A former Goldendale woman who was briefly a resident of Vancouver was sentenced today to serve life in prison.
Jessica Smith made no statement at her sentencing in Astoria, Ore., 25 miles north of Cannon Beach, Ore., the coastal resort where the attack occurred in 2014. Smith, 42, entered Alford pleas last week to charges of aggravated murder and attempted murder for drowning her toddler daughter, Isabella, and slashing teenager daughter Alana with a knife. In such a plea, the defendant doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a conviction.
Smith, 42, will not be eligible for parole for at least 38 years, according to the terms of the sentence handed down this morning in Clatsop County, Ore., according to KATU-TV, The Columbian’s news partner.
Smith did not speak at today’s sentencing hearing, but was seen to smile several times.
Her former husband, Gregory Smith, did speak. “I’m looking forward to joy and peace. I wish you peace,” he said, choking back tears. He was accompanied in court by Alana Smith. Alana Smith reportedly sat stoically by her father’s side and did not address the court.
Earlier, a judge had ruled out an insanity defense and said that a videotaped confession could be played at her trial. That prompted a round of negotiations at which the plea deal was arranged.
Smith and her children moved to Vancouver in 2014 after she split from her husband. She filed for divorce and a restraining order, but failed to receive it, and also challenged his custody rights, according to court documents.
On July 31, 2014, at the Oregon Coast resort, Jessica Smith drowned the toddler in a bathtub and cut her teenage daughter’s throat with razor blades. Hotel staff discovered the sisters on a bed the following day. Jessica Smith was gone, but a Coast Guard helicopter spotted her a three days later on a logging road about 15 miles away.
The 2-year-old had been heavily sedated with an over-the-counter antihistamine, according to the state medical examiner. Asphyxiation by drowning was the primary cause of death, and the drug was listed as a contributing cause.
According to a detective’s affidavit, the older girl said her mother used a numbing agent on her neck and gave her a double dose of a sleeping agent.
According to The Astorian, in the videotaped confession Smith said she drowned Isabella in order to “end her misery.” She also said she attacked Alana, then 13, with a razor blade, inflicting wounds to her neck and wrists that were described as critical.
Smith could have faced the death penalty had she chosen to go to trial.
When Clatsop County Judge Julie Frantz handed down the sentence, she told Jessica Smith, “You will spend the rest of your life with the knowledge that the inconceivable has occurred and you are responsible for unimaginable tragedy.”
