A resolution could be coming soon in a 13-year-old Hopkinsville murder case.
The attorney for Tremel Smith said a guilty plea to an outstanding charge is likely which would put to rest a case that made its way to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Smith was convicted in 2016 for the 2011 murder of Susan James and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
In 2017, the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld the conviction but ruled against its sentencing and penalty phases based on two factors made clear in a 13-page ruling.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Maureen Leamy said she had been in contact with the victim’s family and felt the new sentence would be accepted.
click to download audioMaureen Sullivan represents Smith and requested a new sentencing report and investigation since so much time had passed since the last one.
click to download audioJames’ body was discovered on March 1, 2011, partially clothed, with a plastic bag over her head. The cause of death was determined to be a combination of blunt force trauma and asphyxiation. Demondo Pettigrew, Smith’s roommate, told police he saw the assailant load what was later determined to be the victim’s lifeless body into an SUV.
The Supreme Court ruled the Commonwealth did not meet the burden necessary for the sentencing in that there was no evidence of a “murder-for-profit” aggravator. The Supreme Court’s document also noted the case began with the seeking of a death penalty, but its exclusion was granted after it was revealed Smith had an IQ score of 67.
Smith is currently in West Liberty’s Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex. His next court date is June 12.
