Dog found dead at double-murder scene - Midwest City, OK

Wednesday, Mar 23, 2011

County: Oklahoma

Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Kyle Smith

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

The grandson of a Midwest City couple found dead in their burning home made a cell phone video of the crime scene and smoked pot with his friends in the living room before setting the bodies on fire, police said.

Kyle Smith, who turned 17 on Thursday, is in jail on multiple complaints in the deaths of David Garrick, 60, and Rose Garrick, 57. Their bodies were found Wednesday in their home at 3416 Pleasant Drive. Their dog was found dead in a bathtub. All three had severe trauma to the head, police said.

On Thursday, Police Chief Brandon Clabes announced the arrests of Dustin August Martin, 18, and Jacob LeBlanc, 17, both of Midwest City.

Clabes said Smith went to Martin's home on S Douglas Boulevard in Oklahoma City on Wednesday and showed him a video of the crime scene. Martin told police Smith confessed to killing his grandparents and described it in detail.

Martin told police Smith asked him and LeBlanc to help cover up the crime. Police said the three smoked marijuana at the Pleasant Drive house, discussed how to "clean up" the crime scene and went to a convenience store to buy gas to set the fire.

Investigators used Smith's cell phone to track him to Chickasha, and they arrested him about 6 p.m. Wednesday. He had been driving his grandparents' pickup.

Clabes said the slain couple worked at Tinker Air Force Base. He would not discuss what he thinks motivated the killings. He also would not say where in the house the Garricks' bodies were found or talk about how they might have been killed. The state medical examiner has not determined cause of death.

Smith refused to talk to investigators and requested an attorney, Clabes said. Smith also declined to answer questions from reporters Thursday as he was escorted out of the Midwest City jail for transfer to Oklahoma County jail.

Martin and LeBlanc are to be transferred today to Oklahoma County jail, Clabes said.

Usually polite

Julia Ellefson, who lives next door, said Smith kept to himself but was usually polite. She said she baby-sat Smith when he was younger.

"There was nothing about him that made you think he could do something like this," she said.

Ellefson, a neighbor for 10 years, said David Garrick had a heart attack several years ago. She said Smith's mother, who is the daughter of the Garricks, hadn't been seen at the home much recently.

Smith appeared to be closer to David Garrick than to his grandmother, Ellefson said. She said when he moved in several years ago he often wore dark-colored clothing and chains.

Ellefson's 13-year-old son said he had overheard arguments in the past about Smith's smoking. The boy's mother asked that his name not be used. She said her son had seen Smith throwing knives against a fence in the backyard of the house where he lived with the Garricks and had heard them arguing with their grandson.

Jacob Fordenbacher, 29, who lives across the street, said he and his wife occasionally would speak with the Garricks.

"We'd talk about the weather or sports. The kinds of things neighbors talk about."

Fordenbacher said he sometimes saw Smith mowing the lawn and washing the cars.

"He seemed like a little bit of a punk, but he's a teenager so that kind of goes with the territory," he said.

Contact with police

Clabes said Smith had attended a military school in Missouri and had been a student in Midwest City Public Schools at one time. He said he had contact with police in the past, but didn't know the nature of those contacts.

"Obviously it was nothing like this," Clabes said.

Smith was arrested on complaints of murder, conspiracy to commit arson and conspiracy to desecrate a human body, Clabes said.

Martin and LeBlanc were arrested on complaints of conspiracy to murder after the fact, conspiracy to commit arson and conspiracy to desecrate a human body.

Martin and LeBlanc are Moore School District students, Clabes said.

Case Updates

A Midwest City teenager admitted in court Tuesday that he murdered his grandparents with a machete, killed their dog and set their house on fire. Kyle Alexander Smith, 17, was sentenced to life in prison, plus 10 years. Under current law, the earliest he can be released on parole would be 2057. Smith pleaded guilty to arson, conspiracy to commit arson, animal cruelty and two counts of first-degree murder. The punishment was the outcome of a plea deal with prosecutors. He agreed to testify against two friends, who are charged as accessories. Smith lived with David Garrick, 60, and Rose Garrick, 57. They were hacked and stabbed to death inside their house late March 22, prosecutors said. Their bodies were found after the house was set on fire the next morning. Smith was captured later March 23 in Chickasha. He told one witness he was going to Mexico, police reported. He was then 16. He turned 17 on March 24. Police reported Smith made a video on his cellphone of his grandparents' mutilated bodies minutes after killing them. He cursed and laughed in the video and can be seen poking both bodies with the machete, according to a police report about the video. Police reported he attacked his grandparents after his grandmother stopped Smith from sneaking out of the house that night to meet a friend. He told Oklahoma County District Judge Kenneth Watson that he is on medication for a bipolar disorder. His attorney told the judge the diagnosis of that mental illness came only after his arrest. He had been diagnosed previously as suffering from severe depression, the attorney said. Charged with arson, conspiracy to commit arson and accessory to first-degree murder are Dustin August Martin, 19, and Jacob Isaiah LeBlanc, 17. In court papers, Smith told the judge Tuesday the two friends came to the house after the deaths. "We sat around smoking marijuana and talking about what to do," he wrote. He told the judge Martin was the one who came up with the idea of burning the house. "I worried about a fire drawing attention to the house but they both assured me that I should burn the house," he wrote. Smith stood before the judge in chains and red jail clothes for the brief sentencing. He answered the judge's questions in a clear voice, saying, "Yes, sir." "I committed murder," he said calmly when the judge asked him to explain what he had done.

Source: newsok.com - Aug 23, 2011 Update posted on Aug 23, 2011 - 11:10PM

References

• - Mar 25, 2011
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