Witnesses testified that those were the words uttered by John Wesley Smith as his wife lie dying in the front yard of her parent’s Altamont home on Sept. 23, 2018. Just moments before, he used a Kel-Tec 380 handgun to end her life during a child’s birthday party at which six juveniles were present, including the couple’s four.
A three-day trial, lasting from Wednesday, Aug. 30, at 3 p.m. to Friday, Sept. 1, at 3:30 p.m., came to an end at 5:15 p.m. when jurors returned with several guilty verdicts. Among the most serious, Smith was found guilty of the premeditated first degree murder of his estranged wife, Carolyn Nicole Powell.
Consisting of nine women and three men, the jury came to their determination after hearing testimonies from 13 individuals, viewing approximately 50 pieces of evidence, listening to opening/closing arguments by the state and defense, and receiving final instructions by the judge.
Prosecuting the case were state’s Assistant District Attorney Steven Strain and Assistant District Attorney Taffy Wilson. Attorney Paul Cross, with co-counsel Attorney Howell Clements, defended Smith. The case was heard before Circuit Court Judge Bradley Sherman.
Strain called nine witnesses, including parents of the victim, Jerone and Betty Powell, who both testified to hearing Smith state, “If I can’t have her, no one can.” Those words were in response to Jerone pleading with his son-in-law to “put down the gun” and asking why he had shot Nicole.
Heather Smartt, from Grundy County E-911, provided the court with two recordings: one call received from Betty’s cell phone and one call received from Jerone’s. Both were played for the jury and both depicted a scene of violent chaos as the crime unfolded. While Jerone’s recording did capture his pleadings, neither recording clearly captured Smith’s alleged reply. Approximately eight minutes elapsed between the first 911 call and when the first responding deputy arrived.
Forensic Pathologist Dr. Erin Carney testified as an expert witness. She performed the autopsy and testified that a single bullet entered Nicole’s left shoulder, traveled “at a sharp downward angle” through the body, damaging several vital organs as it went, and came to rest in the muscle of her right pelvis. Carney further testified that the victim “died rather quickly.”
Witnesses then stated that Smith then turned the handgun in the direction of Gary Christopher Hurst, who had been dating Nicole for approximately two weeks and had attended the birthday party with her, her four children and one child of his own.
“When I turned around, I took one to the shoulder,” said Hurst. “Jerone told me to run. I did. I took another shot to the left leg and one to the right leg. I had ran towards the garage. I was half way in and half way out when I went down.”
One bullet from the Kel-Tec traveled through the garage wall and into the house. It was found lodged in an interior wall of a child’s bedroom, according to TBI special investigator Blake Ketron.
Betty testified that Smith left and returned brandishing a shotgun. When asked where the shotgun was pointed, she stated, “At me. At my head. He told me twice to stop doing CPR on her [Nicole]. He said he was going to shoot me. I told him he might as well, because he’d just killed my baby. I asked him why he did it. I said, ‘you didn’t have to do this to her. You didn’t have to do this to us.’ He said, ‘I didn’t’ and he smiled. I thought ‘Oh, my God.’.”
Jerone, who was wheelchair bound at the time, testified that he had been trying to make his way into the house to retrieve a Smith & Wesson when he was shot once with the shotgun by Smith. He crawled into the house and returned with the pistol. At that time, he pulled himself up by the railing and had a verbal exchange with Smith regarding putting the gun down and why he had shot Nicole.
“He shot me again,” said Jerone. “I went down. I couldn’t hardly see. I had blood coming out of my eyes. I was on blood thinners, so blood was just pouring out of me.”
Strain asked if he wanted to shoot Smith, to which Jerone replied, “No. I didn’t. He was like a son to me. I’ve known him since he was 12 years old. I wanted him to stop. I begging him to stop. I asked him to put the gun down. That is when he shot me a second time.”
Betty testified that the horror of that showdown was deepened when she saw that Noah, Nicole and Smith’s 2-year-old minor child, had made his way outside and was standing next to Smith. “I ran over and grabbed him. I held him between me and Nicole. That’s when Jerone shot John [Smith] in the head.”
Jerone was treated at Huntsville Trauma Center.
Smith was flown to Erlanger for treatment. Assigned to security was Grundy County Sheriff’s Deputy Avery McGinnis, who testified to a conversation he overheard between Smith and a nurse.
