GUILTY WA - Susann Smith, 37, murdered, Bothell, 12 Feb 2013

[TravelingBug]

So glad someone else is following this still!

I thought Susann had family they were with initially? I'll have to go back and look (but seems like it mentioned it earlier on when he and his Love Thai girl were doing their thing in between his various escapes) and that it had been mentioned perhaps even in the afadavit from earlier? I'll look after I sleep a bit

Speaking of Love Thai, I have to admit I miss her not updating her FB. It was an interesting, uh, read...among other things. I'm very curious what she's up to and if she's still saying she stands by Alan. Well, and frankly, I'm also curious if this whole pregnancy thing was a scam (which has been my thought all along despite the u/s).

Considering how into speaking out she was and the clear love of social media and "selfies" and what not, I must think she's either been admitted (or committed) somewhere or else she's changed her name and is still posting as much as she was the couple of months there.

I hope Susann's kids never end up seeing all the nonsense their dad and LT were up to. If the murder of their mom wasn't enough, that ridiculousness would just be icing on the cake in terms of him flaunting his innocence, their sexcapades, the brazen interviews. Ugh.

 

[ohiogirl]

Newly released? Affidavit of probable cause:
http://media.digitalarchives.wa.gov/Media/OrderFulfillment/E9C0A4E55118B6B510BE3ECB0FAB0A8C.pdf

Lots and lots of evidence... Don't think he's getting away with this one. He's considered an extreme flight risk.



I feel badly for these children. "Essentially orphaned"? I assume this means no family to take them in and they've been placed in the system. What a selfish, selfish psychopath they have for a father. JMO.

Thanks for keeping us updated on this. How horrible for those poor children. Hopefully, some family has come forward and we just don't know it. :seeya:

 

[mangolassi]

She has an ultrasound posted up on FB dated July 16, so unfortunately I think she really was/is pregnant. I do hope her family intervened to get her some psychiatric help.

 

[TravelingBug]

She has an ultrasound posted up on FB dated July 16, so unfortunately I think she really was/is pregnant. I do hope her family intervened to get her some psychiatric help.

I hope she's getting help, too. Though if she's being seen out and about in the neighborhood I'm guessing it's not as much as she probably needs - and that she's likely still convinced he's innocent and they'll be together.

I saw the u/s, but I also know how often people doctor them up online for scamming purposes.

As much as I hate to say it, I hope she's making it all up. That poor baby if she is... A mother who's clearly not only got major issues (and seems quite vulnerable to all sorts of craziness and falling into the schemes of others) but a father who is a murderer and lies easily (and seems to believe his own tales)...

 

[pharmchick]

Murder Trial for Bothell Resident Alan Smith Postponed: http://www.bothell-reporter.com/news/223642701.html


Not terribly surprising news. Article also says there have been several bids on the home.

 

[Estelle]

I hope she's getting help, too. Though if she's being seen out and about in the neighborhood I'm guessing it's not as much as she probably needs - and that she's likely still convinced he's innocent and they'll be together.

I saw the u/s, but I also know how often people doctor them up online for scamming purposes.

As much as I hate to say it, I hope she's making it all up. That poor baby if she is... A mother who's clearly not only got major issues (and seems quite vulnerable to all sorts of craziness and falling into the schemes of others) but a father who is a murderer and lies easily (and seems to believe his own tales)...

I have been wondering whether she knew he would be arrested and imprisoned and that having his baby would thus entitle her and/or his progeny to ownership or the proceeds of his house after its sale or at least a third share as he already had two other children. Little did she know that there was little or no equity in it at the time.

 

[TravelingBug]

That piece of work sure has stayed off SM now for months! I'm truly surprised!

Another few weeks before we're apt to hear much still about the case. Hopefully a week or two prior we'll get more scoop on where it looks like things are going...

 

[primitivefuture]

Keep your eyes on this one:

from KOMOnews.com:

"The girlfriend of a Bothell man suspected in his wife's murder asked the public Friday to donate money to him so he can post bail and get out of jail - even though she thinks it's possible he might be guilty of the killing."

Video: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/...sted-on-obstruction-accusation-212368921.html

Creepy...

"I saw the little boy in him, you know cuz I'm healing my little girl"

this people are on glue. creeps of the week.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[nells]

Any updates???

 

[pharmchick]

Any updates???

