John Smith (murderer)

Last updated

John David Smith III is an American murderer convicted in 2001 of killing his first wife in 1974 and also has been indicted on charges for the 1991 murder of his second wife. Skull fragments found in a locker owned by him belong to a third unidentified woman; they're the basis of an ongoing "Jane Doe" inquiry. [1] [2] The FBI is also attempting to identify two women pictured in photographs found in John's collection at the time of his 2000 arrest.

Contents

Background

Smith married Janice Hartman (born 2 March 1951) on 30 June 1970. The marriage was troubled; Janice's brother said that Smith was abusive from the start. Hartman left Smith in 1974 and returned to Ohio intending to divorce him, with the court granting the divorce decree on 14 November 1974. [3] A few days later she told her family that she was going away for a while, and was last seen on 17 November 1974. [3] [4] [5]

Soon after, Smith's brother Michael observed him building a narrow box which he claimed was for Janice's belongings. In 1979, their grandfather discovered the box and called Michael, who found inside it a dismembered corpse with rainbow hair which he believed to be Janice Hartman. He told John, who took the box away. [4] Neither the brother nor grandfather informed local law enforcement. Hartman's remains were discovered in a makeshift coffin found in 1980 by highway workers in an Indiana field. [4] However, the skeleton was only known as the "Lady in the Box", remaining unidentified until 2000. [6] Smith married his second wife, Betty Fran Gladden-Smith, [1] in March 1990. [4] While confined to her home by an injury, she disappeared from West Windsor, New Jersey on October 4, 1991. Michael Smith kept his secret until 1999, when he told the FBI about the box containing Hartman's body. Inquiries with law enforcement officials in Ohio and Indiana produced the box and remains, with Indiana authorities having kept the box since its discovery in 1980, with the remains exhumed from the grave where the authorities had buried them. [3] [4]

Arrest and conviction

Smith was arrested in October 2000 in Escondido, California, [7] where he was living with his third wife. [8] He was convicted in July 2001 of the murder of Janice Hartman and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. [4] He unsuccessfully appealed his conviction in 2002. [9] His first parole date was in 2011. [10] The family of Janice Hartman sought civil damages against Smith's grandfather and brother for their alleged involvement in covering up Smith's crime for over twenty years, but the claims were unsuccessful. [4]

As of 2019, Smith remained incarcerated at Marion Correctional Institution, [11] [12] where –on November 28, 2019 –he learned that he had been indicted for the 1991 murder of Gladden-Smith. [13] In 2021, a judge ruled that the fact that Smith had been convicted of murdering his first wife will not be used as motive for murdering his second wife, Fran Gladden-Smith. [14] The case was dropped in 2023, but reportedly Smith admitted to disposing of Gladden-Smith's body. [15] Smith will be eligible for parole in 2029.

Smith is the subject of the television movie Murder on Pleasant Drive, [16] episodes of Cold Case Files , in Forensic Files season 9, episode 19: "Deadly Matrimony", [3] the books Stranger in my Bed by Michael Fleeman [17] and My Sister Is Missing: Bringing a Killer to Justice by Sherrie Gladden-Davis. [18] The case was also featured on Dateline NBC , [19] Medical Detectives, and Who The Bleep Did I Marry.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harold Shipman</span> English doctor and serial killer (1946–2004)

Harold Frederick Shipman, known to acquaintances as Fred Shipman, was an English doctor in general practice and serial killer. He is considered to be one of the most prolific serial killers in modern history, with an estimated 284 victims over a period of roughly 30 years. On 31 January 2000, Shipman was convicted of murdering fifteen patients under his care. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order. On 13 January 2004, one day before his 58th birthday, Shipman hanged himself in his cell at HM Prison Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Seven</span> Group of American escaped convicts

The Texas 7 were a group of prisoners who escaped from the John B. Connally Unit near Kenedy, Texas, on December 13, 2000. Six of the seven were apprehended over a month later, between January 22–24, 2001, as a direct result of the television show America's Most Wanted. The seventh committed suicide before he could be arrested. The surviving members were all convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Irving, Texas, police officer Aubrey Wright Hawkins, who was shot and killed when responding to a robbery perpetrated by the Texas Seven. Four of the six sentenced have since been executed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of Diane Whipple</span> American lacrosse player and coach (1968–2001)

