Dog Subpoenaed For Interview
Prosecutors Receive Threatening Letter in Smith Murder Case
Last updated Tuesday, March 8, 2005 10:34 PM CST in News
By Robin Lipscomb
The Morning News
BENTONVILLE -- Prosecutors were surprised Tuesday when a witness they subpoenaed in the Albert Keith Smith murder case turned out to have four legs, fur and a tail.
"Murphy Smith" -- who was ordered to appear for interview at 10:30 a.m. -- was a 5-year-old shih tzu.
With jury selection to begin Friday in the murder trial against Smith, prosecutors have been interviewing anyone that the Van Buren postal worker wrote to from the Benton County Jail.
Apparently, Smith wrote a letter to his dog and mailed it to his mother's home on Sherwood Street in Van Buren.
Darrel Smith, the defendant's brother, showed up at the courthouse Tuesday, minutes before the scheduled appointment time -- with Murphy trotting on a leash.
A deputy at the courthouse door refused to let the dog in, until Darrel Smith produced a prosecutor's subpoena ordering Murphy to "testify in the matter of an investigation ... into possible violation of Arkansas law."
Prosecutors took Smith and the dog into their office for just a few minutes. Smith then emerged saying it was all a mistake.
Benton County Prosecutor Robin Green had a laugh about it later, saying, "I do like dogs, and I did enjoy seeing the dog, but it really wasn't necessary. A phone call (to explain) would've sufficed."
Green also said she received an anonymous letter Tuesday that was "quasi-threatening" in tone, asking that the trial be delayed.
The letter was addressed to Green and postmarked from Van Buren.
Prosecutors forwarded a copy to Smith's attorney, Joel Price of Fort Smith, and discussed the letter in a conference with Benton County Circuit Judge Tom Keith.
The judge also met with reporters in the afternoon to discuss media coverage of the trial, which is expected to take four to six weeks. The trial will be held Tuesdays through Fridays, with Mondays reserved for regular criminal cases.
About 100 potential jurors will appear Friday morning for orientation -- and formal jury selection could take several days, Keith predicted. More than 100 witnesses are expected.
Smith is accused of kidnapping and murdering Bella Vista resident David Howard in 1999, but charges weren't filed until January 2004. Howard had begun dating Smith's ex-wife.
Prosecutors accuse Smith of tracing e-mail on his ex-wife's computer and locating David Howard in Bella Vista. They say he enticed Howard into a fictitious business proposition and then kidnapped and murdered him.
Smith has been out of jail since posting a $350,000 bond in August.
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