Police: Ax-Swinging Mom Amanda Smith Arrested For Drowning 3yo Jacob

[Whisper]

Amanda Smith​

FRANKLIN, Ind. -- A Johnson County woman facing preliminary charges of murder and attempted murder in the death of her 3-year-old son has a history of mental instability and frequent calls to police, authorities said today.

Amanda Smith, 33, is believed to have drowned the boy, Jacob, on Monday in her Trafalgar apartment, [....]
When police responded to a 911 call from Smith about 9:40 p.m. Monday, they forced their way into the apartment and found the child's lifeless body in a bed. After the body was removed, Smith came at officers with an ax, police said. She surrendered before a SWAT unit could be summonsed.

Cox speculated that Smith may have tried to attack police in a bid to commit "suicide by cop."
Police say Smith has called 911 more than 200 times over last couple years. Recently she was scared she had been poisoned by a pink poodle, Trafalgar Police Chief Kurt Heminger said.

Smith's mother had custody of Jacob, but a Johnson County court recently gave her one night weekly of visitation. The child's father, Robert Crim, had an upcoming hearing where he was going to argue for custody.

Smith, who is unemployed, had been known to sleep with an ax and her mother had taken away one ax. police said.

The ax the woman had last night appeared brand new with yellow stickers still on its red handle, Heminger said.

The attempted murder charge stems from the alleged attack on police.

http://www.indystar.com/article/201...y-woman-held-son-s-death?odyssey=mod|mostview

TRAFALGAR, Ind. -- [....]
When officers arrived, they said they forced their way into the apartment after no one answered the door, finding the body of Jacob Smith propped up on a bed with pillows and half-covered with a blanket.
The boy was taken to Johnson Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said Smith came out of a closet with an ax before surrendering, telling investigators that she had drowned the boy.
"She stated on a 911 tape that the child was in a better place," said Trafalgar Police Chief Kurt Heminger. "She actually came out of the bathroom swinging an ax through a door at my officers."
Police said Smith did not have custody of the child but had been granted one-night weekly unsupervised visits by the courts.
Investigators said Smith suffered from mental illness and had called police agencies in Johnson County more than 200 times in the last year, including 11 times over the last weekend.
Amanda Smith's mother had been granted custody of Jacob.
Investigators said Smith had placed padlocks on every door and drawer knob of the apartment, where she had lived for three weeks, and that she had been sleeping with the ax in her bedroom.
Kimberly Trittipo, a friend of Jacob's father, Robert Crim, told RTV6's Julie Pursley that Crim was trying to get custody of the boy and that a custody hearing had been set for Thursday.
"She did that on purpose, because she didn't want anybody else to have him," said Kimberly Trittipo, a friend of the father.
[....]

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/30557132/detail.html

 

[Tundratot]

She did that on purpose, because she didn't want anybody else to have him," said Kimberly Trittipo, a friend of the father.

Umm. Not sure that is the sum total of her "reasoning", if you could call it that. I have my doubts, anyway. Probably the pink poodle was threatening to leave her or stop schtupping her if she didn't quieten him down.

 

[Whisper]

Wonder how many other kids she has b/c they were all taken from her
He shouldnt have been allowed to visit her with all the signals they had
Another FAIL

 

[Mommyof2]

I can't believe they would allow this woman a minute unsupervised with a child much less a night. Total fail on the courts part if you ask me. She had a history of mental illness and clearly needed more help then she was receiving. Somebody that sick should have been locked away in a padded room and stuffed full of happy pills.

I feel really bad for this poor little guy and his family! I hate to hear about such a preventable loss of life.

 

[Bohring]

She thinks a pink poodle tried to poison her and sleeps with an axe? Unsupervised visitation sounds completely reasonable to me.

 

[CbabyRKO]

The crazy bitch sleeps with a fucking axe. That right there should be indication enough that this crazy beyotch should NOT have had unsupervised visitation with her son. I have no words other than RIP sweet angel. How someone so ugly can give birth to such a beautiful child is beyond me and I just wish that someone had given her a jacket to hug herself 24/7 and as many crazy pills as she could stomach before she took her little guy's life.

 

[melissa222]

I agree this is a COMPLETE FAIL ON THE SYSTEMS PART... how do you let a psycho have unsupervised nightly visits... this was disaster waiting to happen... OMG! MY heart goes out to the family... what a worthless bitch!

