| The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Jan. 14--Nancy Smith called off work Wednesday morning at A. Crivelli Chevrolet in Franklin because she said her husband was "in one of his moods", according to a search warrant issued last night for the couple's Venango County home. SAVE MONEY ON TRAVEL DEALS Within hours, Michael Smith, 44, fatally shot his wife and state trooper Paul G. Richey before killing himself in the home, authorities said. According to a criminal complaint, Nancy Smith's sister, Cheryl Rodgers, called state police after talking to her sister on the phone yesterday morning. Rodgers said Nancy Smith, 56, said she was all right but needed cigarettes, the complaint states. Rodgers then spoke to Michael Smith. She told him she would bring cigarettes but said she wanted to see Nancy, according to the complaint. Michael Smith told her not to bother coming to the house and that she had "just signed Nancy's death warrant", the complaint states. Nancy Smith's boss at the auto dealership also called the house, and Michael Smith told him that he had assaulted his wife that morning, according to the complaint. Yesterday was Michael Smith's birthday. Rodgers called police at 11:34 a.m. About 14 minutes later, Richey, 40, a 16-year veteran of the state police, and Trooper Jason Whitman arrived at the Bredinsburg Road home in Cranberry, about 80 miles north of Pittsburgh. Police said a man yelled from the two-story house for the troopers to return to their vehicles, but the officers ordered him to come out of the home. The man then fired a shot that struck Richey in his upper torso, police said. Whitman sought cover and radioed for help. Troopers who arrived on the scene fired multiple shots at the home while Richey's body was being recovered. None of the shots fired by troopers are believed to have struck the Smiths, authorities said, adding that ballistics tests will be conducted to confirm that finding. About six hours after the shooting, troopers from the Special Emergency Response Team fired chemical agents into the house, entered and found the Smiths' bodies. Troopers wearing gas masks searched the home this morning. The search warrant, signed at 5 p.m. yesterday by District Judge Douglas Dinberg, showed that state police were looking for a range of evidence. Evidence sought included: the Smiths' bodies; any biological evidence in the home such as clothing and hair; ballistic evidence, including firearms, ammunition and pipe bombs; electronic information stored on computers, discs and portable devices such as cell phones, cameras and pagers; and sales receipts, maps, photos, letters, film and any other "documentary evidence", the search warrant states. Michael Smith had prior run-ins with police. In April 1997, he was charged with several offenses after he took a gun -- a .30-30 Marlin rifle -- to Crivelli Chevrolet and threatened four responding officers with the firearm, according to a criminal complaint. It was unclear whether police were looking for that rifle or if the weapon was used in yesterday's shootings. Smith was sentenced to three years probation and a $500 fine after pleading guilty to a stalking charge in the 1997 case, county court records show. He was denied early release from probation and his guns were confiscated. But after completing probation in October 2000, Smith's guns were returned and he was allowed to hunt and carry sporting weapons.
To see more of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/. Copyright (c) 2010, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. A service of YellowBrix, Inc. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Related News Topics:
Top U.S. news
|
