Prosecutor again opposing parole of man who killed pregnant wife in McKinley Heights

WARREN

Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins again is opposing parole for Paul W. Smith, 48, who shot his 21-year-old pregnant wife, Gina, to death July 29, 1987, in the McDonald’s restaurant in McKinley Heights where she worked.

Watkins wrote to the Ohio Parole Board recently, saying Ohio law in 1987 did not allow Smith to be convicted of murder in the deaths of the twins his wife was carrying but should be considered when deciding whether to parole him.

“In 1987, it was not murder to purposefully cause the unlawful termination of another’s pregnancy; however, for many years now in Ohio, to murder your wife and unborn children is three murders with three life sentences,” Watkins said.

Smith, a 1984 Newton Falls High School graduate, has served 27 years of a 15-years-to-life sentence. Watkins opposed Smith’s parole in 2003, 2008 and 2010. Smith is eligible for parole again in January.

Smith, 21, and his wife of seven months lived in Lordstown and with Gina’s parents in Hubbard in the months leading up to the murder. Gina Smith, the oldest of the four children of Carol and Luigi Femia of Hubbard, was a 1983 Hubbard High School graduate.

Read more about the case in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.