“She asked him what happened,” said McGinnis. “He replied, ‘A gun.’ He stated, ‘I got her.’ The nurse said ‘You got her,’ like she was questioning it. He said, ‘Him, too.’ I was just outside the door. I heard it as clearly as I’m hearing you today.”
The deputy said he immediately reported the conversation to his sergeant, but did not write down the name of the nurse.
Also called to testify for the state was TBI firearms examiner Alex Bradhag. He determined that the victim was killed by a bullet fired from the Kel-Tec 380 recovered from the scene.
There were times when testimony differed. Among those, Jerone and Hurst testified to a verbal altercation becoming physical between Smith and Nicole prior to the shooting. Betty agreed to a verbal exchange, but denied a physical altercation occurred prior to Smith grabbing Nicole in a chokehold, which prompted her to begin hitting Smith in the head with her fists.
Jerone testified that the pistol used by Smith to kill his daughter belonged to him.
“I knew it was mine, the minute I saw it in John’s hand,” said Jerone.
The shotgun also belong to Jerone.
The state rested its case at 5 p.m. Thursday evening. On Friday morning, the defense called four witnesses: Phil Headden, Julie Clark, and Robert and Michelle Lewis.
Headden provides security for Erlanger, which is where Hurst was taken for treatment. He testified that a bullet retrieved from the victim was held for more than three years. When no department with jurisdiction – Grundy County Sheriff’s Office or TBI – reach out to the hospital for it, it was destroyed.
Clark is a registered nurse with Southern TN Regional Health System in Sewanee. Smith was transported there for initial treatment before being taken to Erlanger. Clark testified that Smith was “extremely quiet” and made no admissions regarding the incident to her, as he was alleged to have done at Erlanger to a nurse with Deputy McGinnis standing just outside the doorway.
Robert is the cousin of Smith. While he and his wife were not at the scene during the incident, he testified that Nicole “carried a gun everywhere she went” in a holster on her side. He, also, recounted a conversation between himself and Betty, which he said occurred within hours of the shooting.
“She said John shot [Nicole] in the stomach at point blank range and she sat down on her a** and that’s where she stayed,” said Robert.
Dr. Carney’s autopsy in earlier testimony contradicted that statement.
Michelle corroborated her husband’s testimony regarding Betty’s statement. She provided some insight as to where Nicole’s gun may have been.
“I asked about Nicole’s gun,” Michelle continued. “I thought it was very odd that she didn’t have her gun with her. I was told that it was probably at Hurst’s house, because he was fixing the holster for her.”
The defense rested its case at 11 a.m. Thursday. Smith declined to testify in his own defense.
Jury members took less than two hours to find Smith guilty as charged on all but one count. As for the charge of premeditated attempted first degree murder of Jerone Powell, the jury found Smith not guilty. However, they did find him guilty of the lesser included offense of attempted second degree murder.
Before dismissing court, Judge Sherman announced his decision as a 13th juror. “I find that the jury’s verdicts were supported by the evidence,” he stated.
Under Tennessee law, a trial judge has a duty to act as the 13th juror, not to deliberate with the jury on the case, but to provide an independent layer of review in assessing the weight of the evidence.
A date of Oct. 16 was set for sentencing.
John Wesley Smith was found guilty of the following:
• Premeditated first degree murder of Carolyn Nicole Powell
• Attempted premeditated first degree murder of Gary Christopher Hurst
• Attempted second degree murder of Jerone Powell
• Aggravated assault of Betty Chrissy Powell
• Reckless endangerment by use of a deadly weapon of Betty Chrissy Powell
• Reckless endangerment by use of a deadly weapon of Becky Jones
• Reckless endangerment by use of a deadly weapon of Jacob Smith, a minor child
• Reckless endangerment by use of a deadly weapon of Christopher Smith, a minor child
• Reckless endangerment by use of a deadly weapon of Leo Birdwell, a minor child
• Reckless endangerment by use of a deadly weapon of Noah Smith, a minor child
• Reckless endangerment by use of a deadly weapon of Rachel Smith, a minor child
• Reckless endangerment by use of a deadly weapon of Christopher Hurst, a minor child
Story Courtesy of The Grundy County Herald Lisa Hobbs Editor