Doesn't seem to be anything new... Nothing has been updated on the Snohomish County Courts docket on his case. The last entry was a trial continuance on September 13th, but that's not unexpected. The continuance was until December 20th, but I assume another continuance will be issued at that point in preparation for trial hopefully sometime next year. Justice is slow!

No FB activity for LT since July 23rd. (Now THAT'S unexpected!)

No activity on the blogs that have posted about the case. Previously, locals were commenting quite a bit, but it's radio silence.

Nothing recent pops up on a Google News search either.

I keep checking every few weeks. I will set a reminder to recheck on December 20th!

 

[nells]

Here's a news story from http://www.bothell-reporter.com/news/235319811.html

Nothing really "new," just that Alan Smith's trial setting hearing was reset to Dec. 13 .

 

[TravelingBug]

Pushed back further:

Smith, 38, of Bothell, is charged with beating, stabbing and drowning his estranged wife in February. His trial was rescheduled for May 2, 2014.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20...untys-highest-profile-homicide-trials-delayed

 

[TravelingBug]

Wish it were May so we'd get some movement in this...

Totally shocked Love Thai doesn't seem to have resurfaced - she was quite the, umm, interesting person. And if her story was true, she'd have had the baby by now. Curious to see if she's still standing by Alan when she inevitably does resurface during the trial.

I wonder how Susann's children are doing - 13 1/2 months without their mother.

Hard not to roll your eyes at this (or it was for me) from their "church" on their FB page recently.

This Week's Affirmation: I am a praying mo fo…and my prayers yield crops of nourishing goodness!

Seriously?

 

[pharmchick]

Had a note to myself to check back up on this in May, as his trial had been rescheduled for May 2nd, 2014.

Lots of news... The reason we have not heard from LT is that she is deceased. She committed suicide, and died on April 8th in Seattle.

http://www.bothell-reporter.com/news/254823461.html

According to the King County Medical Examiner's Office, LT committed suicide. Marks around her neck indicate she died from a rope or something around her neck.
...
Thai told the Reporter in July 2013 she was pregnant with Smith's child and there was an ultrasound photo posted to her personal Facebook account around the same time. The medical examiner's office could not confirm if LT was still pregnant at the time of her death.
...
Lawyers for Smith asked a judge to push back his murder trial this week so they could have more time to prepare. Smith's trial date was moved from May 2 to June 13, according to Craig Matheson, senior deputy prosecuting attorney at Snohomish County Prosectors Office.

And from http://www.king5.com/news/local/Pro...urder-trial-committed-suicide-254979071.html:

Thai used her Facebook page to post intimate photos and videos of her and Smith, detailing everything from his arrest to him voicing frustrations with divorcing his wife.

Prosecutors say these videos led them to consider calling Thai as a witness in Smith's murder trial. But they questioned her mental and emotional stability, which she spoke about often.

Prosecutors say her testimony was not crucial to their case, and they are fairly confident they will be able to use the video from her Facebook page as evidence anyway.

ETA - 2 thoughts on this:

1. LT was obviously not a totally stable woman. Did AS still have contact with her from jail? Seems subpoenas would have been going out to witnesses around the time she passed away, given that the plan was for the trial to start in May. Was that too much stress for her? Did AS manipulate her somehow because he didn't want her to testify? Two women (at least) in AS's life that have turned up dead (and the previous speculation about his mother)... not coincidental, IMO.

2. Re: LT being pregnant - She had posted an ultrasound in July 2013 on her FB, and if I recall correctly, she would have given birth prior to April. There are unsubstantiated rumors floating around on a blog that she did have the baby and gave it up for adoption. Could her death be related to post-partum depression or psychosis? Just thoughts... Sad all around.

 

[pharmchick]

Another update: Defense trying to exclude the testimony of the pastor who AS confessed to - questions over whether his testimony is protected by clergy-penitent privilege - he was acting in the capacity of a pastor, but was not actually ordained clergy.

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/murder-suspects-alleged-confession-minister-could-/nfhDh/

Morris said Alan Smith admitted to him that he killed his wife, who was found dead in her bathtub, severely beaten.
...
Smith's attorneys said Morris was acting as a church authority when the confession was made, so the conversation is inadmissible in court because of clergy-penitent privilege. But Morris isn't an ordained minister.
...
The judge has yet to make a decision if Morris' testimony will be heard during the trial, which is scheduled to start in June.

