Murder Charges Dropped Against Stepdaughter In Jacquelyn Smith Murder Case

Source: copyright Dan Reynolds Photography / Getty

Murder Charges Dropped Against Stepdaughter In Jacquelyn Smith Murder Case

Another shocking new development has happened in the case of a good Samaritan who was allegedly murdered while being generous.

As previously reported Jacquelyn Smith’s story garnered national attention after people like Oprah mourned the Baltimore woman who was reportedly stabbed to death by a panhandler while giving money to a woman holding a baby.

Following that police arrested her husband and stepdaughter alleging that they actually plotted to kill Jacquelyn and were planning to leave the country together after the murder.

Now authorities have dropped ALL murder charges against the stepdaughter, Valeria Smith. Instead, they’re charging her with being an accessory.

Defense attorney Brandon Mead told The Baltimore Sun that Smith has been indicted in Baltimore Circuit Court on one charge of accessory after the crime.

“We’ve basically said all along that Ms. Smith’s role in this was greatly exaggerated initially by the state,” Mead said.

Police now believe the murder plot was constructed by Jacquelyn’s husband Keith Smith, 53, who was arrested with Valeria near the Mexico border. After noticing inconsistencies in the duo’s stories about the murderous panhandler, detectives found no sign of the Smiths’ car where the alleged stabbing happened. The Baltimore Sun also reports that cellphone signals placed the Smiths in Druid Hill Park for 15 unexplained minutes.

Later a close friend would tell police that Smith had asked his own brother for help in murdering his wife before turning to his child for assistance.

This case just keeps getting more and more bizarre, we’ll keep you posted on the latest updates.