On December 3, 2022, the life of 31-year-old Brittany Morton-Smith was tragically cut short in her Hammond, Indiana, home. The grim discovery was made by her own mother, who had grown concerned after being unable to reach her daughter by phone. When she arrived at Brittany's residence, she found her daughter unresponsive, and police were immediately summoned to the scene. It was quickly determined that Brittany had been the victim of a homicide, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound.
The investigation into the young woman's death swiftly zeroed in on her boyfriend, 41-year-old Anthony Carr. The couple had been in a relationship for approximately five to six months, a period during which Carr had reportedly exhibited alarming and threatening behavior. In a particularly disturbing incident just weeks before the murder, Carr had kicked in Brittany's back door. The night before her body was found, the couple had dropped her children off at their grandmother's house for what was supposed to be a 'date night.' They then returned to Brittany's home, where an argument is believed to have taken place.
Following the discovery of Brittany's body, a neighbor reported hearing gunshots between 7:30 and 8:00 on the morning of December 3rd. Anthony Carr was subsequently arrested and charged with her murder. During the course of the investigation, Carr initially lied to police, claiming he was at a friend's house at the time of the shooting. However, this alibi unraveled when the friend confessed to authorities that Carr had shown up at his home in a distressed state, admitting that he was 'going to jail for the rest of his life.'
In April 2024, a jury found Anthony Carr guilty of the murder of Brittany Morton-Smith. He was handed a sentence of 68 years in prison. The judge, in delivering the sentence, highlighted Carr's extensive and violent criminal history, which included prior charges for both attempted murder and murder that had been dismissed due to a lack of witness cooperation. The tragic loss of Brittany Morton-Smith left a devastating void in the lives of her family, particularly her five children who are now left without their mother.
