Woman who stole phone from truck found footage of gruesome murder that leads to arrest

A 52-year-old man who recorded a woman’s violent death on his phone was convicted of first-degree murder Thursday in her and another woman’s deaths. According to Independent, South African Brian Steven Smith was arrested in the US after a woman stole his mobile phone from his truck and was found with footage of the gruesome 2019 murder. The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, copied the footage onto a memory card. And finally it was handed over to the police. That card contained 39 pictures and 12 videos.

On Thursday, a jury in Alaska convicted Smith of murdering Kathleen Henry, 30, in September 2019, and Veronica Abuchuk, 52, in 2017 or 2018. Both are Alaska Native women, the outlet reported. Smith was found guilty of first- and second-degree murder, as well as tampering with evidence and sexual assault.

According to PeopleThe graphic video shows the man repeatedly strangling Ms. Henry, prosecutors said during closing arguments. Anchorage Deputy District Attorney Heather Nobrega said of the clip, “You saw him step on her throat; you saw him step on her stomach. You saw him caress her and pinch her breasts. You saw him Saw him hit in the eyes several times.”

The lawyer also noted that Smith, in a thick South African accent, can be heard in the video telling the victim, “‘Just take it. You live, you die.’ He says this while he is removing his hands from her throat”.

Investigators learned that Smith allegedly stayed at the TownePlace Suites by Marriott, where the murders occurred on September 2 and September 4 in 2019. According to prosecutors, the man put Ms. Henry’s body in the back of his pickup and drove it around for two days before dumping it. On a rural road south of Anchorage. A coroner later ruled that she had been strangled to death.

After hours of questioning, Smith confessed to the murder of 52-year-old Veronica Abuchuk, whose skull was earlier found by mushroom pickers along a highway. People informed of. He also admitted that he picked up Ms. Abuchuk and brought her back to his home because his wife was out of town. She said he killed her after she refused to take a bath.

“She refused to take a shower and that made him angry and he went into his garage and got his gun and he shot her in the head,” the lawyer said.

Police later found a gun as well as several digital devices in Smith’s home. They also discovered a drive containing videos taken by Smith at the 52-year-old woman’s home before and after her death had been deleted but was recoverable.

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Meanwhile, according to IndependentThe woman who provided the photos and video to police has changed her story over the years about how she came into possession of the memory card. He handed over the card to the police in 2019. He first claimed that he found a card labeled “Murder at the Midtown Marriott” on the ground. Later, she claimed that she had stolen the card from the center console of Smith’s pickup when they were on a “date”, but then changed this to say that she had stolen the phone from the truck.

Smith’s lawyer said the woman was a “habitual, voracious and very spontaneous liar. Everything she said didn’t add up and everything she said couldn’t be confirmed was confirmed”. During the closing arguments, the lawyer also said that the prosecution had failed to prove its case, adding that they should have done more DNA testing in the case.

The jury on Thursday convicted Smith of all 14 charges, including two counts of first-degree murder.