In the cold of a January night in Oklahoma, the life of Angel LaVine Conner, a 28-year-old female U.S. Army soldier, was brought to a violent and tragic end. On January 18, 2020, at her apartment near Fort Sill, a domestic dispute escalated, leaving Conner with multiple gunshot wounds. Despite being rushed to a nearby hospital, she succumbed to her injuries during emergency surgery.
The immediate aftermath of the shooting saw the arrest of 23-year-old Richard Smith, another soldier who was said to be in a relationship with Conner. According to reports, Smith was apprehended as he attempted to flee the scene. He claimed to police that he had brandished the gun after Conner punched him and pulled a knife. The evidence at the scene, however, painted a grim picture of the violence that had unfolded. Conner had been beaten in the face and head, resulting in blackened eyes, a swollen jaw, and a bruised nose.
Smith was subsequently charged with first-degree murder, domestic abuse, and reckless conduct with a firearm. The legal process that followed brought some measure of justice for Angel Conner's family. In February 2022, Richard Rasheed Smith was convicted of first-degree murder and later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In the wake of her death, Angel's family made the painful decision to have an open casket at her funeral, wanting the world to see the devastating physical toll of domestic violence. Her mother expressed a profound sense of loss, remembering her daughter as a beautiful and happy person who was focused on her life and her career, which was to include an upcoming deployment to Dubai. Conner was not only a soldier but also a mother to a young son, and her death left a permanent void in the lives of her loved ones.
