In the summer of 2015, Meagan Elizabeth Smith, a 21-year-old Caucasian female, was looking forward to her future. A bright and dedicated senior at Western Washington University with hopes of becoming a teacher, she was known for her kindness and commitment to helping others, often volunteering for causes like Habitat for Humanity. In early July, she agreed to house-sit at a home in Renton, Washington, for a friend whose family was away on vacation.
This act of friendship placed her in the path of a man with a history of violence.
On the night of July 7, the family returned home just before midnight to a horrifying discovery. They found the back door unlocked and Meagan lying dead in the kitchen. She had been killed by a single gunshot to the head. The family immediately suspected their daughter's ex-boyfriend, Zachary Damien Craven, a 24-year-old man who had caused them significant trouble in the past. Investigators found a piggy bank on the kitchen counter near Meagan's body, a clue to the tragic events that had unfolded.
The investigation quickly revealed a grim sequence of events. Earlier that same day, Craven had gone to his grandmother's home in the Skyway area and shot her in the head, killing her as well. He had a history of threatening and assaulting his grandmother, who had an active no-contact order against him. After murdering his grandmother, Craven drove to the Renton home where Meagan was staying. He had been demanding $1,000 from his ex-girlfriend, who denied owing him money but had agreed to split the contents of their shared piggy bank with him when she returned. Craven ordered Meagan to bring him the piggy bank, and after she complied, he shot her and the family's elderly dog.
Police apprehended Zachary Craven early the next day, on July 8. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Meagan Smith and his grandmother, Angelika Hayden. The case revealed Craven's long-standing issues with drug addiction, mental health problems, and a pattern of escalating abusive behavior toward his ex-girlfriend and family members. In May 2018, a jury found him guilty, and in August of that year, he was sentenced to 72 years in prison, an effective life sentence for the devastating rampage that cut short the promising life of Meagan Smith.
