In the vibrant and often tumultuous city of New Orleans, the life of Spencer A. 'Funk' Smith Jr., a 28-year-old African American male, was cut short on the evening of December 11, 2003. A local recording artist, he was inside a pickup truck on St. Bernard Avenue when he was fatally shot. The son of a New Orleans police officer, Spencer Smith Sr., his death added a layer of tragedy to a city already grappling with a high rate of violent crime.
The investigation into his death led
authorities to a man named Garelle Smith. Already known to law enforcement, Garelle Smith was booked in connection with the murder of Spencer Smith Jr. This was not Garelle Smith's only encounter with the law, as he had also been a suspect in the killing of another local rapper, Soulja Slim, just a month prior. Despite being charged, the case against him in Spencer Smith's death did not hold, and he managed to evade conviction for this and other murder accusations. Witnesses were reportedly hesitant to come forward, contributing to the difficulties in securing a conviction against the man police believed to be responsible.
The story of Spencer Smith Jr.'s unsolved murder is intertwined with the narrative of his alleged killer. Garelle Smith, who was described as a 'beneficiary of a gummed up criminal justice system,' continued to have run-ins with the law. However, his own life would also end in violence. In August 2011, nearly eight years after Spencer Smith Jr.'s death, Garelle Smith was found shot to death in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans, closing a chapter on a man who had been a recurring figure in the city's violent history.
