William Steven Smith is charged with murder, arson, robbery and other counts in the May 11, 2021, stabbing death of Robert Dale Boyd in North Vernon.
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VERNON — A North Vernon man with a history of mental illness who was accused of killing a man in the house where they both lived has pleaded guilty and will receive the minimum sentence of 45 years in prison.
William Smith, 47, of North Vernon, has pleaded guilty to the May 2021 murder of Robert Dale Boyd, 56, court officials said. The plea agreement and sentencing order were both entered by Jennings Circuit Judge Murielle Bright after a hearing Thursday. Members of Boyd’s family were present at the hearing where Smith admitted he killed Boyd, according to Jennings County Prosecutor Brian Belding.
“Honestly, there’s never a good ending to a murder case,” Belding said in a statement. “Even if a defendant gets 1,000 years in prison, it doesn’t bring a victim back.
In exchange for Smith’s guilty plea, Belding agreed to dismiss felony counts of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, arson, obstruction of justice and possession of methamphetamine, as well as misdemeanor resisting law enforcement.
“In this particular case, 45 (years) is really just an abstract number because at the defendant’s age, this is essentially a life sentence. Given the defendant’s age, mental illness, the anguish that this trial would put the Boyd family through, and the preclusion of any appellate issues that can always arise at trial, we felt this was the best resolution. Additionally, Mr. Boyd’s family got to hear the defendant admit his crime.
“Hopefully, this will help to bring about some closure and they can begin the healing process,” Belding said.
Smith’s court-appointed public defender, Benjamin Loheide of Columbus, declined to comment when reached Friday.
Smith was arrested by North Vernon police in the afternoon of May 11, 2016, hours after another man who lived in Boyd’s home found Boyd had been fatally stabbed. Witnesses told authorities that Smith also had set a fire in the home in an effort to conceal the killing.
For more on this story, see Saturday’s Republic.
