In the quiet community of Jefferson, Arkansas, the life of 20-year-old Misty Dawn Erwin, a White female, was tragically cut short in a brutal act of violence that also claimed the lives of four others. The horrific discovery was made on March 25, 1998, inside Misty's mobile home. Responding to a missing person report, authorities entered the residence to find a grim scene. Misty was found deceased in a recliner, covered with a blanket.
Also discovered in the home were the bodies of her 24-year-old cousin, Shelley Sorg, Shelley's two young children, 5-year-old Sean and 3-year-old Taylor, and a 12-year-old family friend, Samantha Rhodes. All five victims had been fatally shot with a. 22 caliber rifle.
Just two days prior to the discovery, on March 23, Misty had sought help from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, reporting that she had been assaulted by her boyfriend, Clay King Smith. She requested assistance in leaving the residence she shared with him. However, after speaking with Smith, she tragically decided to stay and withdrew her complaint. This decision would prove to be fatal. In the wake of the murders, with Smith missing from the mobile home, he immediately became the primary suspect.
The day after the bodies were found, law enforcement located Clay King Smith at a hunting club near Star City. A tense standoff ensued, during which Smith made incriminating statements to the officers. He was subsequently arrested and charged with five counts of capital murder. During his trial, Smith pleaded guilty to all charges. In a move to spare the victims' families the prolonged agony of appeals, he waived his right to appeal his sentence. Clay King Smith was sentenced to death and was executed by lethal injection on May 8, 2001. Before his execution, he wrote several letters to Misty's family, reiterating that his decision to waive his appeals was to help them find closure.
