Texas man pleads guilty to killing his wife with an ax

GILMER, Texas (TCN) — A 41-year-old man will spend five decades behind bars after admitting to killing his wife with an ax.

The Upshur County Criminal District Attorney’s Office announced that on Jan. 15, Craig Smith pleaded guilty to murder in connection with the death of his wife, Vennessa Smith. He received a sentence of 50 years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

According to prosecutors, on Feb. 26, 2024, at approximately 1:43 a.m., officers responded to a report of someone trying to break into a vehicle. At the scene, Gilmer Police located Craig Smith “soaking wet on the front of his clothes and dry on the back.” When asked to identify himself, Smith initially lied but then reportedly revealed his real name and said he lied because “his wife was dead and he didn’t want to get caught up in it.”

The district attorney’s office said Smith denied that he killed the victim and claimed she had been deceased for a few hours. Authorities took him into custody on an outstanding warrant for assault on a family member impede breath or circulation and failure to identify.

Police responded to a home on Walnut Street, where they found the defendant’s wife lying in blood on a bed with numerous lacerations to her upper body. Authorities found a splitting maul ax near her body that they believe was used to hit her on the head, face, and neck. Investigators determined Smith had killed his wife around 50 minutes before police spoke with the defendant. Authorities came to this conclusion after learning the victim’s daughter, who was next door, had heard her parents argue. She allegedly sent a text message at around 12:55 a.m. to check on her mother, but Vennessa Smith never responded.

According to prosecutors, investigators collected evidence at the scene and found the victim’s blood on Smith’s clothes.

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