 

[AngelFire]

The judge, and everyone else who thought it be a good idea should be forced to spend a night with her, her ax and the fucking pink murdering poodle.

 

[Dakota]

The father of a 3-year-old boy who police said was drowned by his mother is blaming the court system in his son's death.
[...]

The Johnson County Sheriff's Department said dispatchers received two 911 calls just after 9 p.m., one from Smith stating that her son was dead and another from her mother, "advising that her daughter told her that she had done something to her child that could not be undone."
[...]

Robert Crim, the boy's father, who had a six-year relationship with Smith, told RTV6 that Smith suffered from schizophrenia.

"She told me that she hears voices and sometimes she acted on them," he said.

Crim said Smith had become angry in recent months after she lost custody of her two other children and Crim filed for custody of Jacob.

"She stated in the letter to the court that she'd do anything to keep him away from me, and the court blindly ignored that," he said.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/30562578/detail.html

Amanda Smith was well-known to police throughout Johnson County and had a troubled history with Jacob's father.

In 2009, Smith was charged with child neglect and a protective order was filed on the child's behalf. She later pleaded guilty and was ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation. Later, Smith violated her probation and spent 140 days in jail. Court records indicate she struggled to cooperate with mediation and treatment.

In December, Smith wrote a letter to Circuit Judge Mark Loyd, asking for unsupervised visitation with her son one night a week. The boy had been awarded to Smith's mother. The order was granted in January pending a hearing March 14 on a motion filed by Robert Crim to regain custody of his son.

Chief Heminger indicated Smith had called his department for assistance approximately 30 times in the three weeks she had lived in Trafalgar. Heminger said law enforcement records indicate Smith called for police assistance more than 200 times.

"Crazy," is how Heminger characterized the content of most of Smith's calls.

"There were locks on all the doors inside the apartment and all the drawers," said Heminger.

http://www.wsbt.com/news/wxin-trafalgar-woman-allegedly-kills-3year-old-son-20120227,0,362064.column

A Johnson County judge had warned Amanda Smith on Thursday that her say in her son's custody hinged on better cooperation with authorities.

The judge, Mark Loyd, set a hearing March 14 to determine whether 3-year-old Jacob Smith would continue to live with his grandmother -- as Amanda Smith wanted -- or go to live with his father.

Now, that hearing will not happen.
[...]

Jacob seemed to do well while living with his grandmother, Loyd said. The boy stayed overnight with Smith whenever his grandmother felt it appropriate. He also spent hours at a time with his father.

That arrangement had been considered permanent until late last year, when Crim filed documents seeking to terminate Wanda Smith's guardianship.

Crim, Loyd said, indicated he had overcome his drug issues and other problems and was interested in gaining custody. In a letter sent to authorities, Smith -- who no longer was in a relationship with Crim -- opposed Crim's request and wanted Wanda Smith to retain guardianship.

On Jan. 17, Loyd signed an order setting the March 14 hearing. However, Amanda Smith had been uncooperative and failed to communicate with mediators collecting information, Loyd said. He warned her last week that her input on the boy's future might not be considered if she didn't work with authorities.
[...]

http://www.indystar.com/article/201...om-accused-killing-son-opposed-custody-change

Crim said the Johnson County Circuit Court never should have awarded Amanda unsupervised, overnight stays with Jacob because she is mentally ill.

"They knew. They knew she was unstable from day one. She's got a history of unstableness (sic) and her disease and schizophrenia."

But Smith fought Crim for custody of her son. Fox59 got a copy of a hand written letter to the judge in the case. In it, she asks for unsupervised visits one night a week. She also accuses Crim of sexually abusing her daughter and said "I would be greatly relieved if Robert was not allowed visitation with such a vulnerable child."

"She said she'd do anything and everything to keep him away from me," said Crim

Crim had filed for custody of Jacob. A court date was set for March 14, exactly one week after what would have been Jacob’s 4th birthday.

http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-jaco...have-had-visitation-20120228,0,1433529.column

 

[Dakota]

A mother accused of drowning her 3-year-old son has now been accused of assaulting a jailer.

