Global Courant
Minnie Smith was looking forward to Christmas when she died horribly.
On December 15, 2005, the loving matriarch was found dead on the bedroom floor of her California home. The 66-year-old had been beaten repeatedly with a metal fireplace tool, fracturing her face and skull.
Her hands were tied tightly behind her back with coat hanger wire and duct tape was wrapped around her ankles. She had a defensive wound on her forearm, indicating she was trying to block a blow. She also suffered burns to her toes.
“I saw what happened to her,” Susan Kang, who was the Public Affairs Council of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, told Fox News Digital. “I’ve seen the crime scene photos. And I remember very well the wrapped Christmas presents. It was only 10 days before Christmas.”
Minnie Smith, a loving grandmother who devoted her time to family and church, was murdered on December 15, 2005. (Oxygen)
Smith’s death is explored in Oxygen’s true crime docuseries, “The Real Murders of Orange County.” The show, which examines some of the most shocking murders that rocked Southern California’s wealthy community, features interviews with investigators involved in the cases, as well as loved ones and legal experts. Smith’s son, Bennie Thomas, was among those taking part in the upcoming episode.
Kang said she was in touch with Smith and wanted to put the spotlight on her story.
“This is someone who should never have suffered the fate she met,” said Kang. “I thought Minnie Smith was someone not to be forgotten.”
At first glance, it appeared that Smith was the victim of a botched robbery. The killer had searched the house, found and emptied a floor safe in the closet. A diamond-encrusted Cadillac emblem, a gold medallion, a diamond ring and a liquor bottle were missing. But researchers scratched their heads. Many other valuables were still intact, including the gifts.
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Minnie Smith’s death in Cypress, California resembled a robbery gone wrong. But researchers were left scratching their heads. (Oxygen)
The firearms in Smith’s home were also present. The special revealed that guns are prized possessions for thieves who can make a lot of money on the black market.
“The crime scene hasn’t been checked out,” Kang explained. “If a burglar had come through a kitchen window, they would have stepped on some plants. There would have been evidence that they had come from outside… And finding a stash of guns and ammunition would have been… Christmas. ” for the burglars. Illegal weapons can be used to commit other crimes.”
There was also Smith’s husband of 28 years. He just didn’t seem upset after his wife was brutally murdered in their bedroom.
Marvin Vernis Smith had come home from work that evening and called the police to report a burglary. He claimed to police that he ran out of the house without looking for his wife upstairs, thinking someone was still inside. The voices Marvin claimed to have heard came from a TV that Smith had left on.
Minnie Smith, seen here with her grandson next to her beloved son, married Marvin Vernis Smith in 1976. (Oxygen)
“Marvin’s attitude didn’t come across as a loving husband,” Kang explained. “If a man comes to his house and feels like it’s been broken into, the first thing he would do is find his wife to make sure she’s okay. He wouldn’t just go out, call 911, and then wait on the police. His story just didn’t add up.”
The crime was also unusual for Cypress, where the couple lived.
“I would say Cypress is a hidden gem, even in Orange County,” Kang said. “It’s very safe and a great place to live. That probably explains why it has one of the highest per capita incomes. It’s like a hidden pocket… And where (the couple) lived, it was a little cul-de-sac pocket in this beautiful, safe part of Orange County It’s an older town, but it’s also a very small town.
The couple first met in the 1970s and married in 1977, OC Weekly reported. They both had children from previous marriages. According to the outlet, they have built a fortune worth more than $5 million. Their house was worth $1.3 million and they owned two vacation timeshare units. During their marriage, Smith worked as a security manager for Raytheon Corp., an international defense contractor. Smith, eager to spend more time with her grandchildren and the Church, retired in 2003.
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According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Minnie Smith retired in 2003 to spend more time at church and with her grandchildren. (Oxygen)
“This woman had no enemy to her name,” Kang said. “By all accounts, she was a kind church lady who adored her family. She was described as a wonderful mother and a truly successful woman… This was a woman who should have lived in a beautiful suburb for the rest of her life.” dead end. She lived in her dream house. And then she suffered this terrible fate… I just felt so sorry for this woman.”
But life behind closed doors was not idyllic for the couple. Marvin had multiple affairs with women and kept a “love nest,” Kang said. He was portrayed as a financially generous lover and was even nicknamed ‘Big Daddy’.
“Minnie turned a blind eye to the fact that he was having affairs,” Kang explained. “We know of at least two women, but there are probably a few more. . . knew exactly which woman he was having an affair with. But according to her son, she knew about the affairs.”
Marvin also had a history of violence. According to OC Weekly, he pistol-whipped Smith in 1991.
Minnie Smith’s family life seemed idyllic, but behind closed doors her marriage was tumultuous. (Oxygen)
“He hit her so hard that she got a black eye and a cut on her head,” said Kang. “She had to go to the hospital and get a dozen stitches.”
A year later, in 1992, Marvin approached a man in the parking lot of his business, Pee Wee’s Market and Liquors. Marvin asked the man to leave, but he wasn’t moving fast enough. According to court records, he pulled a silver revolver from his waistband and hit the man on the back of the head. In 2003, he also hit one of his apartment residents on the head with a baseball bat during a rent dispute.
Marvin also made a surprising revelation. The episode revealed how Marvin told former employee Sam Matthews that the “only way” he or his wife would get out of their marriage was to “die”.
“Marvin Smith claimed he fired (Sam),” Kang said. “So he would have motive to lie about him… But (Sam) came to the police and said, ‘Minnie Smith was a nice lady. She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve to die this way. she did.’ And then he remembered their conversation.”
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Minnie Smith, seen here with her son, built a fortune worth more than $5 million with her husband, Marvin Smith. (Oxygen)
The missing jewelry was eventually discovered by investigators – in the trunk of Marvin’s car. The duct tape found on the jewelry box came from the same roll used to tie Smith’s ankles. The items were recovered when police searched one of Marvin’s properties in Los Angeles while he was not present.
According to investigators, Smith was in bed when Marvin repeatedly attacked her. He then staged the crime scene to make it look like their house had been broken into. DNA evidence also linked Marvin to the murder, the episode shared.
On December 23, 2005 – two days before Christmas – Marvin was arrested outside his love nest for the murder of his wife. On December 17, 2007, Marvin was convicted of first-degree murder.
“The driving force at the end of the day was greed,” said Kang. “There was a lot at stake.”
According to the episode, Marvin Smith is serving a life sentence without parole. (Oxygen)
In 2013, the state’s appeals court overturned Marvin’s conviction, stating that the jury’s instructions violated his right to a fair trial. A year later, the Supreme Court upheld the original conviction. Marvin is currently serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole.
Today, Kang hopes Smith’s tragedy will serve as a warning to women.
“I know she was a religious woman, and maybe it may have been one of her reasons for not getting out of the marriage,” Kang said. ‘We do not know. But I hope this will give women the strength to get out of abusive marriages before they get killed.”
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Susan Kang, who served as Public Affairs Councilor for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, hopes Minnie Smith’s story will resonate with women. (Oxygen)
“Honestly, I think Minnie should be remembered the way Marvin Smith described her,” Kang reflected. woman of faith, she was a wonderful mother and a wonderful human being whose life was unnecessarily cut short by a man who was supposed to protect her.”
“The Real Murders of Orange County” airs Fridays at 9 p.m
Stephanie Nolasco covers entertainment at Foxnews.com.
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