NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Oscar Smith's execution Thursday marks the end of a nearly 36 year ordeal for Judy Robirds Smith's family. Smith, and her sons Chad and Jason, were all killed inside their Woodbine home on October 1, 1989.
Of all the cases Mickey Miller worked on, in his decades in law enforcement, he says the Murder of Judy and her sons still haunt him.
"This was a very horrific crime scene. It was blood throughout the house," said Miller, who went on to be the police chief in Hendersonville and retired last year. "You don’t forget these things, you don’t forget the victims."
The Victims
Judy Robirds Smith was born in Modesto, California but moved with her parents and siblings to Nashville at a young age. She was described as a beloved waitress at Waffle House. Her oldest son, Chad Burnett, was a sophomore in high school. Jason Burnett was an eighth grader. Oscar and Judy also had two twins together, that were at Oscar's mother's home at the time of the crime.
It was a crime that shook Nashville to it's core. NewsChannel 5 reported at the time that friends and co-workers of Judy were stunned by all of this. They told our reporter that she was a devoted parent and a model employee.
Judy, Chad and Jason were all remembered at a combined funeral service at Donelson Free Will Baptist Church, that is now known as the Donelson Fellowship. At the time, Oscar tried to have Judy buried in another county, but Judy's family intervened and won a court battle to have all three of them interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Nashville.
The Case Against Oscar Smith
Almost immediately, investigators began to suspect Judy's estranged husband, Oscar Franklin Smith. "I think he was pretty abusive type guy. She decided she didn’t want nothing to do with him anymore," remembered Miller.
Smith told investigators it couldn't have been him because he had gone to work Monday morning in Kentucky. But the medical examiner determined the murders most likely took place late Sunday night.
Miller remembers Smith acting suspiciously, from the moment he first met him. "He just showed no emotion whatsoever. He never got upset. You could tell his blood pressure didn’t go up. And when you looked into his eyes, he was just stone cold. There was nothing there that I could see," said Miller.
A neighbor told Miller that he spotted Smith's car at Judy's house the night in question. There was also a bloody hand print found on a bed sheet in Judy's bedroom. "He put his hand down while he’s killing her. So I think we had I think a seven or eight point identification on that," remembered Miller.
The hand print also matched Smith in a key way — he was missing two fingers. "They were cut off at the knuckle right here. Machine accident," said Miller.
Nearly a month after the bodies were found, Metro Police arrested Oscar Smith, charging him with three counts of premeditated murder.
The Trial
In the summer of 1990, when Smith went on trial, the jury heard audio from a 911 call made by one of Judy's sons. "We could tell there were other background noises in there," said Miller.
So investigators enhanced a portion of that call, and played it for the jury. To Miller, it sounded definitive. "He was saying -- 'No, Frank, no.' Of course, that’s what Oscar went by -- was Frank," explained Miller.
But the Defense argued in court it was way too muffled to understand.
Prosecutors also outlined Smith's motive: revenge for Judy wanting to separate and a life insurance policy that Oscar was named as the beneficiary on all three victims. "According to my records, the policy was $20,000 on Judy and $5,000 on each one of the children. And the beneficiary was Oscar Smith," one of the prosecutors said at the time.
Smith took the stand in his own defense. When he was asked if he killed his wife and stepson, Smith reportedly didn't flinch, replying, "No I absolutely did not."
Judy's family never spoke out, before or after Smith's conviction. But the family's pastor, Rev. Robert Morgan of Donelson Free Will Baptist Church, did act as a spokesperson. "[Smith] needs to be punished to the full extent of the law," Rev. Morgan told NewsChannel 5. "I think if there is a time when the death penalty is justifiable, this would be one of those occasions."
Time Marches On
Judy's Woodbine house, other than a different paint color, still stands. Until his execution Thursday, Oscar Smith had been on death row for more than 35 years, awaiting his fate. "I’m not sure he’s getting everything he deserved but he certainly deserves this execution," said Miller.
For Miller, he has no doubt about Oscar Smith's guilt and the only problem he's had with the process is that it's taken this long. "It hurts the family and it hurts the community, it’s kind of left out there hanging," he said.
Even with this conclusion, Miller says this case will continue to haunt him. "Just, just evil," said Miller.
Notable names
Some big names in Nashville, played a role in this case. Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, who was a public defender at the time, represented Oscar Smith at the trial. Dean politely declined to do an interview with us for this story.
Tom Thurman, who was a longtime prosecutor, presented the case to the jury.
Pat Postiglione, a famous Nashville detective, also worked on the investigation.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
Happy Birthday to the YMCA of Middle TN. They just celebrated their 150th anniversary! A lot has changed with the Y over the years. I have personally seen some of that firsthand when I was a long-time board member at the Northwest Family Y and part of their Black Achievers Program. Forrest Sanders has a look back.
- Lelan Statom