 

[pharmchick]

And the last update that I've found so far in my searching today -

Friend of Bothell Murder Victim Speaks Out
http://www.bothell-reporter.com/news/256618491.html

Smith's husband Alan Smith, who plead not guilty in July, is accused of the killing. He now sits in the Snohomish County Jail on $1 million bail and is scheduled to appear for trial June 13.

Scott thinks he did it.

"I definitely believe Susann's husband did that to her," she said. "When we met they were already having problems. But it was they way he was around her that frightened me; he was very arrogant and always put her down. Something was just off, I did not like him."

Scott recalled Susann telling her that Alan would fight ugly.

"He would get in Susann's face a lot; get close to her face and scream," Scott said. "He had a very patronizing tone of voice when he talked to her."

Scott said despite their disagreements, Susann fought to keep the family together.

"Last time I saw her she was trying to convince him to go to counseling because she didn't want her family to fall apart," Scott said. "She mentioned that he wasn't into counseling and said that if he wanted to separate she would stay here so the kids could see their dad. She never said anything about taking her kids back to Germany or moving."

 

[pharmchick]

New article from May 23rd - Some bad news, some good news...

http://heraldnet.com/article/201405...layed-for-Bothell-man-accused-of-killing-wife

Bad news - the trial is delayed until next year:

The trial for a Bothell man accused of killing his estranged wife won’t happen until next year.Alan Smith’s defense attorneys earlier this week told a Snohomish County Superior Court judge that they need more time to complete their investigation. The murder trial was scheduled to begin next month.The public defenders cited the large volume of police and expert reports yet to be reviewed. So far, they’ve received nearly 9,000 pages of discovery. They said their investigator also needs to interview more than 20 witnesses.Smith now is scheduled to go on trial in January. He remains locked up at the Snohomish County Jail.

Good news - AS's confession to the man from his church is allowed (the same man who turned him in when AS's promise to turn himself in turned out to be another one of his lies):

Meanwhile, a judge earlier this month ruled that jurors can hear testimony from a man who reported to detectives that Smith confessed to killing his wife.The defense attempted to block the man’s testimony, saying that the conversation was protected because the man is a licensed minister.

 

[pharmchick]

Recent activity from the courts' website. I can't interpret it all - need a legal type! Anyhow, we knew that the trial would be delayed until next year, but there's a notation about "trial cancelled"? What's that all about? I've just included what I thought were "highlights" in my non-legalese mind:

• 5/2/14: TRIAL CONTINUED: DEF/RESP REQUESTED
• 5/8/14: MOTION TO COMPEL: Motion for Order to Compel Discovery
• 5/16/14: MOTION TO CONTINUE: Motion to Continue Trial
• 5/20/14: HEARING CONTINUED: DEF/RESP REQUEST: Mt to Continue Trial
• 5/20/14: TRIAL CONTINUED: DEF/RESP REQUESTED [1/12/2015] - Is this the new trial date???
• 5/20/14: STATEMENT: Statement From Dfdt to Court
• 6/16/14: TRIAL CANCELLED: UNKNOWN PARTY - Huh??
• 7/16/14: MOTION HEARING: Oral Decision [8/7/14]
• 7/16/14: ORDER FOR HEARING ACTION: Order For Hearing; Status Hearing (re Defense Witness List) [8/21/14]

Otherwise, all quiet. No new updates in MSM since May...

 

[pharmchick]

Bothell resident Alan Smith loses bid to block evidence in murder trial : http://www.bothell-reporter.com/news/270409701.html#

Alan Smith, 39, is scheduled to go on trial in January, charged with first-degree murder. His public defenders asked Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Linda Krese to rule police used seven flawed search warrants to build the case against him. They urged the judge to suppress evidence gathered from Smith’s home, body, bank, vehicles, cellphones, computers and other electronic devices.

The judge for the most part declined.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20141212/NEWS01/141219703

Jurors won't hear that a Bothell man accused of killing his estranged wife was called “Creepy Alan” by some of his coworkers at Boeing.

Lawyers for Alan Smith, 39, asked a judge to prohibit any witness from testifying that they considered Smith a strange or socially awkward person. Prosecutors said they weren't planning to elicit those kinds of descriptions from witnesses...

Smith's lawyer, Caroline Mann, spent part of Thursday's hearing trying to keep mention of Love Thai out of the trial. Thai was flamboyant and her bizarre antics could be prejudicial to Smith, Mann said.