Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Peter Delaney who was also charged with felony-murder and first-degree arson was found not guilty on all charges.
Update: 2-28-12, 3:45 p.m. (details of verdict and sentencing) A Forsyth County jury has found 35-year old Jill Smith guilty of killing her husband in a fire that started in the master bedroom of the couple's home located in a south Forsyth County subdivision in 2010. The medical examiner confirmed Mr. Smith’s death was due to a combination of smoke inhalation and thermal burns. After a day and a half of jury deliberations a verdict was reached and read by the jury foreman Tuesday morning (see video above) in the packed courtroom of Forsyth County Superior Court Judge David L. Dickinson. Trial testimony centered on Forsyth County fire investigators, firefighters, and witnesses. The state argued that the fire was intentionally set, while …
An Alpharetta man was found not guilty in the case by the same Forsyth County jury in the death of Michael Smith.
Jill Smith has been found guilty of murder and arson in the death of her husband Michael Smith. Peter Delaney was found not guilty on all charges. Smith was sentenced to life plus 20 years on the charges by Superior Court Judge David Dickinson. Check back here on Cumming Patch for more news from the trial.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
A jury has been selected and opening statements were heard Wednesday during the first day of the Jill Smith and Peter Delaney arson-felony murder trial.
The Forsyth County arson-felony murder trial of Jill Smith, 35, and Peter Delaney, 38, that was originally scheduled to begin on Jan. 23, got underway Wednesday afternoon following two and a half days of jury selection. Smith and Delaney are accused of setting a house fire that killed Smith’s husband. They are charged with felony murder and first-degree arson. The charges stem from a Oct. 22, 2010 blaze that started in the master bedroom of the Smith home on Kennemore Drive in the Shepherd's Pond subdivision. The medical examiner confirmed Michael Smith died due to a combination of smoke inhalation and thermal burns. Mrs. Smith was 34 at the time and Mr. Delaney was 37. The 15 jurors (six women and nine men) heard opening statements by …
Monday, January 23, 2012
The arson-felony murder trial of Jill Smith and Peter Delaney scheduled for Monday, Jan. 23 has been continued by the state to February.
The Forsyth County arson-felony murder trial of Jill Smith, 35, and Peter Delaney, 38, has been continued to February, according to the office of Superior Court Judge David Dickinson. Smith and Delaney are accused of setting a house fire that killed Smith’s husband in 2010, both have been charged with felony murder and first-degree arson. The charges stem from a Oct. 22, 2010 blaze that started in the master bedroom of the Smith home on Kennemore Drive in the Shepherd's Pond subdivision. The medical examiner confirmed Michael Smith died due to a combination of smoke inhalation and thermal burns. Mrs. Smith was 34 at the time and Mr. Delaney was 37. During Delaney's first hearing in Magistrate Court on Jan. 19, 2011, testimony was heard …
