Husband, Stepdaughter Charged In Murder Of Aberdeen Woman: Police

BALTIMORE, MD — More than two months after an Aberdeen woman was murdered in Baltimore, authorities announced that her husband and stepdaughter had been arrested. The news upended the story the two told at the time, that she was killed by a panhandler.

Jacquelyn Smith, 54, an engineer at Aberdeen Proving Ground, had been riding in a vehicle in the 1000 block of Valley Street in east Baltimore when, the story went, she rolled down her window to give money to a woman holding a baby or an object wrapped to look like a baby.

Based on information her family provided, police said a man approached the vehicle appearing to thank Smith and instead reached inside to grab her wallet, they struggled, and the man stabbed Smith in the torso with a knife.

“We now know that that was not true,” Acting Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said of the story that the victim's husband told when he made a 911 call on Dec. 1, 2018.

Keith Tyrone Smith, 52, of the 4900 block of Villa Point Drive in Aberdeen, and Valeria Shavon Smith, 28, of the 1300 block of Homewood Avenue in Baltimore, were arrested in Texas near the Mexican border, Harrison said at a press conference on Sunday, March 3. The two were taken into custody before they could leave the country, police said.

Both had previously told police that a panhandler stabbed Jacquelyn Smith to death, according to authorities.

"Good detective work" and "tenacious" efforts to pursue the evidence since Jacquelyn Smith's death led to charges against the father and daughter of first-degree murder, Harrison reported. He said he did not want to get into the details of the case, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation and pending judicial proceedings.

"What we want to make sure is that the truth comes out and justice is done," Harrison said. He said that the suspects "took advantage of Baltimore." The city has been plagued by violence, being named the most dangerous city in America last year by USA Today.

At the time of the stabbing, police said Smith had been a passenger in the car leaving a family gathering. After the stabbing, Smith sought medical attention, and officers from the Eastern District were notified by a local hospital about a walk-in stabbing victim around 12:34 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1, police said.

Despite the efforts of doctors, officials reported that Smith succumbed to her injury — a stab wound to the chest — and was pronounced deceased.

“We are sincerely in pain for that family and also for the citizens of Baltimore,” Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh said. “These individuals took advantage of a situation, a city that is already dealing with its own problems," she said, adding: "We are looking forward to this cruel act being brought to justice.”

Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said that the collaboration between Baltimore Police detectives and prosecutors allowed them to "get to the bottom of what actually took place" and find the "truth of the matter."

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