Tag Archive

Easley pleads to Tina Smith murder, sentenced to life without parole

SALEM, VA – One year and two months after Roanoke County mother Tina Smith was found dead in the house she shared with her boyfriend Jeffrey Easley and her preteen daughter, Easley unexpectedly agreed to a plea and will be sentenced to life in prison without parole. Easley appeared in Roanoke County Circuit Court... »

The Year in Review in Salem

SALEM – Top newsworthy stories in 2011 that captured readers’ attention range from court procedures in the case of abducted 12-year-old Brittany Smith and her murdered mother, to searing heat and the happy announcement for Chick-fil-A lovers that the restaurant was breaking ground in Salem Here is the month-by-month recap of what happened in... »

Murder suspect’s attorneys want to travel to California to boost his defense

SALEM – Appointed attorneys for Jeff Easley, who is accused of killing Fort Lewis-area mother Tina Smith and absconding with her 12-year-old daughter to San Francisco almost a year ago, asked a Roanoke County judge today to approve a four-day trip to California. They are hoping to interview potential witnesses while there, review statements... »

Murder trial postponed

SALEM – Wearing a full beard and a yellow jumpsuit from the Western Virginia Regional Jail, Jeff Easley appeared for the first time in Roanoke County Circuit Court this afternoon when a capital defense attorney was appointed for him. Easley, 33, is now charged with capital murder of 42-year-old Tina Smith, his former girlfriend,... »

Jury will try Easley for abducting 12-year-old whose mother was murdered

SALEM – A two-day trial with jury has been scheduled in July to hear the abduction charge against Jeffrey Easley, who is accused of taking a 12-year-old across country when her mother was found murdered in their Glenvar home. And what he will be tried on is more serious than the original simple abduction... »

Charges of abducting 12-year-old certified to grand jury

SALEM – Although she was present in a nearby witness room, 12-year-old Brittany Smith did not testify at a preliminary hearing in court this week when charges were certified against the man accused of abducting her and taking her to California. Her father, South Boston police officer Ben Smith, did take the witness stand... »

Accused abductor gets court-appointed attorney

ROANOKE COUNTY – Jeffrey Easley was arraigned on a single abduction charge in Roanoke County Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court today, after county detectives escorted him back from San Francisco where he had apparently fled with 12-year-old Brittany Smith. Although Easley is a suspect in the murder of Brittany’s mother, Tina Smith, neither he... »

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,... »

Memorial service recalls slain mom

SALEM – As they supported her after the death of her teenage son in August a year ago, more than 100 staff and residents of Richfield Retirement Community came together Monday night to hold up Tina Smith in their memories. The program for the candlelight service in the Jane Morgan Harris Chapel on the... »

Pleadings from a grieving mom

Sometime in the last year, Tina Smith left a flyer at our office that called attention to the dangers of what some kids call the “choking game” which took the life of her son, Tyler Matherly. It was filled with small type about why teenagers are willing to get a high by choking themselves to... »