Death of 57 year old ruled homicide more than a half-century after assault

There is a ruling in the death of 57-year-old Sandra Smith.

On January 18, 2011, the Sacramento Police Department was notified that the death of Smith was the result of injuries sustained back in 1954 and thus a homicide.

The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office advised that on January 30, 2010 Sandra Smith had died from blunt force injuries to her head that she sustained in April of 1954. Smith’s injuries in 1954 left her disabled and under long-term care since that time.

Detectives had difficulty determining what occurred during the initial assault, information regarding the suspect, and where the suspect currently was. Things became more difficult because, at the time of the injuries, North Sacramento had its own separate Police Department, so records were not available.

Detectives decided to check old newspaper articles from the time frame of the initial assault. They found a Sacramento Union article dated April 19, 1954 indicating six month old Sandra Smith had been taken to the hospital with injuries sustained by her father Andrew Dean Smith.

Per the article, it was determined that Andrew Smith had hit his daughter until she was unconscious. It appears the father was arrested for the assault and convicted serving six months for the crime. Detectives were able to determine that Andrew Dean Smith died in 1980.

Leave a Reply