Amanda Smith was supposed to appear before a judge through a television monitor Wednesday afternoon, but that did not happen. According to Johnson County Sheriff Doug Cox, at 11:20 a.m. a jailer went to check on her. Cox said Smith attacked him. Smith is staying in a padded cell on suicide watch.

"She rushed the officer from behind, pushing him to the ground," said Sheriff Cox in a written statement. "I can’t discuss the injuries inflicted, but they were serious enough for treatment at Johnson Memorial Hospital."

Cox said Smith could be charged with battery.
[...]

http://www.wsbt.com/news/wxin-amand...-in-cell-police-say-20120229,0,3881998.column

A Johnson County judge defended his decision to allow a now-accused killer to visit her son, even though police were called to her home more than 50 times in just the past two months.
[...]

Just four days before Jacob Smith was murdered - his mother told police she drowned the boy - Johnson County Judge Mark Loyd told Amanda Smith she was about to lose visitation with her son.

Smith's parents had voluntarily surrendered their son to his maternal grandmother in 2010. The couple, Smith and father Robert Crim, by their own admission, had battled with drugs.

Allowing the courts into their lives meant the couple had to earn the right to see their son, and they made their arguments in Loyd's court.

Recently Crim wanted to regain custody, and at the same time, Jacob's mother had taken a turn for the worse. There were documented instances that Amanda Smith was mentally unstable.

Jacob's father said that Judge Loyd should have known this, and should have refused to allow Amanda Smith visitation rights.

"He (Loyd) don't want to take the blame," Crim told Eyewitness News. "He authorized this unsupervised visit to a woman that was very, very unstable."

After Smith was arrested for Jacob's murder, Loyd said, "There was never an indication, at any point in time, or even an inference, that there was any physical abuse or violence targeted toward the child by either parent."

The documents obtained by Eyewitness News show Amanda Smith not meeting court orders. In January, the court granted Smith one unsupervised overnight visit a week, but there were strings attached, with which Smith failed to comply.

And just four days before Jacob was murdered during one of those unsupervised overnight visits with his mother, the court issued a warning to Smith - comply with the court order or lose the right to see her son.

Judge Loyd told Eyewitness News his rulings were based on what Jacob's guardian - Smith's mother - and others, presented in court.

"You would expect the guardian who is in charge of the child, if she detects particular behavior problems or concerns, to bring it to the court's attention," he said.

He also questioned the court-appointed child advocates.

"I don't know the parties were aware of it," Loyd said of Amanda Smith's long history of run-ins with police and mental problems. "The CASA representative had recently been appointed in December, so they really didn't have an opportunity to get up to speed on the case or investigate the case - certainly into the January hearing."

Crim implied that Loyd should have sought input about Smith's unstable behavior before rendering a decision.

"You just can't overlook anything," he said. "You've got to make sure that person is stable."

"There were apparently issues that were starting to occur with regard to bizarre behavior by the mother, as reported by the police departments and other media outlets, that I wasn't aware of...wasn't brought to my attention," Loyd said.

Since Jacob's mother had not complied with recent court orders, it appeared Crim would get full custody of his only child at a hearing scheduled in two weeks.

Jacob would have turned four this coming week.

http://www.wthr.com/story/17051905/judge-defends-visition-decision-for-murdered-boy

 

[Tundratot]

Judge Loyd told Eyewitness News his rulings were based on what Jacob's guardian - Smith's mother - and others, presented in court.

"You would expect the guardian who is in charge of the child, if she detects particular behavior problems or concerns, to bring it to the court's attention," he said.

Well, granted that the guardian in this case was the maternal grandmother, you'd have to know that she is in a bad position. Whether to reveal that her daughter is mentally unstable, whether she can even really see it being too close to the subject . . . And, the father, Crim, he states that the judge knew all this but the judge states he did not. What is in the court documentation?

 

[Dakota]

[video=youtube;zbZNR2FXbwU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbZNR2FXbwU[/video]
​

Fox59 received permission Thursday to listen to a visitation hearing recorded just weeks before Jacob Smith, 3, is believed to have been killed by his mother.

The Jan. 4 hearing was scheduled after Jacob's parents, Amanda Smith and Robert Crim, filed petitions of visitation. The recorded hearing, which was only audio, lasted about 45 minutes.
[...]

