Incident report

PERSON 1

Type:
Victim

Foul Play Suspected
Undetermined

Name:
Veronica Smith

Alias/Street Name/Nickname
None

Vic/Offender Relationship
Unknown

Race
Caucasian

Height
5' 6"

Weight
210 lbs.

Hair
Dark blonde

Eyes
Hazel

Sex
F

Shoes
N/A

Jacket/Coat
N/A

Shirt
Blue denim

Pants
Blue denim

Skirt/Dress
N/A

Age
38

DOB
09/10/1984

Social Security #
XXX-XX-XXXX

Scars/Marks/Tattoos
None visible

Injury Extent
Fatal

Injury Description
None visible

Address
142 Colonial Road, Oxford, Mississippi

Res Phone 662-432-XXXX
Bus Phone 662-236-XXXX

Occupation
Physician

Employer/School
Yoknapatawpha Gastroenterology Center

Employer Address
1204 Medical Park Drive, Oxford Mississippi

PERSON 2

Type:
Witness

Foul Play Suspected
N/A

Name:
George O'Connor

Alias/Street Name/Nickname
None

Vic/Offender Relationship
Unknown

Race
Caucasian

Height
5' 6"

Weight
190 lbs.

Hair
Brown

Eyes
Hazel

Sex
M

Shoes
Black

Jacket/Coat
Black

Shirt
Light blue

Pants
Black

Skirt/Dress
N/A

Age
39

DOB
09/23/1983

Social Security #
XXX-XX-XXXX

Scars/Marks/Tattoos
None visible

Injury Extent
None visible

Injury Description
None visible

Address
142 Colonial Road, Oxford, Mississippi

Res Phone 662-432-XXXX
Bus Phone 662-915-XXXX

Occupation
Software Developer

Employer/School
University of Mississippi

Employer Address
University Avenue, University, Mississippi

PERSON 3

Type:
Witness

Foul Play Suspected
N/A

Name:
Haley Smith

Alias/Street Name/Nickname
None

Vic/Offender Relationship
Unknown

Race
Caucasian

Height
4' 10"

Weight
88 lbs.

Hair
Light Brown

Eyes
Blue

Sex
F

Shoes
Red

Jacket/Coat
N/A

Shirt
N/A

Pants
N/A

Skirt/Dress
Black & white

Age
10

DOB
01/10/2013

Social Security #
XXX-XX-XXXX

Scars/Marks/Tattoos
None visible

Injury Extent
None visible

Injury Description
None visible

Address
142 Colonial Road, Oxford, Mississippi

Res Phone 662-432-XXXX
Bus Phone 662-234-XXXX

Occupation
Student

Employer/School
Oxford Elementary School

Employer Address
1637 Hwy. 30, Oxford, Mississippi

REPORTING OFFICER'S NARRATIVE (Brief narrative of the facts surrounding the offense and the arrest.)

At 9:58 p.m., Dispatch received a 911 call reporting the discovery of a body at a residence located at 142 Colonial Road. The caller identified himself as George O'Connor, husband of the deceased.

Unit #221 (Officer Maria Richards) was immediately dispatched to the scene. Detectives Armstrong and Murphy were assigned and proceeded directly to the scene. Coroner's Inspector Luwinda Johnson was notified at R/I's request to respond to the scene. Reporting Officer (R/O) Richards arrived at the scene at 10:05 p.m. At R/O's request, Unit #216 (Officer Kennon Winters) was dispatched to the scene to provide backup and assistance and arrived at 10:13 p.m.

Reporting Investigators (R/Is) arrived at the scene at 10:37 p.m. and found R/Os Richards and Winters had secured the area. Environmental conditions at the scene upon arrival are as follows: Weather: Fair; Ambient Exterior Temperature: 48º F / 9º C; Relative Exterior Humidity: 50%; Ambient Interior Temperature: 68º F / 20º C; Relative Interior Humidity: 36%.

Upon R/Is' arrival, R/O Richards made the following verbal report, which is stated in summary and not verbatim.

R/O Richards said she was met upon arrival outside the residence at the incident address by an adult male and a juvenile female, identified as George O'Connor and Haley Smith.

R/O Richards said the juvenile female was visibly distraught and unable to communicate, but the adult male identified the deceased as his wife and the juvenile's mother, Veronica Smith.

The adult male admitted R/O Richards to the residence and directed R/O to the location of the body on the second floor of the residence.

