Evan David Smyth

Background

Evan David Smyth was 41 years old at the time of sentencing. He was described as a plumber with a wife and two children and as having no previous criminal record. The court proceedings in April involved Montgomery Circuit Court and Judge Louise G. Scrivener.

Smyth had a history described as “drug-fueled violence.” He had lost his job and his house about three years earlier, and his wife and he had separated. They filed for bankruptcy in 2002. Smyth’s parents learned that their son had been heavily involved with drugs.

Smyth graduated from Wheaton High School in 1981 and became a journeyman plumber. He settled in Frederick County with his wife, Veronica Smyth.

The offence

Smyth pleaded guilty to four charges of first-degree murder in the Wheaton area connected to killings in September 2003.

The victims were:

• Kay Carey, 42, Smyth’s girlfriend
• Phillip Walker, 20
• Shauntise Gill, 17
• Tristan Offiah, 21

Police said the killings involved different ways of killing over a short period in September 2003. Prosecutors said Smyth killed people in the Wheaton area, including Carey, whose body has never been found. Prosecutors said DNA from Carey’s brain and skull was found in Smyth’s house.

Prosecutors said Gill’s body was found in Smyth’s home. Gill was beaten and strangled with an electrical cord, and a 12-gauge shotgun rested on a table nearby. Investigators also found blood and human tissue on a basement wall that was identified later as having come from Kay Carey, and shotgun shells were found along with personal items belonging to Carey.

Prosecutors said Walker’s body was found in the trunk of his car. An autopsy determined that Walker had been stabbed to death. Police said Walker’s identification and cell phone were found inside a vehicle that Smyth was operating.

Prosecutors said Offiah was shot with a shotgun and that he was dead in a car in Wheaton, with a shotgun wound in his right side. Detective Jim Drewry heard about a suspicious visitor seen around the apartment complex recently, known to some residents by the nickname “E.”

Investigation

Detective Jim Drewry investigated the slaying of Tristan Offiah and heard from neighbors about a suspicious visitor seen around the complex recently. Some residents knew him by the nickname “E.”

Offiah’s cell phone showed that the last two calls he made were to a house on Arbor View Terrace in Wheaton. By cross-checking data stored in the phone, Drewry determined the address was connected to someone listed in the phone’s directory simply as “E,” and the detective did not know who “E” was.

Detective Terry Ryan investigated a call from Dressler Lane in Wheaton about a foul odor coming from a car parked there for several days. When Ryan arrived, officers were clustered near the car and neighbors had gathered, many of them children home from school, awaiting the storm. Ryan found the trunk of the Chevy Cavalier containing Phillip Walker’s body, which was badly decomposed.

Capt. Nancy Demme, head of the major crimes unit, considered the facts as “two bodies in cars” and assessed whether the slayings were related and how Arbor View Terrace fit into the investigation.

Officers staked out the house on Arbor View as wind gusts began whipping the region. The owners of the house were Donald and Jonnie Smyth, who were vacationing in Colorado. Smyth’s son, Evan Smyth, separated from his wife and had been staying in the house.

At 2:53 p.m., a 911 caller whispered to an operator, “Help me,” then hung up. Detectives rushed there and found the front door ajar. Shauntise Gill’s body was on the floor inside and brain matter was on a wall, suggesting Kay Carey as another victim. DNA tests later showed that Carey’s remains had been in the house.

Demme called police in Frederick County asking officers there to check out a Brunswick apartment where Smyth’s estranged wife lived with their children. An officer spotted Smyth’s green Ford Taurus parked outside the apartment and noted a smudge of light-colored paint on the bumper. While driving away from the scene of Offiah’s slaying, Smyth’s Taurus had nicked Offiah’s car.

Arrest

At 6:43 a.m. Friday, helmeted officers with assault weapons stormed into Veronica Smyth’s small apartment. Evan Smyth had told his wife earlier that he had done “something terrible” that would land him to jail, but he had offered no details and she was unaware of a manhunt.

Smyth was asleep on a couch as officers rushed in. “You're looking for me,” he said. His wife and children were in other rooms, and he told the officers, “They're not involved.” Officers noticed blood on Smyth’s boots.

