PA PA - Judy Smith, 50, Philadelphia, 10 April 1997

[McSpy]

In reading this thread, two things stuck out, a toy truck and sunglasses.

Here is a possibility. The truck was for an adult, a truck driver. It was a token type thing that you put on a mantel or nicknack shelf. Truckers do wear sunglasses, because of the glare while driving. Could the person who at least drove Smith to NC have been a long distance trucker?

BBM

Makes sense to me. It could be from the trucking company the perp worked for . . In fact, my bro-in-law gave us a toy truck from his truck company. He was a long distance trucker.

 

[McSpy]

I think Judy's husband was annoyed with her. I have a feeling they were fighting. Maybe she met someone that day and took off, because she was angry with her husband. Maybe she did it on impulse. The man turned out to be her worse nightmare.

There are hinky things in this case. IIRC, she supposedly wore the same clothes she wore the day before. Also, she left no toiltries in the hotel room, which is very odd. The Philly police were very suspicious of these findings too.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

BBM

Makes sense to me. It could be from the truck company the perp worked for . . In fact, my bro-in-law gave us a toy truck from his truck company. He was a long distance trucker.

Well, Smith purchased it. In the Gricar case, Gricar bought a Mini and put it in his girlfriend's name; he usually drove it. He also bought the girlfriend a toy Mini that she kept on her desk.

 

[McSpy]

IIRC, Judy's husband was a defense attorney. So maybe he hired a client. Possibly, Judy wanted out of the marriage and this was his motive.

All speculation—no facts.

 

[McSpy]

Well, Smith purchased it. In the Gricar case, Gricar bought a Mini and put it in his girlfriend's name; he usually drove it. He also bought the girlfriend a toy Mini that she kept on her desk.

LE found a receipt? Did they find out where she bought it? It is interesting that she had it with her, so it seems like it was a souvenir.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

IIRC, Judy's husband was a defense attorney. So maybe he hired a client. Possibly, Judy wanted out of the marriage and this was his motive.

All speculation—no facts.

I'm not sure he was a criminal defense attorney. He seemed to be associate with drug companies which might mean he was a corporate lawyer.

One witness identified her as buying sandwiches and a toy truck for $30.

 

[toscaxyz]

I checked two things, distance and weather:

It 600 miles from Philadelphia to Ashville. Even driving fast on interstates, it would take just under 20.5 hours, and she was a bit south of Ashville. It could be done in one day, in theory. Two people (or more) driving in shifts, or one driver on stimulants, could do it.

20.5 hours would be a very slow drive. I know we have done Philadelphia to Asheville in 7-8 hours in bad traffic with a stop for lunch. Were you calculating the walking time, J.J.?

I'm so glad to see this thread get some traffic again. I have always been intrigued by the case since I read about it in the Philadelphia papers at the time. I kept thinking that it would all be settled with some logical explanation, but it just got stranger and stranger. Nothing adds up in this case.

I never thought the husband did it, but maybe that's because he was painted sympathetically by the media reports. The strong police suspicion of him may have been because they saw a different side of him.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

20.5 hours would be a very slow drive. I know we have done Philadelphia to Asheville in 7-8 hours in bad traffic with a stop for lunch. Were you calculating the walking time, J.J.?

I'm so glad to see this thread get some traffic again. I have always been intrigued by the case since I read about it in the Philadelphia papers at the time. I kept thinking that it would all be settled with some logical explanation, but it just got stranger and stranger. Nothing adds up in this case.

I never thought the husband did it, but maybe that's because he was painted sympathetically by the media reports. The strong police suspicion of him may have been because they saw a different side of him.

I checked my mapping program again. Yes, you are correct, about 8.75 hours. Walking would take weeks.

The husband actually went to the then Speaker of the State House, who addressing the convention, and asked for help with getting the police involved. I've thought that the political intervention might have been the reason the Phila Police were hostile.

I'm wondering if she had a friend that was a trucker?

