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"I sent three of them to
heaven,
but didn't know where the hell the other two would go."
Allegedly said by Clay Smith to an arresting officer.
Clay
Smith was charged with the murder of his girlfriend, Misty
Erwin, 20, who lived with him in a mobile home near
Jefferson; Erwin's cousin, Shelly Sorg, 24, of Pine Bluff;
Sorg's children, Taylor Nicole Sorg, 3, and Sean Michael
Sorg, 5; and family friend Samantha, 12, also of Pine Bluff.
But that was the easy part.
You see, unlike most killers of this type, Clay Smith not
only didn't save a bullet for himself but also denied the
murders (although police say he admitted them, they have no
actual proof that he said anything, only hearsay. And we all
know just how reliable that is)
So we must look at the fact of the case -
The day before Smith's arrest, Jefferson County sheriff's
deputies found the five bodies, including three children, in
a mobile home at 3105 Pinto Road near Jefferson in the
northern part of the county. The mobile home was Smith's
place of residence.
Police decide to check out the mobile home after relatives
filed missing persons reports with the sheriff's office.
When the deputies arrived at the mobile home about 10:30
p.m. March 25, the front door was barricaded by furniture.
But rather stupidly the killer had not bothered to do the
same at the back door.
Deputy Andy Hoots said he entered through that unbarricaded
back door with Mark Lackey, the landlord. Lackey had called
the sheriff's office after he entered the home and
reportedly saw blood stains on the carpet.
Sheriff's office investigator Steve Moreau said he entered
the mobile home with Deputey Moser shortly after 11 p.m. The
officers first found the blood-soaked bodies of Rhodes and
Sean Sorg in the west bedroom near the back of the residence
and found the other victims in the living room. Misty Erwin
was slumped over in a recliner and Taylor Sorg and Shelly
Sorg were found on a couch, covered with bedding.
Charles Paul Kokes, an assistant medical examiner with the
state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock, testified at Smiths
trial that all of the victims except Taylor Sorg died from
multiple gunshot wounds. Taylor Sorg was killed by a single
shot to the face, Kokes said. The other victims were shot in
the head, arm and upper body, and some of them were shot at
close range, Kokes said.
Sandra Haynes, a neighbor who lives across the street, said
she saw Smith leave the mobile home through the front door
shortly after midnight on March 24. She said Smith stared at
her for "a good ten seconds" before getting in his car and
driving off. (Once again there is no 'real' evidence that
this happened, only a nosy neighbours attempt to be
recognised. We must also remember that the front door was
'barricaded' from the inside.)
The day following the discovery of the bodies Clay Smith was
found by police. Not surprisingly Smith wasn't too anxious
to be taken into custody. So he held a .22-caliber
semiautomatic rifle throughout a 55-minute exchange with
police. Unfortunately for Smith the police became restless
and the stand off ended when an Arkansas State Police
officer shot Smith in the right arm. As Smith tumbled to the
ground, deputies from Jefferson and Lincoln counties
converged on him and disarmed him.
A few weeks ago (May, 1999) Clay Smith was sentenced to die.
Quotes and Interesting Bits -
"I wish I could take a couple of days back. I was on drugs,
I was high,"
Allegedly Smith yelled at the officers who had chased him to
his brother's hunting camp near Star City.
"Be a man, just shoot me,"
Allegedly said to police while tapping his hand on his chest
"Smith never pointed the weapon at the officers, but kind of
leaned on it."
Stated ny an officer involved in the shooting and arrest of
Clay Smith.
"I am not guilty. You've accused me of killing the most
loved person in my life, my fiancee.
A very different Clay Smith speaks to the Jury.
"I respect your decision. You found me guilty of killing
Misty and four other people. I've lost my life anyway."
Also to the Jury. This time it was when asked if he had any
words before they deliberated about his sentence.
"There is nothing more deliberate than when you walk up to a
5-year-old child and shoot him in the head." - During
closing remarks, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kim Bridgforth.
Smith's attorney, Dale Adams of Little Rock, pointed to
"gaps in evidence, the fact that cigarette butts, a whiskey
bottle and blood splatters on the walls and ceiling and a
fingerprint at the front door were not sent to the crime lab
for analysis."
"They zoomed in on him and didn't consider anybody else,"
Adams said, adding that Shelly Sorg's husband, who had
threatened her three times, "was never eliminated as a
suspect."
"He may have sent my daughter to heaven, but today the state
sent him to hell."
said to reporters by Brenda Cox Bratton, the mother of
victim Samantha Rhodes, following sentencing.
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