‘Very tragic, just horrible:’ Bend man arrested on murder charge in killing of his mother at her NE Bend apartment
(Update: adding video, comments from neighbor, DA Steve Gunnels)
Joshua Smith was convicted of assault in 2018 for hitting his mother, Janice Smith, with a rock
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A 40-year-old Bend man has been arrested on a murder charge in the killing Wednesday of his 59-year-old mother, who he previously was convicted on an assault charge for hitting her in the head with a rock, police reported and court records showed.
Shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday, officers responded to a reported domestic disturbance at the Legacy Landing Apartments in the 2000 block of NE Tucson Way, police Communications Manager Sheila Miller said Thursday.
They arrived to find a critically injured woman, Janice Marie Smith, in the apartment where she lived, Miller said. Officers performed CPR, but she died at the scene.
Officers also detained her son, Joshua Lawrence Smith, at the scene. He first was taken to the Bend Police headquarters, then to St. Charles Bend and later booked into the Deschutes County Jail on a second-degree murder charge.
Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels said the woman apparently died of blunt force trauma.
While limited in the information he could provide early in the investigation, Gunnels told NewsChannel 21 there was a "violent physical interaction" between the mother and son, who both lived in the apartment.
"There was an act of deadly physical violence directed toward Ms. Smith," he added.
An initial one-count charging document was filed, although jail logs showed he also was booked on a charge of first-degree aggravated harassment. Gunnels said the final charges by indictment will be pending the grand jury.
Smith was arraigned on the murder charge during a brief court hearing Thursday afternoon and Judge Alycia Herriott ordered him to continued to be held without bail. He's due back in court in a week on an expected formal indictment.
Legacy Landing resident Mark W. has lived in the same apartment complex as Janice Smith for three years. He noticed her son was acting oddly on Wednesday.
"I seen him yesterday. Unfortunately, that right before, right after it happened, he was acting extremely strange. So I knew he was tweaked out," he said, adding "Nobody would ever think that this would happen."
Mark said Janice was a happy and outgoing person who tried to seek help for her son's mental and drug problems several times.
"She's a very nice lady and didn't deserve this." he said.
The neighbor also said Joshua Smith is schizophrenic, describing him as quiet but aggressive when on drugs. Bend Police were not able to share his medical information to the public.
Court records show Joshua Smith was convicted in 2018 of second-degree assault, a Class B felony, when he was listed as living at the Ariel South Apartments on SE Tempest Drive. The charge constituted domestic violence and alleged that on July 23, 2018, Smith injured Janice Marie Smith by hitting her in the head with a rock.
Smith was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years’ probation. The court file indicated it was "not a significant injury," and "a deadly weapon was not used. ... A sentence of probation will be more effective than prison in reducing recidivism. A sentence of probation will serve to better protect society."
In October 2018, Smith pleaded guilty to third-degree theft, a Class C misdemeanor, and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
In 2019, Smith's probation was revoked, and he was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years’ post-prison supervision.
In February 2019, the last previous criminal charge in his court file, Smith pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced concurrently to six months in prison.
The neighbor told us, "I'm not going to condemn her son. I know he had drug and mental issues. It's very tragic, just horrible."
According to Joshua Smith's Facebook page, he attended North Eugene High School. It's not clear when he moved to Bend, but his neighbors say he wasn't employed.
