L-R: Dianna Brice, Justin Smith (Upper Darby Police Department).
For years, authorities apparently saw neither hide nor hair of Pennsylvania man Justin Smith, 26, who allegedly shot his pregnant girlfriend Dianna Brice, 21, in the head multiple times and left her body in a wooded area in Philadelphia.
Cops say that changed on Sunday, when officers in Atlanta, Georgia, caught Smith driving a vehicle with an expired registration, according to Philadelphia ABC affiliate WPVI. Smith allegedly tried fleeing, but police eventually caught him when he was on foot. He faces extradition back to Pennsylvania on charges in connection with Brice’s death.
According to the Upper Darby Police Department in Pennsylvania, Brice was last seen with Smith on March 30, 2021, at K Laundry , in the borough of Lansdowne in Delaware County. She eventually turned up dead in a wooded area in southwest Philadelphia, in a location that was just a short drive from where Smith’s car was found burning.
Brice was just 14 weeks pregnant. Her mother has reportedly said that the child was Smith’s.
Up to now, the only person to face any legal responsibility for Brice’s death has been Tylydiah Garnett. Prosecutors said she helped Smith get rid of the body and evade capture, according to Philadelphia radio station KYW. Garnett admitted in court to driving Smith to Florida.
Garnett reportedly pleaded guilty to arson, abuse of corpse, and hindering apprehension. In her September 2023 sentencing hearing, she said she helped Smith because she feared he would kill her and her loved ones, according to KYW.
Judge Rosemarie Defino sentenced her to 11 1/2 months to 23 months in prison, to be followed by five years of probation.
“She let him get away,” Defino reportedly said. “She needs to go to jail.”
Now it is Smith’s turn, as far as authorities are concerned.
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