CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Samarah Smith is being remembered as a devoted mother who fought to protect her daughter until her final moments. Her family, friends, and loved ones are now speaking out, hoping her story will spark changes in the law and save others from the same fate.
Smith, 22, was found with multiple stab wounds on April 26 after Clarksville police were called to a stabbing on Stillwood Drive. She was rushed to the hospital but did not survive.
Investigators say her child's father, 21-year-old Cam'Ron Walker, now faces a homicide charge.
Those closest to Smith say she had been working to escape an abusive relationship and had taken every precaution available to her.
"She had been at the Merryman House. She'd been going to counseling. She moved in with me, stayed with me full-time. We got security. We did everything that we were told to do, and it still didn't work," said mother, Brandi Shekell.
Her mother described the grief of losing her daughter to violence.
"I'm a mom now that can say my child was murdered. It wasn't a car accident. It wasn't, you know, COVID, a sickness. He murdered my baby for trying to leave," she said.
Friends and family remember Smith as loving, funny, and full of life — a young woman who found joy in music, dancing, and sharing her world online. Above all, they say, she was defined by her role as a mother to her daughter, Zariah.
"She loved that baby. It was ... Zariah was her whole entire world," said Shekell. "When she became a mom, she picked that role up, and she never dropped it."
Best friend Braelyn Pugh remembered Smith's spirit.
"She had the most beautiful soul, such a character. You literally — kind, loving person," Pugh said.
Family members say Smith ended the relationship the same day she was killed, believing that decision would bring safety.
"She knew she was in a bad situation. And the day that she got out of it and she ended it, that should have ended it," Shekell said.
In her final moments, those who loved her say her focus remained on her daughter.
"Because she fought for her baby until her last breath," said Shekell.
Now, her family is channeling their grief into a call for change.
"I just would like to see something changed. What we're doing now — it's not working. It's just not working," Shekell said.
The family has created a GoFundMe, a meal train, and shirt sales to help care for Zariah. Shekell's birthday is coming up next week; she is also asking that, in her daughter's memory, donations be made to the Merryman House Domestic Crisis Center in Murray, Kentucky.
This story was reported on-air by journalist Kelsey Gibbs and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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