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William Smith (murderer)
Encyclopedia
William Henry Smith was executed by the state of Ohio
for the rape and murder of 47-year-old Mary Virginia Bradford of Cincinnati, Ohio
, that occurred on September 26, 1987.
Smith and Bradford were seen talking and dancing together at a local bar where they were both regulars. They left the bar at different times on the night of September 26. On the following day, Bradford's boyfriend became concerned because he had not seen her that day. He entered her unlocked apartment and found Bradford's body, nude from the waist down, on the bed. Missing from the apartment were Bradford's two television sets and her stereo components.
During the autopsy
the coroner located ten stab wounds in her neck and chest. Of these wounds, one penetrated her right lung, two penetrated the liver, and two penetrated the heart. The coroner concluded that although five of the wounds could ultimately have been fatal, the immediate cause of death was the two heart wounds, one in the right atrium and the other in the right ventricle. The autopsy also indicated that although Bradford had had intercourse before her death, the sex was not consensual.
When the police executed a search warrant at the residence of Smith's mother, they recovered the two television sets, bloody clothing and bloody shoes. Analysis of the blood on the clothing yielded a sample that matched Bradford's blood type.
Smith subsequently confessed to the crime, telling police officers that he had gone to Bradford's apartment sometime after leaving tavern. When he left her apartment, he remembered that he had forgotten his cigarettes and $2,500 worth of cocaine
. Upon his return to the apartment, Bradford told him that she did not have the cocaine, and after further discussion about restitution, she offered to reimburse Smith by having sexual relations with him. After having sexual intercourse, the two argued in the living room, and according to Smith, Bradford threatened him with a kitchen knife. He said that he took the knife from Bradford and stabbed her in the neck and stomach, causing her to fall back into a living-room chair, and that the two engaged in intercourse for a second time after Bradford retreated to the bedroom and fell on her bed. Smith admitted that he took from Bradford's apartment two televisions and the stereo components, but he claimed that they were his. He ended his account of the incident by telling the police that he dropped the knife in the river on the way to his mother's residence.
On October 21, 1987, Smith was indicted for the crimes that resulted in Mary Bradford's death. He entered a plea of not guilty to the four counts and the accompanying specifications. A separate plea of not guilty by reason of insanity was later withdrawn in open court. After Smith waived a jury trial, a three-judge panel heard the evidence and found Smith guilty of all counts and specifications on April 6, 1988. Five days after the guilt phase of the trial, the penalty phase commenced, and on April 14, 1988, the three-judge panel sentenced Smith to death.
Smith spent 6,172 days on death row before he was executed by lethal injection
.
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
for the rape and murder of 47-year-old Mary Virginia Bradford of Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, that occurred on September 26, 1987.
Smith and Bradford were seen talking and dancing together at a local bar where they were both regulars. They left the bar at different times on the night of September 26. On the following day, Bradford's boyfriend became concerned because he had not seen her that day. He entered her unlocked apartment and found Bradford's body, nude from the waist down, on the bed. Missing from the apartment were Bradford's two television sets and her stereo components.
During the autopsy
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
the coroner located ten stab wounds in her neck and chest. Of these wounds, one penetrated her right lung, two penetrated the liver, and two penetrated the heart. The coroner concluded that although five of the wounds could ultimately have been fatal, the immediate cause of death was the two heart wounds, one in the right atrium and the other in the right ventricle. The autopsy also indicated that although Bradford had had intercourse before her death, the sex was not consensual.
When the police executed a search warrant at the residence of Smith's mother, they recovered the two television sets, bloody clothing and bloody shoes. Analysis of the blood on the clothing yielded a sample that matched Bradford's blood type.
Smith subsequently confessed to the crime, telling police officers that he had gone to Bradford's apartment sometime after leaving tavern. When he left her apartment, he remembered that he had forgotten his cigarettes and $2,500 worth of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. Upon his return to the apartment, Bradford told him that she did not have the cocaine, and after further discussion about restitution, she offered to reimburse Smith by having sexual relations with him. After having sexual intercourse, the two argued in the living room, and according to Smith, Bradford threatened him with a kitchen knife. He said that he took the knife from Bradford and stabbed her in the neck and stomach, causing her to fall back into a living-room chair, and that the two engaged in intercourse for a second time after Bradford retreated to the bedroom and fell on her bed. Smith admitted that he took from Bradford's apartment two televisions and the stereo components, but he claimed that they were his. He ended his account of the incident by telling the police that he dropped the knife in the river on the way to his mother's residence.
On October 21, 1987, Smith was indicted for the crimes that resulted in Mary Bradford's death. He entered a plea of not guilty to the four counts and the accompanying specifications. A separate plea of not guilty by reason of insanity was later withdrawn in open court. After Smith waived a jury trial, a three-judge panel heard the evidence and found Smith guilty of all counts and specifications on April 6, 1988. Five days after the guilt phase of the trial, the penalty phase commenced, and on April 14, 1988, the three-judge panel sentenced Smith to death.
Smith spent 6,172 days on death row before he was executed by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
.
Sources
- Clark Prosecutor
- Smith v. Anderson, 104 F. Supp. 2d 773 (2000)
- State v. Smith, 1990 Ohio App. LEXIS 2217
- Smith v. Mitchell, 348 F.3d 177 (2003)
- 2005 Capital Crimes Report (pdf) Office of the Ohio Attorney General.