Arheel's Uncle
Senior Reporter
Lemuel Smith, vicious serial killer of 5 White women, 1 White man.
6 victims.
Lemuel Warren Smith (born July 23, 1941) is an American convicted serial killer who was the first convict to kill an on-duty female corrections officer. Smith was already in prison for the murders of at least five people when he murdered prison guard Donna Payant at Green Haven Correctional Facility in 1981.
The murder of a guard in a maximum security prison was considered shocking at the time and brought scrutiny upon the New York prison systems.
Smith is considered one of the most dangerous living inmates in the New York prison system and is housed in 23-hour-a-day isolation from other people.
On January 21, 1958, Dorothy Waterstreet was robbed and beaten to death near Smith's neighborhood in Amsterdam, New York. Evidence pointed towards the 16-year-old Smith, but the case fell apart when the district attorney was too hasty in trying to extract a confession, and Smith was not arrested.
During the following summer, while under continuing pressure from Amsterdam police, Smith relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, where he kidnapped a 25-year-old woman and beat her nearly to death. This time, a witness interrupted the crime and Smith left a living victim. He was quickly arrested, and on April 12, 1959, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for assault.
After nearly 10 years in custody, Smith was paroled in May 1968 and he moved back to the Capital District. On May 20, 1969, he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a woman who managed to escape, due to the heroism of Anthony Scipione and his wife, Kathleen. Later that same day, he kidnapped and raped a 46-year-old friend of his mother's. When the woman convinced Smith to let her go, he was arrested again and eventually sentenced to 4–15 years in a New York prison.
On December 23, 1976, while Albany police were investigating the double murder, Joan Richburg, 24, was raped, murdered and mutilated in her car at Colonie Center mall in Colonie. The pattern of brutality and more hair evidence made Smith the prime suspect in that murder as well, but he remained free pending investigation.
Barely two weeks later, on January 10, 1977, a large man tried to lure a 22-year-old woman out of a gift shop in Albany. When she resisted, he took her 60-year-old grandmother hostage and threatened to kill her. When help arrived, he threw the woman down, knocking her unconscious and deliberately stepped on her hand, breaking it. Years later the grandmother saw a picture of Smith in the newspaper and identified him as having been her attacker.
With the three murder investigations stalled, on July 22, 1977, Maralie Wilson, 30, was found strangled and mutilated near train tracks in downtown Schenectady, New York. The horrendous post-mortem mutilation was worse than some veteran investigators had ever seen in the region. Smith was known to frequent the area and witnesses recalled Wilson being accosted by a large man. Schenectady police made Smith the prime suspect in her murder.
On August 19, 1977, Marianne Maggio, 18, who worked in the same area as Wilson, was kidnapped and raped by Smith. When he forced her to drive towards Albany afterwards, police stopped the car and arrested Smith without incident.
Robert Hedderman, 48
Margaret Byron, 59
Joan Richburg, 24
Maralie Wilson, 30
###
"This is a case that's really about liberty and justice for, not just Lemuel, but in terms of … inmates don't lose all of their rights," Jeremias said. "There are constitutional safeguards that are afforded to everyone. And this is about vindicating that for Lemuel and for bringing attention to a system that can be easily corrupted and used for the purposes for which it was not intended — and that's punishment. And that's what this prolonged, indefinite detention to solitary (confinement) was. And that was improper."
6 victims.
Lemuel Smith - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Lemuel Warren Smith (born July 23, 1941) is an American convicted serial killer who was the first convict to kill an on-duty female corrections officer. Smith was already in prison for the murders of at least five people when he murdered prison guard Donna Payant at Green Haven Correctional Facility in 1981.
The murder of a guard in a maximum security prison was considered shocking at the time and brought scrutiny upon the New York prison systems.
Smith is considered one of the most dangerous living inmates in the New York prison system and is housed in 23-hour-a-day isolation from other people.
On January 21, 1958, Dorothy Waterstreet was robbed and beaten to death near Smith's neighborhood in Amsterdam, New York. Evidence pointed towards the 16-year-old Smith, but the case fell apart when the district attorney was too hasty in trying to extract a confession, and Smith was not arrested.
During the following summer, while under continuing pressure from Amsterdam police, Smith relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, where he kidnapped a 25-year-old woman and beat her nearly to death. This time, a witness interrupted the crime and Smith left a living victim. He was quickly arrested, and on April 12, 1959, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for assault.
After nearly 10 years in custody, Smith was paroled in May 1968 and he moved back to the Capital District. On May 20, 1969, he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a woman who managed to escape, due to the heroism of Anthony Scipione and his wife, Kathleen. Later that same day, he kidnapped and raped a 46-year-old friend of his mother's. When the woman convinced Smith to let her go, he was arrested again and eventually sentenced to 4–15 years in a New York prison.
Freedom and serial murders
Smith was paroled from prison in October 1976 after having served a little more than four years incarceration after having pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted rape.[1] A little more than a month after Smith's release, on November 24, 1976, the day before Thanksgiving, Robert Hedderman, 48, and Hedderman's secretary, Margaret Byron, 59, were found brutally murdered in the back of Hedderman's religious store in Albany. Human feces [Smiths] was found on evidence nearby, which later proved valuable. Smith was free and employed nearby and hair and blood evidence made him a main suspect.On December 23, 1976, while Albany police were investigating the double murder, Joan Richburg, 24, was raped, murdered and mutilated in her car at Colonie Center mall in Colonie. The pattern of brutality and more hair evidence made Smith the prime suspect in that murder as well, but he remained free pending investigation.
Barely two weeks later, on January 10, 1977, a large man tried to lure a 22-year-old woman out of a gift shop in Albany. When she resisted, he took her 60-year-old grandmother hostage and threatened to kill her. When help arrived, he threw the woman down, knocking her unconscious and deliberately stepped on her hand, breaking it. Years later the grandmother saw a picture of Smith in the newspaper and identified him as having been her attacker.
With the three murder investigations stalled, on July 22, 1977, Maralie Wilson, 30, was found strangled and mutilated near train tracks in downtown Schenectady, New York. The horrendous post-mortem mutilation was worse than some veteran investigators had ever seen in the region. Smith was known to frequent the area and witnesses recalled Wilson being accosted by a large man. Schenectady police made Smith the prime suspect in her murder.
On August 19, 1977, Marianne Maggio, 18, who worked in the same area as Wilson, was kidnapped and raped by Smith. When he forced her to drive towards Albany afterwards, police stopped the car and arrested Smith without incident.
prison guard Donna Payant
Dorothy WaterstreetRobert Hedderman, 48
Margaret Byron, 59
Joan Richburg, 24
Maralie Wilson, 30
###
Capital Region serial killer Lemuel Smith sues over 40 years in solitary confinement
Attorneys for notorious murderer and rapist Lemuel Smith want him out of isolation within New York's prison system after almost four decades of treatment they contend is unconstitutional
By Robert Gavin Feb 20, 2024"This is a case that's really about liberty and justice for, not just Lemuel, but in terms of … inmates don't lose all of their rights," Jeremias said. "There are constitutional safeguards that are afforded to everyone. And this is about vindicating that for Lemuel and for bringing attention to a system that can be easily corrupted and used for the purposes for which it was not intended — and that's punishment. And that's what this prolonged, indefinite detention to solitary (confinement) was. And that was improper."