After confirming the presence of the body, R/O Richards secured the scene, called for backup, and detained the witnesses on the first floor of the residence.

R/O Richards reported that, to the best of her knowledge, the following persons have had occasion to enter the crime scene area and must be documented by CSU personnel: R/O Winters, George O'Connor, Haley Smith, and herself.

After receiving the report from R/O Richards, R/I Armstrong contacted Dispatch regarding the status of the Coroner's Inspector and the Crime Scene Unit. Dispatch indicated the Inspector's ETA was approximately 20 minutes, and CSU's ETA was approximately 25 minutes.

R/Is conducted a preliminary inspection of the exterior of the residence and found no signs of forced entry on the front or rear doors or on any of the windows. R/Is then entered the residence through the front door and were met by R/O Winters.

R/O Winters reported that the deceased's husband and daughter were in the family room at the rear of the first floor and directed R/Is to the location of the body in the primary bedroom on the second floor in the front of the residence. R/Is instructed R/O Winters to keep the husband and daughter on the first floor. R/Is then proceeded to the second floor.

Upon entering the primary suite, R/Is observed two walk-in closets directly ahead, with the primary bathroom to the rear of the residence and the primary bedroom down a short hallway to the front of the residence.

R/Is then proceeded to the location of the body in the primary bedroom. R/Is observed a lifeless human body, apparently a female in her mid-30s, on the south (left) side of a bed located against the west wall of the primary bedroom.

R/Is observed that the body was lying on top of the bedclothes with the head and torso slightly elevated, resting on one bed pillow and three decorative pillows. The head was covered by what appeared to be a white plastic bag. The body lay in a supine position with the arms unbent alongside the torso and the legs extended and unbent.

Visual inspection indicated the deceased was wearing blue jeans and a short-sleeved denim shirt and no shoes or hosiery. Further visual inspection revealed no apparent signs of trauma or injury to the deceased.

In the area immediately surrounding the body, R/Is observed that the bedclothes were undisturbed. Two decorative pillows, one bed pillow, and a television remote control were adjacent to the body on the bed.

On a nightstand located on the south side of the bed, R/Is observed a lighted table lamp, a beverage coaster, and a drinking glass containing approximately 1/4 inch of brown liquid, which was placed on top of a folded piece of white paper. A cut glass decanter approximately 1/3 full of brown liquid was on a side table on the east wall of the primary bedroom.

R/Is noted no signs of a struggle or other disturbance in the primary bedroom. The television was on. The overhead light and the other lamps were off.

Coroner's Inspector Johnson arrived at the scene at approximately 11:00 p.m. and joined R/Is at the body's location. Inspector Johnson pronounced the victim deceased at 11:06 p.m. by visual observation that the victim was not breathing and by tactile observation that the victim did not have a palpable carotid pulse.

Inspector Johnson noted that the body was warm to the touch, and no rigor mortis was observed. While she withheld an official estimate pending an autopsy, Inspector Johnson speculated the victim had been dead no more than three hours.

Inspector Johnson said that while the plastic bag could be suggestive of asphyxiation, visual examination revealed no apparent cause of death, and an autopsy would be required to make a determination.

After Inspector Johnson completed her initial inspection of the body, she stayed with the CSU team to ensure the integrity of the body while the team took photographs of the scene and performed preliminary analyses until the body could be removed from the scene without destroying other evidence.

Following a preliminary inspection of the scene, R/Is interviewed witness George O'Connor at the scene. Interview of the juvenile was deferred to a later date due to the juvenile's emotional state and the late hour.

R/Is left the scene at 2:30 a.m. Before leaving, R/I Murphy instructed CSU to seal the scene upon completion or end-of-shift suspension of processing. CSU to notify R/Is of progress by the end of this date. As of this filing, CSU is still actively processing at the scene.

The body of the deceased was remanded into the custody of Coroner's Inspector Luwinda Johnson. The deceased was removed from the scene at 1:33 a.m. and transported to the coroner's office for autopsy. A preliminary autopsy report is expected within 14 days of this report.

Evidence was remanded into the custody of Forensics Officer T. R. Douglas for transport to the state crime lab for routine analysis. CSU is expected to submit an inventory of items taken into evidence within 14 days of this report, with detailed report(s) of their findings to follow at a later date.

DEFENDANT'S VERSION/REMARKS (What did the defendant say about the offense or his/her whereabouts at the time of offense?)

N/A