Roxanne Shooting Death Case
08221946 - During an argument, Roxanne Smith was shot and killed with her husband, Officer Clayton Smith's duty gun. Officer Smith claimed that their two-year-old son had accidently fired the gun.
08301946 - Police hold Officer Smith for questioning on his wife's death. Detectives were not satisfied with Smith's story on how his wife was killed.
08311946 - Officer Clayton Smith confessed to shooting/killing his wife
09031946 - Officer Clayton Smith arraigned on first-degree murder charges
October 1946 - Officer Clayton Smith's court examination for murder of his wife, Roxanne Smith. Case was bound over to trial.
October 25, 1946 - Roxanne Smith's sister - Mary Anthony - testified at Smith's trial. She testified Officer Smith proposed to her prior to her sister's funeral. The day after Roxanne;s funeral, Mary testified that Officer Smith asked her to "go out and park and make mad love" - which Mary refused.
December 1946 - Officer Smith's trial for murder of his wife, Roxanne Smith
December 03, 1946 - Roxanne's mother, Roxie Anthony testified that she had heard her daughter and Clayton arguing in her home, shortly before the shooting. Roxie stated that she heard her daughter say to Clayton, "You can't do that to me," just moments before she heard the gunshot.
December 05, 1946 - The prosecution read into the court record the statement that Officer Clayton Smith confessed to shooting his wife.
December 07, 1946 - Officer Smith testified at his trial. He claimed that his two-year-old son had fatally shot his wife
December 10, 1946 - Roxanne's two-year-old son was put on the stand. However, he was unable to demonstrate that he was able to fire his father's police revolver. Circuit Court Judge Paul Eger took the child into his chambers and later returned to the bench and informed the jurors that the boy picked up the gun, cocked it, and pulled the trigger three times.
December 11, 1946 - Officer Smith was acquitted of his wife Roxanne's murder after the judge stated that the two-year-old son had demonstrated for him in his chambers that he was capable of handling/firing a gun.
Roxanne's mother - Roxie Anthony - informed police that she had heard Roxanne and Clayton arguing in the upstairs bedroom of her home, shortly before she heard the fatal gunshot that killed her daughter. Roxie also gave the police department a torn shirt that her daughter had been wearing the day of her death.
Roxie also informed police that her daughter Roxanne had brought her infant son downstairs to her, before going back upstairs - she heard more arguing between Roxanne and Clayton, including her daughter yelling at Clayton, "You can't do that to me" - at which point Roxie heard the gun-blast. After hearing the gunshot, Roxie told police that Clayton came downstairs and claimed to her that his two-year-old son had shot his wife/her daughter Roxanne.
Within a week of the shooting, Officer Clayton Smith was arrested and charged with the murder of Roxanne Smith. Officer Smith admitted to shooting/killing Roxanne, to Ingham County Prosecutor Victor Anderson.
Smith later recanted his statement and claimed it was his son who had shot his wife. At trial, Smith said he had admitted to murdering his wife to the prosecutor, in order to protect his two-year-old son.
At trial, the three-year-old [who had been in the care/custody of Officer Smith's family, since the death of his mother] was unable to demonstrate on the bench/before jurors that he could fire his father's police officer revolver.
Circuit Court Judge Paul Eger took the child into his chambers and later returned to the bench and informed the jurors that the boy picked up the gun, cocked it, and pulled the trigger three times.
Officer Clayton was thus acquitted of the murder of his wife, Roxanne Smith.
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