Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Fulton County, GA: Husband convicted of shooting wife to death

By Angel K. Brooks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A man who authorities said tried to use his daughter for an alibi was convicted Friday of fatally shooting his wife.

A jury found 41-year-old Orlando Smith guilty of felony murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the Fulton County District Attorney's Office announced Monday. Smith was sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years.

Authorities said Orlando Smith shot Demetria Smith, 47, in the back of the head on May 25, 2010 at the couple's southwest Atlanta home. Friends testified that Demetria Smith was planning to leave her husband the next day, the news release said.

Orlando Smith triggered the alarm in the home to try to draw police to the scene to find his wife's body, then went to his teenage daughter's house to establish an alibi, authorities said.

While driving back home the next day, he told his daughter to throw his bloody clothes out of the window, the teen later admitted to police.

Smith pretended to find his wife's body and called police, authorities said. Police later found the clothes.

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