Maryland man who killed wife and blamed it on panhandlers sentenced to life in prison

Keith Smith, who killed his wife then blamed it on panhandlers in Baltimore, has been sentenced.

Keith Smith sentenced

Smitg was sentenced Monday to life in prison for murder plus three years to be served concurrently for the use of a deadly weapon.

In December, a jury found Keith Smith guilty of first-degree murder and a weapons charge in connection to the 2018 stabbing death of his 54-year-old wife, Jacquelyn Smith, a killing he tried to blame on panhandlers.

Incident

Smith told investigators his wife tried to give a panhandling couple $10 in Baltimore as they headed home from celebrating his daughter’s birthday. He claimed the panhandlers took his wife’s necklace, stole her wallet and stabbed her.

But court testimony showed Jacquelyn Smith was asleep in the car at a different location when Keith Smith stabbed her at least five times and then dumped the weapon.

Prosecutors said Smith stabbed his wife for insurance money and that his adult daughter, Valeria Smith, who was a witness, also helped cover it up.

Valeria Smith received a plea deal and was sentenced to 5 years for helping her father cover up the murder.