Ira Jean Smith, a 38-year-old Black woman, was found murdered on March 7, 1985, in a motel room in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her body was discovered wrapped in a blanket and hidden in a closet. Smith was known to be a sex worker, and her death initially went unsolved.
In 1991, Donald Leroy Evans, a white male serial killer, was arrested in Louisiana for the kidnapping and murder of a 10-year-old girl.
Following his arrest, Evans confessed to numerous other murders, including that of Ira Jean Smith. He provided details about Smith's murder that were not publicly known, and his fingerprint matched one found at the crime scene.
Evans was tried and convicted for the murder of Ira Jean Smith in 1995, receiving a life sentence. During his trial, he made disturbing requests, including wanting to wear Ku Klux Klan robes and be referred to as 'Hi Hitler,' reflecting his white supremacist beliefs. Evans was also convicted for other murders and was sentenced to death in Mississippi. In 1999, while on death row, he was stabbed to death by a fellow inmate.
