Crooked River Ranch man arraigned in mother’s murder

(Update: More comments from Leriche)

A Crooked River Ranch man accused of killing his mother at their home last week was arraigned on a murder charge Friday in Jefferson County Circuit Court.

Gavin David Smith, 29, appeared by video from the Jefferson County Jail with his attorney and was arraigned on one count of murder, listed in District Attorney Steve Leriche’s initial charging document, called an information, which was filed Friday morning.

In the document, Leriche said Smith killed his mother, Gayla Dawn Smith, 65, between last Friday and Sunday, when her body was discovered in the home where he also had been living intermittently, according to Sheriff Jim Adkins.

Smith looked down at times as Circuit Judge Daniel Ahern read his rights to him. When asked if his name was spelled correctly in Leriche’s document, he told the judge he goes by Smith, not Smith-Brown, as court and jail records showed and officials had advised earlier when he was being sought and named as a suspect.

The court appearance came one day after Smith surrendered to police in the Portland suburb of Tualatin following a brief standoff. He was returned to Jefferson County later Thursday and remains held without bail at the Madras jail.

Leriche told NewsChannel 21 that a two-day grand jury hearing will begin next Wednesday and likely finish on Thursday morning. He said the grand jury could add more charges in a formal indictment.

When asked if he plans to seek the death penalty in this killing, Leriche replied: “The death penalty can only be sought if there are charges of aggravated murder. So right now, that is not a possibility. Whether or not there will be evidence to support aggravated murder — it’s possible but not likely.”

The district attorney said he could not discuss a motive, cause of death or evidence found in the home because it could affect the jury pool.

The judge also granted Leriche’s request to seal an 80-page probable cause affidavit filed with the court. In the motion, the DA said disclosing the contents “could jeopardize the ongoing investigation.”

Leriche said his office is trying to determine if Smith had a mental health issue.

“The state will be looking at it from talking to friends, relatives, family members, and try to find out everything that’s been going in his life and everything that he was involved with, and find out as much about him in every way possible,” he said. “And often times, that type of investigation reveals information about the subject’s mental health.”

Leriche also complimented Tualatin police, saying it’s like a “needle in a haystack in a huge metropolitan area to find one car.”

“They took a situation that sounded like it was tense and brought it to a peaceful conclusion,” he said.

The DA also thanked the investigators and police who are part of the Major Incident Crime Team for putting in numerous hours and chasing leads to help capture Smith.

Smith is due for arraignment on the expected indictment next Thursday at 1 p.m.