Gregory Pearce, a 43-year-old man from Jacksonville, NC, was tragically killed on August 27, 2016. The incident occurred at the home of Monica Rose Smith, the estranged wife of Staff Sgt. Cody Wade Smith, a 33-year-old Marine. On the night of the incident, Cody Smith arrived at Monica's home with criminal intent, carrying a backpack filled with rope, two loaded firearms, duct tape, and matches. He restrained Monica and used her cell phone to lure Gregory Pearce to the house.
When Pearce arrived, Cody Smith shot him four times, resulting in his death. Cody Smith then set the house on fire and untied Monica. During this period, Monica managed to gain control of the handgun used to shoot Pearce and fired one shot, killing Cody Smith. Both Cody Smith and Gregory Pearce died from gunshot wounds.
The Onslow County Sheriff's Office treated the incident as a homicide case. Major Chris Thomas of the Onslow County Sheriff's Department stated that Cody Smith had arrived at the residence with murderous intent. The district attorney, Ernie Lee, announced that no charges would be filed against Monica Smith, as she acted in self-defense. Monica Rose Smith held what objectively appeared to be a reasonable fear of imminent death or serious bodily injury to herself. The autopsy results confirmed that both Cody Smith and Gregory Pearce died from gunshot wounds. The Smith's children were not home at the time of the incident.
Cody Smith had returned from a deployment to Europe with Camp Lejeune's 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion just weeks before the incident. He had served 15 years in the Marine Corps, with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Monica Smith had served Cody with divorce papers on August 11, 2016, and he had arranged to come by her house on the evening of August 27 to drop off some personal property. However, his true intent was to commit serious crimes, as evidenced by the items he brought with him. The evidence collected at the scene confirmed Monica's account of the events, and she was not charged for her actions.
