Left: Andres Torres Jr. Right: Amanda Soultz (Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for Fayette County).
A 32-year-old Indiana woman will spend at least 15 years behind bars for her role in the murder of a West Virginia woman over a $50 watch.
Amanda Don Soultz, of Elkhart, Indiana, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the Feb. 16, 2023, death of 41-year-old Michelle Ann Smith. As part of the plea deal, Soultz will receive a life sentence and be eligible for parole after 15 years, the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for Fayette County, West Virginia, said in a press release.
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According to prosecutors, Soultz and her co-defendant, Andres M. Torres Jr., traveled to Fayette County from Indiana in late January 2023. Soultz used to live in the area and knew Smith. Torres was in need of cash and pawned a watch to Smith for $50. Smith then put the watch up for sale on Facebook. This apparently upset Torres.
Soultz and Torres originally claimed they had dinner and drinks at the victim’s home on Deepwater Mountain Road on the night in question. But the investigation revealed something much more sinister. Torres asked for the watch back but Smith claimed she had already sold it. This “enraged” Torres, prosecutors said. He and Soultz found handcuffs in Smith’s bedroom and restrained her. Torres then began punching and pistol-whipping Smith as the suspects began searching the home for the watch.
They eventually found the watch. Even angrier, Torres shot Smith in the head with a .45 caliber gun and left her for dead, according to prosecutors. Smith’s adult son, concerned that he hadn’t heard from his mother, went to her home about 12 hours later and found her still alive suffering from the gunshot wound. Smith died at the hospital more than a month later, on March 31, 2023.
Torres and Soultz fled the area but cops arrested them. Torres admitted to shooting Smith, claiming she “disrespected” him. Soultz told cops she helped Torres kill Smith, but only out of fear. But the suspects continued to scheme together while in jail, according to prosecutors. They allegedly hatched a plan to get married and for Torres to take the fall for murder and for Soultz to go free. But, seeing as jail calls are recorded, authorities put the kibosh on that plan.
Circuit Judge Paul M. Blake, Jr. will sentence Soultz on Feb. 11. A jury convicted Torres on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, robbery and conspiracy following a three-day trial in October. He will sentenced on Jan. 30.