Diane Alexis Whipple was an American lacrosse player and college coach. She was killed in a dog attack in San Francisco on January 26, 2001. The dogs involved were two Presa Canarios. Paul Schneider, the dogs' owner, is a high-ranking member of the Aryan Brotherhood and is serving three life sentences in state prison. The dogs were looked after by Schneider's attorneys, Robert Noel and Marjorie Knoller, a husband and wife who lived in the same apartment building as Whipple. After the fatal attack, the state brought criminal charges against the attorneys. Noel, who was not present during the attack, was convicted of manslaughter. Knoller, who was present, was charged with implied-malice second-degree murder and convicted by the jury. Knoller's murder conviction, an unusual result for an unintended dog attack, was rejected by the trial judge but ultimately upheld. The case clarified the meaning of implied malice murder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Gladden</span> American politician (1836-1918)

Washington Gladden was a leading American Congregational pastor and early leader in the Social Gospel movement. He was a leading member of the Progressive Movement, serving for two years as a member of the Columbus, Ohio city council and campaigning against Boss Tweed as religious editor of the New York Independent. Gladden was probably the first leading U.S. religious figure to support unionization of the workforce; he also opposed racial segregation. He was a prolific writer who wrote hundreds of poems, hymns, articles, editorials, and books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cary Stayner</span> American serial killer (born 1961)

Cary Anthony Stayner is an American serial killer and the older brother of kidnapping victim Steven Stayner. He worked as a mechanic in Mariposa County, California, and murdered four women between February and July 1999, dumping their bodies near Yosemite National Park, leading to him being dubbed the Yosemite Park Killer or simply the Yosemite Killer. Stayner was found guilty and received the death penalty in 2002. He is currently awaiting execution at San Quentin State Prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Martha Moxley</span> American criminal case

Martha Elizabeth Moxley was a 15-year-old American high school student from Greenwich, Connecticut, who was murdered in 1975. Moxley was last seen alive spending time at the home of the Skakel family, across the street from her home in Belle Haven. Michael Skakel, also aged 15 at the time, was convicted in 2002 of murdering Moxley and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. In 2013, Skakel was granted a new trial by a Connecticut judge who ruled that his counsel had been inadequate, and he was released on $1.2 million bail. On December 30, 2016, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4–3 to reinstate Skakel's conviction. The Connecticut Supreme Court reversed itself on May 4, 2018, and ordered a new trial. On October 30, 2020, the 45th anniversary of Moxley's murder, the state of Connecticut announced it would not retry Skakel for Moxley's murder. The case attracted worldwide publicity, as Skakel is a nephew of Ethel Skakel Kennedy, the widow of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

Margaret Rudin is an American woman convicted of the December 1994 murder of her husband, Las Vegas real estate magnate Ronald Rudin. She was incarcerated at Florence McClure Women's Correctional Center in North Las Vegas, Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Gladden</span> American baseball player (born 1957)

Clinton Daniel Gladden III is an American former Major League Baseball player and current radio broadcaster. He was the starting left fielder with the Minnesota Twins' two World Series Championship teams in 1987 and 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey State Prison</span> State prison for men in Trenton, New Jersey

The New Jersey State Prison (NJSP), formerly known as Trenton State Prison, is a state men's prison in Trenton, New Jersey operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections. It is the oldest prison in New Jersey and one of the oldest correctional facilities in the United States. It is the state's only completely maximum security institution, housing the most difficult and/or dangerous male offenders in the inmate population. NJSP operates two security units and provides a high level of custodial supervision and control. Professional treatment services, such as education and social work, are a priority at the facility. The Bureau of State Use Industries operated the bedding and clothing shops that were once located in Shop Hall at the facility. These industries have been relocated to South Woods State Prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Bowman (Methodist Episcopal bishop)</span> American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church (1817–1914)

Thomas Bowman was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1872.

Jay C. Smith was an American high school principal in Pennsylvania who was convicted and sentenced to death in 1986 for the 1979 murder of one of his school's teachers, Susan Reinert, and her two children, Karen and Michael. His conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1992, based on findings of judicial and prosecutorial misconduct.

Autopsy is a television series of HBO's America Undercover documentary series. Dr. Michael Baden, a real-life forensic pathologist, is the primary analyst, and has been personally involved in many of the cases that are reviewed.

