Edgar Smith
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Edgar Smith (born 1934) is an American who was once on Death Row for the murder of Vickie Zielinski, though his sentenced was reduced through appeal. He was later released, only to be incarcerated for a second time for the kidnapping and attempted murder of Lefteriya Ozbun.
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[edit] Early life
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[edit] Crime
In March 1957, 15 year old Vickie Zielinski disappeared in New Jersey on her way home from a friends house. Clothing was discovered the following morning on the roadside by her parents, who later contacted the police. Along with the Mahwah Police Department’s Captain Ed Wickham, the search resumed, and Vickie’s body was discovered on the banks of a sand pit. Her skull had been smashed by repeated blows with a large rock.[1]
Edgar Smith was at the time an unemployed mechanic. On the night of the murder, Smith has borrowed a friends car, and his later activities aroused suspicion, including Smith excusing himself from meeting the same friend in a bar early in the evening, and having to remove his trousers, claiming he had been sick on them.[1] When the murder was reported the following day on the radio, two of Smith’s friends joked with him as the murderer's car was reported to be the same make as the one Smith had driven the previous evening. One of the friends later remarked that Smith had "a startled look on his face".[1] A few days later drops of blood were found on the seats of the car and Smith was brought in for questioning by the police.
During questioning, Smith repeatedly could not account for a half hour gap during the night of the murder. He was also unable to account for his missing clothing, which the police later located and which were identified by Smith’s wife. Faced with this evidence, Smith reportedly blurted out that Vickie had hit him in the face. He informed the police that he had picked Vickie up in his car, then attempted to grab her when she left, her attempt to leave having angered him.[1] Smith was arrested for the murder, and faced three psychiatric examinations before his trial.
[edit] Trial
The trial of Edgar Smith for first degree murder drew strong media attention.[1] Witnesses including Myrna Zielinski, Vickie’s older sister who was to walk with Vickie on the night of the murder but never saw her. She also identified several items of Vickie’s clothing. Vickie’s parents were also called, and recounted how the body was discovered. Vickie’s 15 year old friend, at whose house she had been staying, also testified, being the last person before Edgar Smith to see Vickie alive.[1] She also identified an item of clothing that she had lent to Vickie. The detectives who interviewed Smith also testified about the missing articles of his clothing and his initial reasons for it. They also testified about Smith’s continual claims that Don Hommell, a friend of his, was the real killer.[1]
Smith testified that Vickie had waved him to pull over, and then entered his car for conversation. Smith claimed that he had angrily told Vickie to leave, and then told the court how he saw Hommell’s car pick Vickie up, and that Vickie was bleeding from the forehead. He also told the court that Vickie had cut herself before she got into his car, and that he did not come forward for fear that her death was his responsibility, he originally believing that she had bled to death from the injury.[1] Hommell was questioned, and he told the court that he was in the area at the time, and had "casually"[1] been involved with Vickie. However, the police testified that both Hommell’s car and clothing had been checked, and nothing had been found. Furthermore, the car Hommell had been driving that night was not one that Smith would have recognized as being his.[1] Smith was found guilty by the jury after two and a half hours of deliberation.[1]
[edit] Incarceration
Smith was sent to death row at Trenton State Prison, where he spent 14 years. In 1962 his wife left him, and in 1964 he was forced to become his own lawyer because of his financial situation. He attacked Hommell’s statement, and maintained that his own comments were inadmissible because he had not signed anything.[1] He also examined the medical report, which had found estimating Vickie’s time of death difficult. Smiths appeals, however, were repeatedly dismissed, however his death sentence was postponed on several occasions. In 1962, Smith began correspondence with William F. Buckley, Jr., the founder of National Review, during which Buckley began to suspect Smith’s guilt, later stating that the case was "inherently implausible".[1]
An article by Buckley in November 1965, published in Esquire, drew national media attention:
| “ | Smith said he told Hommell during their brief conversation... on the night of the murder just where he had discarded his pants. The woman who occupies property across the road from which Smith claimed to have thrown the pants... swore at the trial that she had seen Hommell rummaging there the day after the murder. The pants were later found [by the police] near a well-travelled road... Did Hommell find them, and leave them in the other location, thinking to discredit Smith's story, and make sure they would turn up?[1] | ” |
This brought renewed media interest in Hommell, scrutiny which was increased still further with the publishing of Smith’s book Brief Against Death in 1968.[1]
[edit] Release and life after prison
In 1971, Smith was successful with his 19th appeal against the fair nature of his trial, claiming that his confession was obtained under duress. As the confession was obtained eight years prior to the introduction of Miranda rights, Smith’s appeal carried some weight. In 1971, Smith was able to have a repeat trial, and in June of that year Smith’s confession was ruled to have been obtained unfairly, and Smith was offered parole if he accepted a charge of second degree murder, an offer which he accepted. On December 6, 1971, he pleaded guilty to second degree murder, and he was released from prison at age 37.[1]
Smith went on to lecture at a number of colleges and universities, as well as making several television and radio appearances. He published a third book, ‘’Getting Out’’, and argued for penal reform. However, as his celebrity status declined, Smith began drinking heavily[1] and suffering from debt.
[edit] Second crime
In San Diego, California, during October 1976, Smith drove his car up to 33 year old Lefteriya Lisa Ozbun, and kidnapped her at knifepoint. Ozbun continually resisted Smith while he attempted to drive her away. Smith stabbed Ozbun in her side[1] and she was ejected from the car as he lost control and drove off of the road. Smith recovered and drove away, however a nearby witness made a note of the vehicle's registration, and it was later traced to Smith’s new wife, Paige. Smith immediately contacted Buckley, who turned him into the FBI.
[edit] Second incarceration
Smiths second crime drove media attention to Buckley, as well as Smith’s defendants and the psychiatrists who cleared Smith for return to public life.[1] Ozbun had survived her wound, and testified in the trial against Smith, who claimed to be an emotionally disturbed sex offender, as this was a shorter sentence.[1] He tried to support this claim by citing his actions during the Vickie Zeilinski case, however he was found guilty of kidnapping with intent to rob, and attempted murder.
In 1979, Smith sued for divorce with his second wife, and in 1988 and 1990 he sought further legal action against his sentencing. Smith appealed at every opportunity, however each was turned down. In February 2004, Smith postponed his own appeal hearing, and in recent years his heath has deteriorated, and he has suffered a number of heart attacks.[1]
