Mary
February 4th, 2008, 4:26 pm
http://www.charleyproject.org/images/s/smith_khristine.jpg http://www.charleyproject.org/images/s/smith_khristine2.jpg
Above Images: Khristine, circa 1994
Vital Statistics at Time of DisappearanceMissing Since: September 28, 1994 from Kalamazoo, Michigan
Classification: Endangered Missing
Age: 37 years old
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Brown hair. Khristine's nickname is Khris.
Details of DisappearanceKhristine was last seen on September 28, 1994 in hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her husband, Russell Smith, told everyone she had left voluntarily with another man. A photograph of Russell is posted below this case summary. He showed a note of explanation which he claimed she had written. Khristine's loved ones did not believe him, however; they did not think she would abandon her seven-year-old daughter of her own accord.
At first police thought Khristine had in fact left Russell, but they began to suspect foul play after Russell refused to let them search his home or speak to his daughter alone. In late 1994, police got a warrant to search the Smith home. They discovered no physical evidence of murder, but they did find items that lead them to charge Russell with embezzlement from his employer. Russell and Khristine's daughter was removed from their home at this time when evidence surfaced that Russell may have been molesting her. He was never charged with anything in connection with that, but his daughter was adopted by his parents and never lived with him again. The girl told police that her parents had argued on the day of Khristine's disappearance and she found blood in the upstairs bathroom, which Russell remodeled later that year.
Russell pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection to Khristine's case in 1998. He confessed that after they put their child on the school bus, they began to argue and Khristine threatened to leave with their daughter. Russell says he shot Khristine to death, put her body in a storage barrel, and threw the barrel in Lake Erie, which is about nine miles from their residence. He maintained that he was driven to kill her by her selfishness, meanness, and frequent affairs with other men. (Investigators could find no evidence that Khristine had ever been unfaithful with anyone during her marriage.) Russell agreed to help detectives find her body, but searches of the lake turned up nothing. He was sentenced to 35 to 70 years in prison for his wife's murder.
Khristine's remains have never been found.
http://www.charleyproject.org/images/s/smith_husband.jpg
Above: Russell Smith
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Department
269-385-6173
Source Information
CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/)
The Doe Network (http://www.doenetwork.org/)
Updated 2 times since October 12, 2004.
Last updated March 8, 2005.
Charley Project Home (http://www.charleyproject.org/index.html)
Above Images: Khristine, circa 1994
Vital Statistics at Time of DisappearanceMissing Since: September 28, 1994 from Kalamazoo, Michigan
Classification: Endangered Missing
Age: 37 years old
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Brown hair. Khristine's nickname is Khris.
Details of DisappearanceKhristine was last seen on September 28, 1994 in hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her husband, Russell Smith, told everyone she had left voluntarily with another man. A photograph of Russell is posted below this case summary. He showed a note of explanation which he claimed she had written. Khristine's loved ones did not believe him, however; they did not think she would abandon her seven-year-old daughter of her own accord.
At first police thought Khristine had in fact left Russell, but they began to suspect foul play after Russell refused to let them search his home or speak to his daughter alone. In late 1994, police got a warrant to search the Smith home. They discovered no physical evidence of murder, but they did find items that lead them to charge Russell with embezzlement from his employer. Russell and Khristine's daughter was removed from their home at this time when evidence surfaced that Russell may have been molesting her. He was never charged with anything in connection with that, but his daughter was adopted by his parents and never lived with him again. The girl told police that her parents had argued on the day of Khristine's disappearance and she found blood in the upstairs bathroom, which Russell remodeled later that year.
Russell pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection to Khristine's case in 1998. He confessed that after they put their child on the school bus, they began to argue and Khristine threatened to leave with their daughter. Russell says he shot Khristine to death, put her body in a storage barrel, and threw the barrel in Lake Erie, which is about nine miles from their residence. He maintained that he was driven to kill her by her selfishness, meanness, and frequent affairs with other men. (Investigators could find no evidence that Khristine had ever been unfaithful with anyone during her marriage.) Russell agreed to help detectives find her body, but searches of the lake turned up nothing. He was sentenced to 35 to 70 years in prison for his wife's murder.
Khristine's remains have never been found.
http://www.charleyproject.org/images/s/smith_husband.jpg
Above: Russell Smith
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Department
269-385-6173
Source Information
CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/)
The Doe Network (http://www.doenetwork.org/)
Updated 2 times since October 12, 2004.
Last updated March 8, 2005.
Charley Project Home (http://www.charleyproject.org/index.html)