John Test was a U.S. Representative from Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Bonney</span>

Edward William Bonney was a 19th-century adventurer, miller, hotel keeper, city planner, counterfeiter, livery stable keeper, bounty hunter, private detective, postmaster, merchant, soldier, and author. He is best known for his undercover work in exposing the "Banditti of the Prairie", resulting from his investigation of the torture-murder of noted Illinois pioneer and frontiersman Colonel George Davenport.

The Pictures Generation, 1974–1984 was an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City that ran from April 29 – August 2, 2009. The exhibition took its name from Pictures, a 1977 five person group show organized by art historian and critic Douglas Crimp (1944–2019) at New York City's Artists Space gallery. The artists exhibited from September 24 to October 29, 1977 were Troy Brauntuch, Jack Goldstein, Sherrie Levine, Robert Longo and Philip Smith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Madison</span> American serial killer and sex offender that was executed on 15 May 2024 by the death penalty.

Michael Madison is an American convicted serial killer and sex offender from East Cleveland, Ohio who was known to have committed the murders of at least three women over a nine-month period in 2012 and 2013. He was arrested and charged with the crimes in 2013 and was sentenced to death in 2016.

On September 13, 1868, in what became known as the Cold Spring murders, the bodies of Jacob and Nancy Young were found along White River in Cold Spring, near Indianapolis. Both the husband and wife had been shot in the head the day before, and a gun belonging to William J. Abrams was found near the crime scene. Abrams, Silas Hartman and Hartman's sister Nancy Clem were arrested for the murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Getreu</span> American serial killer (1944–2023)

John Arthur Getreu was an American serial killer who was convicted of one murder during 1963 in West Germany and convicted of two more that took place in 1973 and 1974 in the United States. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the latter murders, and died at the California Health Care Facility while serving his sentence. He was identified through genetic genealogy by CeCe Moore in 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 Meaghan Elizabeth Good. "The Charley Project: Betty Fran Smith". charleyproject.org. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Identified". doenetwork.org. The Doe Network. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Deadly Matrimony". Forensic Files. Season 9. Episode 19. 2004-09-29. HLN.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hartman v. Smith, 2005-Ohio-3299 (Court of Appeals of Ohio, 9th Judicial District29 June 2005).
  5. ↑ "Suspect in Janice Hartman murder waives extradition". The Daily Record. Wooster, Ohio. 2000-10-07. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
  6. ↑ "Investigator, road worker describe the discovery of Hartman body parts, clothes". The Daily Record. 12 July 2001. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Man Held in Wife's 1974 Disappearance". Los Angeles Times & Associated Press. 4 October 2000. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  8. ↑ "Downtown: The Missing Mrs. Smiths". ABC 20/20. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  9. ↑ Ohio v. Smith, 2002-Ohio-4402 (Court of Appeals of Ohio, 9th Judicial District28 August 2002).
  10. ↑ "Smith guilty of murder". the-daily-record.com. 20 July 2001. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  11. ↑ "John David Smith - Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Corrections". jailalert.com. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  12. ↑ "John David Smith Mugshot 63645873 - John David Smith Arrest - Wayne County, OH - Booked for MURDER". mugshots.com. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  13. ↑ "NJ Man Busted After He's Charged With Killing 2 Wives". West Windsor, NJ Patch. 2019-11-21. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
  14. ↑ "Jury will not hear that man accused of killing 2nd wife is in prison for murdering his 1st". nj.com. October 5, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  15. ↑ NJ.com, Kevin Shea | For (2023-08-04). "Murder case dropped in 1991 vanishing. Victim's family says husband admitted dumping wife's body". nj. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  16. ↑ MarieGabrielle (8 May 2006). "Murder on Pleasant Drive (TV Movie 2006)". IMDb. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  17. ↑ Fleeman, Michael (14 March 2003). The Stranger In My Bed (St. Martin's True Crime Library): Michael Fleeman: 9780312984175: Amazon.com: Books. St. Martin's Press. ISBN   0312984170.
  18. ↑ Gladden-Davis, Sherrie; Crawford, Brad (2005). My Sister Is Missing: Bringing A Killer To Justice: Sherrie Gladden-Davis, Brad Crawford: 9781578602018: Amazon.com: Books. Emmis Books. ISBN   1578602017.
  19. ↑ "Seemingly "Nice" Man with Two Missing Wives Discovered To Have "Chilling History" By Investigators". 26 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.