A beggar was accused of killing a woman. But her family staged the attack, police say

Keith Smith is shown in a Baltimore Police Department photo. Photo / AP

The first details about the woman's stabbing death in December were shocking.

Police said Jacquelyn Smith had rolled down her window on a dark Baltimore street just after midnight to give a woman, who was begging in the cold, money for her baby, only to be stabbed in the chest after a scuffle ensued for her wallet. Her husband, who was in the car, had called to report the attack and rushed Smith to a hospital where she died, police said.

The killing drew national headlines, its horror underscored by the story of the selflessness that had preceded it; Oprah Winfrey commented, saying it had prompted her to reconsider donating to beggars.

But yesterday, Baltimore police announced arrest warrants for Smith's husband, Keith Smith, 52, and his daughter, Valeria Smith, 28. The story about the beggar appeared to have been concocted to cover up a premeditated murder, police said.

The case's unravelling drew widespread condemnation and criticism from officials in Baltimore about the way the apparently phony cover story had played on stereotypes of the city as crime-ridden and dangerous.

"The information and the evidence points to: It was not a panhandler [beggar]," Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said at a news conference. "People took advantage of Baltimore. We want to make sure the truth comes out and justice is done."

Marilyn Mosby, the state's attorney for Baltimore, said that "oftentimes we have these negative depictions about our city, and it's rather unfortunate when people take advantage of these negative depictions."

Jacquelyn Smith's husband had said she was stabbed to death while trying to help a panhandler.

Now, Baltimore police say he and his daughter murdered her, and lied to cover it up https://t.co/ZZetcbK7lU

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) March 4, 2019

Keith Smith and his daughter were arrested in Texas just north of the Mexican border. They were arraigned in Cameron County court, just north of Brownsville, Texas. The two are charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, assault and a dangerous-weapons count, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Harrison declined to provide details about how police had come to finger Keith Smith and his daughter. But he said that police had been made aware that Keith Smith attempted to leave Maryland during the investigation; Harrison told the Baltimore Sun's editorial board that the timing of their arrest was affected by how close they were to Mexico.

"I can say that being notified that they were in Texas certainly added to the evidence we already had to convince us that it was not the homeless person, [and] probable cause existed that it was more than likely their involvement," Harrison told the Sun. "I think there's enough evidence to support that this still would have been the outcome."

In a statement, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh called the latest development "very troubling and sad."

"To now learn that family members staged this brutal killing is beyond belief and represents a double tragedy," Pugh said. "They were responsible for taking Jacquelyn's life with unconscionable cruelty, and contrived to do so in our city under the guise of random violence, exploiting the legitimate fears of our residents."

Breaking: Family members accused of staging Jacquelyn Smith's murder, says mayor. Her husband said she was killed while giving a panhandler money https://t.co/yOtsB7omrR

— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) March 3, 2019