Trial

Smyth pleaded guilty in Montgomery Circuit Court to four counts of first-degree murder.

In court before Judge Louise G. Scrivener, Smyth faced questions and responded “Yes, your honor” and “No, your honor.” When the judge asked whether he was pleading guilty to each and every count, Smyth replied, “Yes, your honor,” just loud enough to be heard. The judge did not ask why he did it, and he did not say why.

Smyth’s attorney, Paul DeWolfe, told Judge Scrivener that after killing Carey, Smyth wrapped her corpse in a blanket and tossed it in an outdoor trash bin. Investigators were unable to find the body.

Sentencing

Smyth received life in prison without parole on November 3, 2004.

He was 41 years old at sentencing and received live without parole Thursday for a string of killings in September 2003.

Smyth avoided a trial that could have ended with a death sentence by pleading guilty to four counts of murder as part of a deal with prosecutors. Each count was punishable by a life term.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

Smyth was sentenced to life in prison without parole on November 3, 2004. Smyth’s guilty plea covered four first-degree murder counts involving Kay Carey, Phillip Walker, Shauntise Gill, and Tristan Offiah.

Kay Carey’s body has never been found. Prosecutors said DNA from her brain and skull was found in Smyth’s house, and investigators found blood and human tissue identified later as having come from Carey.

Aftermath

State’s Attorney Douglas F. Gansler said:

“To have a single defendant tied to four murders allegedly committed in four very different ways over such a short period of time is unusual anywhere,”

He added:

“It's unprecedented in Montgomery County.”

Smyth’s father, Donald Smyth, said:

“This confluence of difficulties in his life . . . this seemed to be the beginning of an unraveling,”

He also said:

“We're devastated our son has been convicted of these terrible drug-related crimes. We're devastated at the loss of four young men and women in these terrible crimes.”

Gill’s sister, Latitia Gaines, asked:

“Why would he do this to her?”

She also asked:

“What was the motive? What had she done? These are the questions I'll always have.”

Other details

Smyth was described as acquainted with all his victims.

The investigation described that the spree began Sept. 17 when Smyth and James Brandt, 26, of the 3500 block of Pear Tree Court in Silver Spring went to purchase drugs from Tristan Offiah, 21, of the 2700 block of Arcola Avenue. When Brandt pulled his car into a space next to Offiah’s car, Smyth shot Offiah with a shotgun, according to a news release from the county State's Attorney's Office. Brandt was also charged in connection with Offiah’s killing.

Police said Walker’s body was discovered the next day. Walker was 20 and from the 3600 block of Bel Pre Road in Silver Spring. Police found his body in the trunk of his car, which had been parked in the 2400 block of Dressler Lane in Silver Spring.

Police received a 911 call where the caller hung up after asking for help.

Investigators said Shauntise Gill, 17, was last seen alive Sept. 17 when she left her residence with Smyth. Gill was from the 3400 block of Queensborough Drive in Olney.

Police said Carey was last heard from Sept. 15 when she spoke to her sister on the phone, according to the state's attorney's office. Her body had not been found.

Shauntise Gill’s mother, Rosie Gill, recalled seeing her daughter alive for the last time on Sept. 17. She described Smyth arriving at the townhouse she shared with her mother in Olney at about 9:30 a.m. She recalled Smyth saying, “Been working hard, Ms. Gill,” and “Working hard.” She recalled her remarks that he looked smaller and that he looked diminished and weary.

Rosie Gill recalled that around three hours later, while she was out, Shauntise Gill telephoned the townhouse apparently desperate for help. Rosie Gill listened to her daughter’s recorded voice screaming:

“Get off of me! . . . What the hell is wrong with you! . . . Get off!”

The line went dead, and later Rosie Gill awoke as the sky darkened. She recalled thinking, “Oh, Lord,” and “What has Shauntise gotten herself into now?”

Rosie Gill recalled that the two stepped out to the back yard to smoke, and that she watched Smyth playfully chase her daughter around, with the two laughing. Rosie Gill recalled her daughter saying, “ 'Bye, Mom,” and “I'll see you later.”