Curtis Phoenix, 27, and his girlfriend 22 year old Kristie Smith had reportedly been together for about a year and were the parents of a brand new baby just 6 weeks old. Smith was also the mother of a 1 year old baby who lived with the couple. And she had two other children who lived with family members. Allegedly a family member had recently been keeping at least one of the babies.
Reportedly the two did have a violent history, but there are no details to the history. Neighbors have reported hearing loud voices and gunshots coming from the home. And they have said the last time they saw Curtis Phoenix was on Sunday.
Phoenix did not show up for work on Monday or Tuesday. Allegedly Smith called the employer’s answering machine early on Monday am and left a message that Phoenix was in the hospital, and said he later heard that Phoenix had broken his ankle. Friends say they had been looking for him and had tried to call him, but got no answer.
On Wednesday a relative contacted the police and requested a welfare check at the home. Not getting a response at the door, the officer checked the windows of the home and could see Phoenix’s body inside. A maintenence worker was able to assist the officer with entry to the home. Police say evidence does indicate foul play and say a weapon was recovered and is being tested. Police believe that Phoenix may have been dead for a couple of days.
Within two hours of his discovery, police arrested Kristie Smith on one count of first degree murder. Reportedly Smith does have a criminal history, she was put on diversion 2 years ago for possession of drugs and writing bad checks.
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