Man, hospitalized after crash, is charged in slaying of his wife
The suspect, in intensive care, has been charged with murder.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A 42-year-old man is charged in the killing of his wife.
Police filed a murder charge Monday afternoon in municipal court against Timothy J. Smith of 2528 Kenwood Drive S.W. He is accused of killing his wife, Lizette, early Sunday. Police said she was stabbed multiple times.
The couple had been married a little more than two years.
Smith, who was in a car crash moments after his wife's body was found by family members, is in the intensive care unit at Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital. Police said Smith's car crashed into the Peerless-Winsmith Inc. building at 1401 W. Market St.
"He'll be arraigned on the charge when he is released from the hospital," said Lt. Gary Vingle.
Police said the couple had been arguing earlier in the evening.
Sister's comments
"My sister wanted him out of the house," said Felicia Bullett. "He actually called me that evening and wanted me to come over to the house. He had been drinking too much."
Bullett said that when she arrived at the house, her younger sister had put some of Smith's clothes out.
"She was telling me to take her daughter and go," Bullett said. "When he got there, she was pushing me out of the house, telling me to go."
Bullett said she put the 10-year-old girl in the van. She said she saw Smith come out of the house and put more clothes on top of his car.
"He then went back in the house and shut the door," Bullett said. "A few minutes later he came out of the house and sped off. He almost hit a car head-on."
Bullett said she got out of her vehicle and went inside the house.
"That's when I found her," Bullett said. "I was in shock. I screamed. I tried to feel for a pulse or some sign that she was breathing but I knew she was gone. I knew from her eyes."
She added that Lizette Smith, a mother of three, was a beautiful person whom everyone loved.
"She just lit up any room she entered," Bullett noted.
Lizette Smith worked at the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation as a secretary, police said.
sinkovich@vindy.com