Easley will return to Virginia for court proceedings
ROANOKE COUNTY – The man accused of abducting 12-year-old Glenvar girl Brittany Smith and a suspect in her mother’s murder is expected to arrive back in Virginia within hours from California where he fled with the Glenvar Middle School seventh grader.
Jeffrey Easley waived extradition from San Francisco in a court hearing Tuesday morning, Roanoke County Police said, and will be escorted back by two Roanoke County Police detectives to face court proceedings.
Coworkers and Richfield Retirement Community residents held a memorial service for Tina Smith on Dec. 13. Photo by Meg Hibbert
He is now officially a suspect in the murder of 41-year-old Tina Smith, police said, but has not been charged with murder. He is charged with abduction, using Tina Smith’s credit card without authorization and attempted credit card fraud from trying to get money from an automated teller on Dec. 3, and similar charges in the City of Roanoke.
Dec. 3 was the last date the two were seen in the Glenvar area, in a surveillance video from the Salem Walmart store and another from an Apple Market on West Main Street.
A week later, Easley was under arrest and Brittany Smith in protective custody. She flew back from California with two Roanoke County police officers late Monday night. Her father, South Boston Police Officer Ben Smith, took part in a press conference before she arrived, saying he planned to take her to South Boston where the remainder of her family lives.
A memorial service for her mother is planned for Saturday, Dec. 18, in South Boston.
Tina Smith was found murdered in the home she, boyfriend Easley and Brittany shared on an otherwise quiet cul-de-sac behind Fort Lewis Elementary School. Police have not released information about how she was killed, nor an estimated time of death.
Tuesday, a search warrant filed in Roanoke County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office showed county police interviewed the man who apparently bought Easley’s red 2000 Chevy on Dec. 3. Police interviewed Adam McElvy, along with roommate Jordan McClure.
Videotape from the Apple Mart on West Main Street, which aired on WDBJ-7, shows a man who appears to be McElvy, as well as Easley and Brittany, at the convenience store sometime the night of Dec. 3.
Initially, police were looking for both Tina Smith’s silver Dodge Neon and Easley’s car until his vehicle was located in Roanoke. Smith’s car was found in San Francisco.
Last week Roanoke County Police released surveillance video of Easley and Brittany leaving the Salem Walmart at 8:35 p.m. that same night, with a shopping cart overflowing with food items, and underneath, a blue tent.
San Francisco Police found the tent in a San Francisco park when Easley and the preteen were evidently camping, following a tip from a California mother who spotted Brittany panhandling outside a Safeway grocery store there.
Theresa Shanley said she noticed Brittany’s big, brown eyes and recognized her from an Amber Alert poster issued after Tina Smith’s body was found and police realized Brittany was missing.
Relief was evident on the face of Roanoke County Police Chief Ray Lavinder at the press conference he held at the Roanoke County Public Safety Building the night of Dec. 10 to announce Brittany had been found safe and Easley was in custody.
Amber Alerts had been going on since Monday across Virginia and then, the nation. Billboards through the Center for Missing and Exploited Children had planned to put up billboards with pictures of the two starting last weekend.
Chief Lavinder praised the efforts of Roanoke County Detective Chuck Mason, who is heading up the investigation, and more than 50 law enforcement people who worked on the case, including Roanoke County Police, Virginia State Police, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Secret Service, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Salem Police and Roanoke Police.
“I personally want to extend my thanks to and applaud the incredible work accomplished by the team of investigators who have worked day and night since Monday to find Brittany and bring her home safely. Their outstanding professionalism, dedication, and skill have played a critical role in solving this case.”
He also said he believed efforts by newspapers, television and radio stations helped find Brittany Smith and Easley.
“Thanks to the media’s vigilance and persistence to keep this story out there and keep the public informed, we are able to bring Brittany safely home to her family and put Jeffrey Easley behind bars where he belongs,” the chief said Friday night.
