

Smithers testified that a girl by the name of Mimi was performing community service as a requirement of her probation at the church where Smithers was a deacon. Smithers said Mimi was not able to complete her hours and offered to have sex with Smithers if he would alter her community service hours, and Smithers agreed.

Several weeks later, Smithers testified that he was approached by an unknown man wanting to use the Whitehurst property as a location for a drug deal in exchange for not revealing the deal that Smithers made with Mimi. Smithers testified that he agreed and allowed the unknown man to use the property.

Smithers further testified that he witnessed the unidentified man kill Cowan and Roach. Smithers also testified that he lied to investigators to protect his then-wife of 23 years and college-age son, whose lives had been threatened by the drug dealer.

Sentencing

On 06/25/99, Smithers was sentenced as follows:

• Count I: First-Degree Murder — Death
• Count II: First-Degree Murder — Death

Appeals

Smithers filed his direct appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 10/06/99. The issues addressed included that the trial court erred in:

• denying a motion to sever the two counts of First-Degree Murder
• denying a motion to suppress his first confession
• finding that the Roach murder was heinous, atrocious and cruel
• finding that the Cowan murder was cold, calculated and premeditated

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence on 05/16/02. Rehearing was denied on 09/13/02, and a mandate was issued on 09/13/02.

On 12/11/02, Smithers filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court denied the petition on 02/24/03.

Smithers filed a 3.850 Motion in the Circuit Court on 12/20/03. The motion was pending.

Outcome

The Florida Supreme Court refused to overturn lower court rulings to vacate the convictions. The convictions and death sentences remained affirmed, and the United States Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari.

Other details

Background and description of people involved

Samuel Smithers was described as a former Baptist deacon and groundskeeper at First Baptist Church of Plant City. He was described in the reporting as 56-year-old Samuel L. Smithers at the time of the appeal coverage. The case reporting also described him as an electrician's helper and referenced First Baptist Church of Plant City.

Cristy Elizabeth Cowan and Denise Elaine Roach were described as mothers. The case reporting described Cowan as 31 and Connecticut-born, and Roach as Jamaica-born. The case reporting also said Cowan and Roach each had two children.

The case included testimony about a church-related community service arrangement involving Mimi.

Additional evidence and claims referenced during appeal coverage

The trial was described as sensational 1996 murders of two Tampa prostitutes. The reporting said Smithers was the caretaker of the Plant City home where the killings occurred.

The reporting said the murders inspired a book titled "Deacon of Death" by former New York Times columnist Fred Rosen, and it referenced another book by Rosen titled "Lobster Boy".

The reporting said Smithers complained on appeal that his trial lawyer was ineffective for not challenging a portion of his confession that he beat Roach more severely because she was black.

The reporting said Smithers also claimed his lawyer erred in not adequately investigating claims that he was mentally ill and failed to call an independent medical examiner to refute the possibility that Cowan may have been conscious during much of her attack.

The reporting said Circuit Judge William Fuente accepted the jury’s recommendation and sentenced Smithers to death, and Fuente said the murders were "extremely torturous" to the victims.

The reporting said Smithers was arrested and confessed, saying he fought with the women over money. The reporting also repeated that Whitehurst alerted law enforcement officers to the crimes after coming upon a puddle of blood and seeing Smithers washing off a long-handled ax.

The reporting said Smithers changed his story at trial, testifying that he was paid to let a mysterious bearded man use the property for drug-related activities and that he watched the women were murdered and was ordered to drag their bodies into the pond.