On a tragic New Year's Day in Memphis, Tennessee, the life of 20-year-old Alexis Nicole Cobb was cut short. On January 1, 2022, what began as an argument between Cobb and her boyfriend of two years, 23-year-old Bryndon Smith, escalated into a fatal encounter inside their vehicle.
Initially, the incident was reported as a car crash. Investigators arrived at the 8100 block of Walnut Grove Road to find that a car had struck a utility pole.
However, it soon became apparent that Cobb, a passenger in the vehicle, had sustained a gunshot wound to the side of her face. She was transported to a hospital by a private vehicle but was pronounced dead upon arrival. Smith, the driver, initially told officers that a pistol he was handling had accidentally discharged, striking Cobb. He claimed that after the shooting, he moved her to the passenger side of the car and was driving her to the hospital when he crashed.
As the investigation progressed, Smith's account of an accidental shooting unraveled. Detectives continued to question him, and he eventually admitted that he and Cobb had been arguing when he shot her. This admission, coupled with information from Cobb's mother that Smith had been violent with her daughter in the past, led to a shift in the nature of the case. Investigators also discovered that Smith had two prior arrests in the three months leading up to the shooting, though the charges in those cases had been dropped.
Initially charged with first-degree murder, Bryndon Smith was indicted by a grand jury in July 2022. The case was handled by the District Attorney's Domestic Violence Unit. Ultimately, Smith was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of Alexis Cobb. On December 13, 2023, he was sentenced to 22 years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. His sentence is set to end on September 16, 2045.