 

[kemo]

For the record,

Judy's body was found 1/4 mile up a steep mountain trail (from the parking area). She weighed approximately 135 LBS. She was wearing hiking boots and clothing appropriate for cold weather outdoor activity. Her body was placed in a depression in the soil, possibly caused by a tree uprooting, about 20 yards from the trail and was covered by vegetation. The trail originated at the Stoney Point picnic area in Buncombe County, NC. From all of this, a few obvious conclusions can be drawn:

1) Only a very strong man would be able to carry a body that far up that kind of trail. Pictures of the husband show that he is very flabby and overweight. There is no way he did that.

2) The only reason any would do such a thing would be to hide the body where it would never be found. However, the body was rather haphazardly concealed near a hiking trail. This makes no sense. In light of the fact that Judy was dressed for hiking, the inescapable conclusion is that she went there voluntarily to hike.

3)There is absolutely no public transportation anywhere near there. She either drove or went with someone who drove. Yet, there is no record of an abandoned car being found at the Stoney Point picnic area. She must have arrived there in a vehicle with at least one other person who killed her and used the car to return.

4) The Stoney Point picnic area and the adjoining hiking trail are not shown on any Web site I can find. I can not say with certainty that it wasn't listed in some book or visitor's information brochure but I am guessing that it was a pretty obscure spot that only locals would know about.

5)Judy was in regular contact with her children, her friends and her co-workers right up to the day she was supposed to go to Philadelphia. The husband's presence was well documented for the entire time he was there. There is just no opportunity for the husband to sneak her off to a surprise trip to NC and then return to perform his functions at the Pharmaceutical conference.

It appears that she went there on her own and was killed by someone other than her husband she knew; most likely someone with local connections.

 

[toscaxyz]

It appears that she went there on her own and was killed by someone other than her husband she knew; most likely someone with local connections.

I think this is most likely what happened. She may have left Philadelphia voluntarily but met up with or simply met for the first time with the person who killed her. IIRC, her valuables (rings, money) were not taken, so it doesn't appear that robbery was a motive.

Does anyone know whether there was any DNA evidence recovered? Or whether there might be crime scene materials available now for DNA testing with more advanced methods? That may be the only way this will ever be solved.

 

[MissJ]

I've forgotten many details of this case. Did other family members have alibis? I do believe she was killed by someone who knew her and she apparently trusted. JMO

 

[charminglane]

Read the whole thread.
Thoughts:
Could husband have sent someone with their own private plane and grey sedan to pick her up/accompany/drive/murder Judy in/to Asheville?
A former client?

A woman was seen carrying flowers in to the hotel in Phila. Easy to put your face behind a large bouquet to hide walking in to a building. His girlfriend? Was he fooling around and wanted out of the marriage for another woman?

A single woman that is reliant enough to travel to Thailand alone is not likely to be conned or made to feel vulnerable by just any person she meets. This is a savvy, smart, aware, confident woman. The person the husband might have sent to take care of her would have been someone she knew-and trusted.

Hotel cleaning crews usually do a pretty darn good job of cleaning and resetting a room while the guests are out. However, even the BEST crew will not get every hair or fiber left behind. There should have been hairs from a hairbrush or strays present in that room if Judy was ever there and took a shower. I wonder how thorough the crime scene investigators were that day?

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I just wanted to add, regarding the health of Jeff, the husband. He was a cancer survivor and would die of heart attack in 7-8 years. There is no way he was healthy enough to move the body.

Read the whole thread.
Thoughts:
Could husband have sent someone with their own private plane and grey sedan to pick her up/accompany/drive/murder Judy in/to Asheville?
A former client?

The client represented corporate clients; I doubt if you could get one of them to do it.

A woman was seen carrying flowers in to the hotel in Phila. Easy to put your face behind a large bouquet to hide walking in to a building. His girlfriend? Was he fooling around and wanted out of the marriage for another woman?

A single woman that is reliant enough to travel to Thailand alone is not likely to be conned or made to feel vulnerable by just any person she meets. This is a savvy, smart, aware, confident woman. The person the husband might have sent to take care of her would have been someone she knew-and trusted.

The distance makes it unlikely. She was in a strange town distant from most people she knew.

