Smith v. State

The defendant stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

In 2005, an Athens-Clarke County jury convicted Terry Lewis Smith of malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault for stabbing his ex-girlfriend, Cashebia Lundy, to death. Smith appeals, arguing that: 1 there is no direct evidence and the circumstantial evidence did not exclude every reasonable hypothesis save for his guilt; 2 the trial court erred in admitting certain physical evidence and testimony; 3 the trial court erred in failing to declare a mistrial or replace a juror when it learned that the juror might have heard the contents of one bench conference at the very beginning of the trial; and 4 he was denied his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel. Finding no merit in these arguments, we affirm.1 1. The evidence presented at trial would have enabled a rational trier of fact to find as follows. Cashebia Lundy was stabbed to death in her front yard in the early morning hours of November 26, 2003. Lundy’s mother and daughter discovered the body the following morning. The police were called, and suspicion immediately focused on Lundy’s abusive former boyfriend, Terry Lewis Smith, with whom Lundy had broken up just three months earlier. The break-up was tumultuous one, much like the years-long, violent relationship that preceded it. In the three months before her death, Smith stalked Lundy and threatened to kill her on numerous occasions, sometimes while brandishing a knife.

Around 2:00 a.m., shortly before the stabbing, the Lundys’ next-door neighbor saw Smith sitting in a chair in the Lundys’ front yard. Shortly thereafter, Smith made a brief, unplanned visit to his mother’s home, and a few minutes after that, he called his mother and asked if the police were looking for him. Smith’s mother received a similar call from one of Smith’s friends later that morning asking her again if the police were looking for Smith. When the police arrived, looking for her son, Smith’s mother called him and encouraged him to turn himself in.

Smith v. State

The defendant stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report