|
Shawn Smith
Shawn Smith, was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather. He passed away at the the age 63, of Chancellor, Alabama, passed away Saturday, December 10, 2022 at his home after a long battle with Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Shawn's many years of service with Cold Case Foundation were marked by his dogged commitment to the cases he worked and his tireless and selfless service. He exemplified CCF's commitment to Victims and their families. His expertise, professional, and technical insight provided valuable contributions to every case he participated in. |
Shawn was a 44-year law enforcement veteran. He retired from the Montgomery, Police Department, Alabama. During his last 14 years at MPD, he was assigned to the Robbery/Homicide Bureau. During that time, he was promoted to Detective, Corporal, Sergeant and Lieutenant. During his last six years, he was the Commander of the Homicide Unit which he was tasked with forming. During his time with the Montgomery Police Department, he was involved in over 350 murder investigations, several hundred suicides, and accidental or undetermined death investigations. He also investigated “In-custody” death investigations and officer involved shooting investigations which were worked in partnership with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation. During his time with MPD he also worked on a part time basis for the State Medical Examiner’s Office where he assisted the Medical Examiner with he assisted the Medical Examiner with post-mortem examinations. He was also an adjunct instructor on Death/Homicide Investigation at both the Montgomery Police Academy and the Alabama State Trooper Academy.
Shawn was employed with a the Alabama Attorney General’s Office as the primary Cold Case Investigator for that agency. He covered all 67 counties in the State of Alabama. The primary focus of the Cold Case Unit is to review unsolved or unresolved cold case sexual assaults and homicides throughout the State. Since 2009, he had obtained convictions on 14 individuals on over 60 criminal charges in cases ranging from various sexual assaults, arson, robbery, kidnapping, attempted murder and murder in cases dating back to 1985. Shawn was also involved with his Agency's provision of training throughout the State of Alabama to federal, state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies where he had focused on methodology and investigative strategies in investigating violent crime cold cases as well as death and homicide investigations.
His duties involved traveling to law enforcement agencies across the state and conducting research into any unsolved or unresolved sex crimes, sexually motivated homicides and other types of homicides. This required building relationships with each agency he worked with. Evidence generally will have probative biological evidence that can be submitted or in some cases re-submitted to Forensic Sciences for analysis. He conducted comprehensive reviews of cases to include physical examination of evidence and parsing what evidence can be tested or re-tested. Agency case files are reviewed in detail to determine what actions need to be taken and determine what information has previously been developed. This includes working with and reviewing case files from multiple agencies. This work also involved locating and interviewing victims, witnesses and suspects and determining when and if charges should be pursued, preparing comprehensive reports pertaining to these investigations and working either independently or as a team member. Additionally, he testified in Grand Jury, District and Circuit Court as needed to move the case forward through the legal system.
Shawn was employed with a the Alabama Attorney General’s Office as the primary Cold Case Investigator for that agency. He covered all 67 counties in the State of Alabama. The primary focus of the Cold Case Unit is to review unsolved or unresolved cold case sexual assaults and homicides throughout the State. Since 2009, he had obtained convictions on 14 individuals on over 60 criminal charges in cases ranging from various sexual assaults, arson, robbery, kidnapping, attempted murder and murder in cases dating back to 1985. Shawn was also involved with his Agency's provision of training throughout the State of Alabama to federal, state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies where he had focused on methodology and investigative strategies in investigating violent crime cold cases as well as death and homicide investigations.
His duties involved traveling to law enforcement agencies across the state and conducting research into any unsolved or unresolved sex crimes, sexually motivated homicides and other types of homicides. This required building relationships with each agency he worked with. Evidence generally will have probative biological evidence that can be submitted or in some cases re-submitted to Forensic Sciences for analysis. He conducted comprehensive reviews of cases to include physical examination of evidence and parsing what evidence can be tested or re-tested. Agency case files are reviewed in detail to determine what actions need to be taken and determine what information has previously been developed. This includes working with and reviewing case files from multiple agencies. This work also involved locating and interviewing victims, witnesses and suspects and determining when and if charges should be pursued, preparing comprehensive reports pertaining to these investigations and working either independently or as a team member. Additionally, he testified in Grand Jury, District and Circuit Court as needed to move the case forward through the legal system.