Hotel cleaning crews usually do a pretty darn good job of cleaning and resetting a room while the guests are out. However, even the BEST crew will not get every hair or fiber left behind. There should have been hairs from a hairbrush or strays present in that room if Judy was ever there and took a shower. I wonder how thorough the crime scene investigators were that day?

The Phila Police never did a forensic examination of the room.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I am wondering if Judy Smith had some sort of a mental break; she could have linked up with someone after that.

 

[charminglane]

Thank you, J.J.
From a Broomall girl in L.A.!

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Thank you, J.J.
From a Broomall girl in L.A.!

Delco? Wow.

Two things that I was thinking of Depford Mall in NJ, and hiking.

1. Judy Smith was identified at the Depford Mall. It is very possible to get to Jersey. PATCO has a stop about a block away and it runs to South Jersey. The stations in Jersey are miles away from the Mall.

Does anyone know what bus service is like there from the stops? How easy would it be for a stranger to know of the Mall and know how to get there?

2. I know Judy traveled around a lot, but did she hike?

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.news.com.au/world/north-...h/news-story/b17a4452389568a863596acbe1c49364

According to her adult children from a previous marriage, and other family members, Judy loved Jeffrey and the pair got along very well. They had met a decade earlier while she was caring for his elderly father at home while he recovered from surgery to remove a tumour from his throat.

Police investigated him as a potential suspect but could find no evidence to suggest his involvement. His alibis checked out and he was too morbidly obese to have hiked the rugged trail through the woods to where her body was found.

Sheriff Medford believes Judy may have wanted time out from her marriage, or even tried to start a new life by heading for the hills — literally — but that somewhere along the way she met someone who killed her. Others have theorised Judy may have crossed paths with a serial killer who was operating in the area at the time called Gary Michael Hilton. Officers did look for links at the time but came up with nothing.

In the meantime, the question of how Judy Smith ended up dead so many hundreds of kilometres from where she was last seen, remains unanswered.

 

[Krimi]

I remember reading about this case a few years ago. I thought, at that time, that LE had decided the husband was the guilty party, but reading your links that doesn't seem to be the case, although they have cast a jaundiced eye on him.

One thought I had off the top of my head is Mrs. Smith may have had a girl friend and they went away together in the girl friend's car. Mrs. Smith may have appeared disoriented because she hadn't made up her mind to "take off" and was preoccupied with this thought in mind.

How's that for a made up story?

This is a fascinating case, thanks for posting it.

You might have a good point. Judy was found murdered in an area that hikers frequented, and it was apparently challenging terrain. Her husband was obese and not considered capable of physically being in the area. However, this park was near Asheville NC. At the time Asheville reputedly had a significant Homosexual community and a house devoted to lesbians was not far from the Pisgah park and area where the body was found. My theory is that Judy was dissatisfied with the marriage, had a lesbian GF and decided to start life over with her. They had a falling out and <modsnip> it got violent and deadly.

 

[kirkassoc]

You might have a good point. Judy was found murdered in an area that hikers frequented, and it was apparently challenging terrain. Her husband was obese and not considered capable of physically being in the area. However, this park was near Asheville NC. At the time Asheville reputedly had a significant Homosexual community and a house devoted to lesbians was not far from the Pisgah park and area where the body was found. My theory is that Judy was dissatisfied with the marriage, had a lesbian GF and decided to start life over with her. They had a falling out and <modsnip> it got violent and deadly.

Just stumbled upon this strange case while listening to a crime video on YT. This "theory" was exactly my thought from the beginning. The biggest red flag for me began when JS "forgot" her identification and had to return home. She planned to take a later flight and meet her husband later. Plenty of time to make arrangements with a significant other. To me, it's the only thing that makes any sense. She may have been having second thoughts and is why she gave her real name and information to clerk in NC. Seems like a serial killer would have taken the money, IMO. Perhaps there is a woman's name somewhere in all those files they've accumulated. I am hoping this is solved someday.

 

[toscaxyz]

Thanks for reviving the thread. I continue to check in on this case because it seemed to simple at first but got more and more complicated.