NORTH VERNON — A probable cause affidavit filed Tuesday in Jennings County Circuit Court alleges a local man accused of murder had a “hit list” of additional people he wanted to kill.
William Steven “Billy” Smith, 45, North Vernon, is being held at the Jennings County Jail without bond on charges of murder, robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, arson, resisting law enforcement, possession of methamphetamine, and obstruction of justice, according to court documents.
Smith was arrested on May 11 after Robert D. Boyd, 56, North Vernon, was found dead from a knife wound to the neck in the 100 block of West Walnut Street in North Vernon. Smith, who officers said is not related to the victim, had been living at Boyd’s residence along with another man that’s a witness in the investigation, the affidavit says.
The witness living at the home told officers he left for a walk with his dog late in the morning of May 11 before returning home to a locked house.
Around 11:30 a.m., a couple stopped by the residence to speak with Boyd about a lawnmower, the affidavit states. One of those witnesses talked to Smith on the back side of the residence, and noticed he was not wearing shoes or socks, was sweaty, and had “a lot of blood on his person.”
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
