Left: Ash Smith (GoFundMe). Right: Wyatt Storm Belcher (Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office).
An Oregon man who fatally shot a mother of five children at a drum circle event in 2022 has been convicted by a jury after one hour of deliberations.
In a press release, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office announced that Wyatt Storm Belcher, 28, was sentenced by a judge Monday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Belcher was convicted by a jury on Thursday of second-degree murder after jurors deliberated for one hour, according to The Oregonian.
Belcher was found guilty of fatally shooting Ash Smith, a 31-year-old mother who was attending a drum circle event in Portland on May 8, 2022.
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Court documents obtained by local CBS affiliate KOIN stated that after the crowd that was gathered for the drum circle began to disperse, multiple witnesses heard a loud bang then saw a woman — later identified as Smith — fall to the ground. Onlookers stayed to render aid to Smith, who had a gunshot wound to the back of her neck.
Deputy District Attorney Devin Franklin said in a press release that was obtained by McClatchy News, “While [Smith] didn’t deserve Wyatt Belcher’s senseless ambush, she did deserve the compassion that the witnesses on scene showed her during her final moment. Three of those individuals had the strength to testify during this trial despite being deeply and personally affected by what they witnessed.”
Portland police soon located Belcher after several witnesses gave them a description of the gunman, who still had his gun on him. The DA’s office said in its press release that Belcher “racked the slide on the gun and asked if [Smith] was dead then asked the witness if he wanted to be shot as well.”
The shooting appeared to be completely random. Police said Belcher and Smith had no known relationship.
According to reporting by KOIN, Smith had been struggling with homelessness at the time of her death. A witness who spoke to the outlet soon after the incident said that she saw Smith “going around asking people for $6” in the moments leading up to her death, adding, “she didn’t have anything to take.”
Family said on a GoFundMe page to raise money for Smith’s funeral that she was “given a difficult hand in life,” but “was a good hearted person.”
Belcher, whose trial was delayed several times and was declared unfit for trial at one point, was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and schizoaffective disorder, according to court documents obtained by KOIN. He was later deemed fit to stand trial.
