For years, the brutal killing of Dennis Henderson in the summer of 2001 remained a painful mystery for his family and a frustrating cold case for Los Angeles detectives. On June 24, 2001, Dennis, a 33-year-old Black man, was kidnapped in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles. His life ended in a vicious stabbing, his body left to be discovered in the back of a rental car.
The crime was violent, personal, and for a long time, without a resolution.
The initial investigation began in the early morning hours of June 25, 2001. A witness had spotted a maroon Chevrolet Impala around 1:25 a.m. with a man lying face down and motionless in the back seat. A few hours later, a passerby noticed the same car parked in an alley and, seeing it hadn't moved, approached and discovered the body inside. The Los Angeles City Fire Department responded and pronounced Dennis Henderson dead at the scene. For more than a decade, the case languished, leaving a void of unanswered questions.
The break in the case came from the persistent work of the Los Angeles Police Department's Cold Case Homicide Special Section. Detectives reviewing the file re-interviewed witnesses and uncovered a chilling connection that led them to a suspect few would have imagined: Anthony Wayne Smith, a former first-round NFL draft pick who played defensive end for the Los Angeles and Oakland Raiders. Prosecutors later revealed a startling detail that brought the crime horrifically close to home for the Henderson family: Smith had once lived next door to Dennis's brother in Marina del Rey.
Anthony Wayne Smith's life after football had spiraled into a pattern of extreme violence. Before he was charged with Dennis Henderson's murder in July 2012, he was already awaiting a retrial for the 2008 murder of another man, Maurilio Ponce. The investigation into Smith ultimately linked him to a series of brutal crimes, revealing him as a serial killer. In addition to the murder of Dennis Henderson, Smith was charged with the 1999 kidnapping and torture-murders of brothers Kevin and Ricky Nettles. Smith had posed as a police officer to abduct the brothers from their Los Angeles car wash before torturing and killing them.
During Smith's trial, the prosecution painted a picture of a man who led a life of terror after his football career ended. Evidence presented during the four-week trial detailed the horrific nature of Dennis's death. He had been beaten and stabbed to death after his abduction. According to trial evidence, his body was found with more than 40 non-fatal stab wounds inflicted before his throat was slashed, indicating he had been tortured. While no murder weapon or DNA evidence was presented, witness identifications and other circumstantial evidence, such as zip ties and rope found in Smith's possession that matched items used on other victims, proved compelling to the jury.
In November 2015, a Los Angeles County jury found Anthony Wayne Smith guilty of the first-degree murders of Dennis Henderson and brothers Kevin and Ricky Nettles. The jury also found true the special circumstance allegations of kidnapping and torture. They were unable to reach a verdict on the fourth murder charge for the death of Maurilio Ponce. On January 22, 2016, Smith was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences in state prison without the possibility of parole, ensuring he would never again be free. The conviction finally brought a measure of justice for the Henderson family, closing a long and painful chapter in their lives.
