Posted: 7/1/2003 7:28:39 AM EDT
Where one can feel VERY safe practicing self defense. [url]http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/070103/met_12922025.shtml[/url] Slaying in domestic dispute was justified, police say
Order to stay away went unheeded
By Veronica Chapin Times-Union staff writer
The early morning slaying yesterday of an unarmed Jacksonville woman was called justified after police said she continued to violate a restraining order obtained by her estranged husband.
Helen Elizabeth Smith, 37, was stabbed several times after entering her husband Michael Jeffery Smith's residence about 2:30 a.m. in the 8600 block of Jefferson Avenue, said Sgt. Randy Justice of the Sheriff's Office.
He was with his ex-wife, Patricia Smith, and two children when an argument turned physical outside the home.
Patricia Smith armed herself with a knife and stabbed Helen Smith, who did not have a weapon, Justice said. Helen Smith was pronounced dead at Shands Jacksonville hospital.
The children did not witness the stabbing, police said.
Justice said state law regarding aggravated stalking justified the use of deadly force.
"They woke up and she [Helen Smith] was in the house," he said. "It looks like the husband had done everything he could do."
Helen Smith had taken a cab to the home and told the driver she was employed with the Florida Department of Children and Families and needed to get the children out, Justice said. The cab driver was waiting for her to return, police said.
Helen Smith and her husband were raising two children together and have a history of domestic violence, according to police reports. Michael Smith and his ex-wife, Patricia Smith, also are raising two children. The couple were questioned at the Sheriff's Office yesterday, then released.
Justice said yesterday's case is the seventh domestic-related homicide this year, compared with four or five last year.
It is the second in less than a week involving aggravated stalking. Wednesday, a 31-year-old Jacksonville woman fatally shot her ex-boyfriend after he forced his way into her mobile home shortly after 10 p.m. Jennifer Tappan of the 11100 block of Joel Street told police she had been in a violent relationship for years and the man had been stalking her since they broke up last year.
The victim's name has not been released pending notification of next of kin. The case is being reviewed by the State Attorney's Office. View Quote [img]http://www.jacksonville.com/images/070103/met_helensmith0630_218.jpg[/img] {Helen Smith was slain at her estranged husband's home.}
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