A Baldwin County man accused of killing his mother and wounding his father on Saturday night was given a $1 million bond after trying to flee the country.
Investigators said that officials arrested the suspect after he led deputies on a pursuit before charging him with murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors called the incident an unprovoked attack and identified the victims as 67-year-old Nanette Smith and her husband, Noel Smith.
Baldwin Man Kills Mother and Injures Father
The main suspect in the case is the couple's 38-year-old son Ryan Thomas Smith, who was said to have been living in his parents' home on Dominion Drive. When officials got to the scene, they found the two victims suffering severe trauma.
Capt. Daniel Steelman with the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office said that they have recovered the weapon used in the attack, adding that the incident would end up being a blunt force injury case. However, they have to let the Medical Examiner work on examining each of the wounds and look at the wound dynamics to make the final determination, according to Fox10TV.
The suspect was quickly identified as the main suspect in the case and officials released an All-Points Bullet on a vehicle that went missing from the residence of the couple. The car in question was later spotted on I-65, leading authorities to respond to the area.
Steelman said that when officials tried to stop the vehicle, Smith led them into a pursuit and one deputy used a grappler to disable the car. This was a tool that Baldwin County Sheriff Anthony Lowery brought on board.
Baldwin County Assistant District Attorney Patrick Doggett described the incident as a horrible tragedy. He was inside the victims' home on Sunday while investigators were looking for an answer to why the suspect committed the crime, WKRG reported.
Potential Release
If Smith is able to make the bond, he will be required to wear a GPS ankle monitor and be placed under house arrest. Furthermore, he will be banned from making contact with the victims of the case.
A similar incident was reported earlier this month when an Oahu grand jury indicted a 29-year-old man for attempted murder of his parents. The suspect, identified as London Maxwell Opendack, was indicted on one count of first-degree, attempted murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder.
The suspect was charged for allegedly attacking his parents, Lauren and Byron Opendack, using a blunt object in Waikiki, causing serious injury. If he is convicted of first-degree attempted murder, the defendant faces a life sentence without parole, as per the Star Advertiser.
