On New Year's Day 2020, Cheryl Smith, a 54-year-old White female, was tragically killed in her Pawtucket, Rhode Island home. What began as a day of new beginnings ended in a senseless act of violence that stemmed from a plot targeting a member of her family.
In the months leading up to the murder, a young woman named Shaylyn Moran, the 18-year-old ex-girlfriend of Smith's son, developed an online relationship with 23-year-old Jack Doherty of Albany, New York.
Their digital romance escalated into a conspiracy to harm Moran's ex-boyfriend. Doherty traveled to Rhode Island to meet Moran for the first time on New Year's Eve, bringing with him a 9mm "ghost gun". After attending a party where Doherty proposed to Moran, the couple returned to their hotel and finalized a plan to go to the home of Moran's ex-boyfriend on Baxter Street and shoot whoever opened the door.
On the evening of January 1, 2020, following Moran's instructions, Doherty went to the Baxter Street residence. When Cheryl Smith answered her door, Doherty shot her multiple times. First responders rushed Smith to the hospital, but she was pronounced dead. Pawtucket police quickly identified Moran and Doherty as suspects and apprehended them at a nearby hotel just hours after the shooting. At the time of his arrest, Doherty was in possession of the 9mm handgun used in the murder.
Both Jack Doherty and Shaylyn Moran faced charges for their roles in the killing. Moran eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and carrying a pistol without a license. In August 2021, she was sentenced to life in prison, plus an additional 20 years. Doherty's case went to an eight-day jury trial where his defense argued insanity, but the state successfully rebutted this claim. In November 2022, a jury found Jack Doherty guilty of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, discharge of a firearm when committing a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a permit. He was subsequently sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.
