David Terrell Smith will return to court today to be arraigned in the ghastly murder of his pregnant girlfriend in front of their 10th month old infant child.
Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood said that prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty against Smith.
As is customarily the case in capital murder cases, Presiding Mobile County Circuit Judge Wesley Pipes denied bond. Mobile County Public Defender Art Powell was appointed to represent Smith.
Police allege that “Smith forced his way through a locked door at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday and shot White with a handgun in front of the 10-month-old child,” according to FOX10 News. Smith was 20 years old when she was killed.
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“Blackwood said prosecutors also are adding a fourth capital murder count against David Terrell Smith – intentional killing of a witness in a judicial proceeding,” FOX10 News reported. “Blackwood said that relates to a child support case that victim Amiayia White initiated in June.”
White filed the child support petition around the same time she went to live at Wilmer Hall.
The other three capital murders charges are for allegedly “killing White in front of the child; killing two people – White and the unborn child; and killing her while committing a burglary,” according to FOX10 News. “All are separate aggravating factors that, if proven, qualify a murder as a capital offense.”
“This happened at a facility meant to protect women and children,” he said. “This is an absolutely egregious murder.”
Blackwood added, “It was a domestic violence murder, and the way it happened was absolutely horrible. It was in front of a child. Amiayia White was pregnant. And, you know, due to all of those circumstances, this is, you know, we feel one of the worst of the worst. …
“It’s a great program at Wilmer Hall,” Blackwood went on to tell reporters. “Amiayia was there seeking to better herself, better her life for her children. … So it’s a wonderful program. It’s a tragic thing that this happened there. But again, we’re gonna hold David Smith fully accountable.”
White’s father, Aubrey Frison, said “Smith was angry that his daughter was breaking off the relationship.
“It was more so of an obsession, obsessed with my daughter; wouldn’t let her go,” he said. “Just didn’t want to move on.”
LifeNews.com Note: Dave Andrusko is the editor of National Right to Life News and an author and editor of several books on abortion topics. He frequently writes Today’s News and Views — an online opinion column on pro-life issues.