Eight weeks before Smith allegedly drowned her son, she told Judge Mark Loyd that her "son’s health and happiness are my main concern. I am not a threat to anyone."

During that hearing, Amanda Smith told the judge she wanted one day and overnight time with Jacob. She suggested noon to the next morning and once a week, unsupervised. She argued Jacob always cried when he left her. She said, "He doesn’t want to leave. He always tells me he loves me and gives me kisses."

Crim had filed to regain custody but Amanda Smith urged the judge to keep Jacob with his guardian. She told the judge she was clean from drugs, that she was going to change mental health providers and that she needed to see a therapist. She argued about instances in her life where she took care of her children, stating she wanted to prove she could "provide healthcare." She painted a picture to the judge that portrayed Crim as a father who was not living up to his responsibilities.
[...]

Jacob’s guardian wasn't concerned about Amanda Smith, though, the guardian was concerned about Crim. Wanda Smith’s attorney told Judge Loyd the guardian was, "frankly torn about dad’s parenting time. She has serious concerns still."

Wanda Smith had reduced Crim’s visitation with Jacob. Her attorney said Crim played too rough with his son and wasn’t taking care of Jacob’s dietary needs. Wanda Smith's attorney told Judge Loyd there wasn't any doubt both parents cared about Jacob.

Crim shared his side of the story, stating he wanted more time with Jacob. He desired to spend Tuesday mornings until 3 p.m. Thursdays, with his son. He also wanted permission to spend time with Jacob Sunday mornings. Crim told that judge that Wanda Smith was scared of Amanda. He said he had done everything the guardian wanted.

"I don’t teach him bad manners at home. I play like any father would, but not rough."

Judge Loyd did not make a decision that day. It took him two weeks. He said Amanda Smith would have at minimum, one unsupervised overnight visit each week. He decided that Crim would have at minimum, one unsupervised visit each week for up to four hours. He also stated in a written document that the guardian could decide whether Jacob’s parents could spend more time with him stating whatever was in the best interest of the child.
[...]

Amanda Smith has not been formally charged in her son’s death.

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/wx...slain-trafalgar-boy-20120301,0,7985671.column

The Johnson County prosecutor has successfully muzzled all police from speaking about a child’s murder.

Prosecutor Brad Cooper made the rare request for a gag order Friday because he did not like information that the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and the Trafalgar Police Department were releasing to the public in the death investigation of Jacob Smith.
[...]

The order specifically prohibits the sheriff’s office, Trafalgar police and any other county police agencies involved in the death investigation from “disseminating, releasing, discussing, and/or commenting on any matter associated with the investigation,” the court document said.

http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/local_story/Murder_in_Trafalgar_Prosecutor_1330759930/

 

[nannyd]

I am just dumbfounded.

Crim said the Johnson County Circuit Court never should have awarded Amanda unsupervised, overnight stays with Jacob because she is mentally ill.

Ya think?? Hindsight is definitely 20/20, isn't it?

She looks like an ax-wielding child murderer, doesn't she? No stereotyping.... she is what she is. One crazy bitch.

As for the judge, I think it's a case of protesting too much. He knows he did the wrong thing.

 

[thatsmallgrl]

A Johnson County judge today sentenced a Trafalgar woman to 55 years in prison in the drowning death of her 3-year-old son.

Amanda Smith, 35, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to the February 2012 murder of her son Jacob.

Johnson Superior Court Judge Cynthia Emkes accepted a plea agreement that called for Smith to serve 55 years in the Department of Correction, cutting off what was lining up to be a lengthy and drawn-out criminal trial.

In court today, Johnson County Prosecutor Brad Cooper said, Smith told the judge that she believed God was in control and directed her to kill her son.

Experts have told the court that Smith is schizophrenic; her attorneys had been preparing an insanity defense, which could have sent her to a state mental hospital instead of prison.

The guilty but mentally ill conviction means Smith will receive treatment in prison, Cooper said.

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/...falgar-mom-gets-years-sons-drowning/15845179/

 

[Muriel Schwenck]

The mere fact of daily crazy 911 calls is enough not to forbid unsupervised visitation. Wasn't that discussed at the hearings?.

Too bad the axe swinging suicide by cop bid failed

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Jacob Smith