Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - 'Walmart monster' convicted sex predator kidnaps, assaults 8-yr-old girl from popular superstore

Episode Date: February 19, 2018

The same Florida jury that quickly decided Donald Smith was guilty of kidnapping, murdering and raping 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle must now decide if the convicted predator will get the death penalty for his crimes. Nancy Grace looks at the case against Smith with guests including victims' advocate Marc Klaas, crime scene investigator Sheryl McCollum, child welfare law expert Ashley Willcott, syndicated radio host David Mack, and forensics expert Karen Smith. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace on Sirius XM Triumph, Channel 132. In the last hours, a veteran medical examiner breaks down in tears, crying on the stand as graphic autopsy photos of a little girl, Cherish Periwinkle, are shown in court. And it could all have been stopped. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. An eight-year-old Florida girl is kidnapped,

sex molested, and murdered out of a Walmart superstore. Her mom bearing the guilt of letting it happen according to her detractors. But when you hear the whole story, it's not anyone's fault except the perpetrator, 61-year-old Donald Smith. Joining me, syndicated talk show host David Mack, Ashley Wilcott, veteran child advocate, Mark Klass, renowned victims advocate, and Cheryl McCollum, director of the Cold Case Institute. Joining me also, forensics expert Karen Smith. I want to go first out to Cheryl McCollum. Cheryl, this case, I remember when it happened. The mother is in like, I think it was a family dollar or general dollar,

and she's trying to buy her little girl some school clothes, and they're going through it saying, okay, we can't afford this, we cannot afford that. I, as a devotee of the Dollar Tree, I know what she's talking about. So you're in there and you're looking for the best deal of what she could afford to buy her children. A guy comes up and says, hey, I'm about to go meet my wife over at Walmart, and I hear you guys, look, I know you don't have enough money to buy the school clothes. I'll pitch in. Let me help you, and so they end up, they all go to the Walmart super store, and this guy, the kindness of his heart and his wife's heart, is going to buy some clothes for

these kids, all right? Then, as they're shopping and all that, and I've watched the video a million times, Cheryl McCollum, I see him in the video, although there are other children and the mom there. He keeps looking at Cherish, the 8-year-old girl. He keeps talking to her as they're looking at shoes and clothes. Then he says to the mom, hey, there's a McDonald's right up front within the superstore. I think it was a McDonald's. There's hamburgers and stuff up there. Chairs, come with me. We'll go get some food for everybody else and bring it back while you guys shop. You know, the mom's been with them for a period of time now. I mean, it's within the store. It's within walking distance,

in the store. I mean, you know, those superstores have barbers It's within walking distance. In the store. I mean, you know those super stores have barbershops. They have food. They have this. They have that. Salons. Everything. You can see on the video where he walks out the front door with Cherish.

There was no wife coming to meet them. That was a big lie. He zoned in on Cherish Periwinkle, raped her brutally in his car, and then just discards her body face down, submerged in a ditch not far away. They find her body there. When they find him, he's covered in scratches where this little 8-year-old girl fought for her life. I personally interviewed another young girl and her mother that he tried to lure at a McDonald's before this to try to get the little girl in the car. And the mom scared him away in the same white van. Same one, Cheryl. Nancy, this guy had been out of prison three weeks. And the mom scared him away in the same white van.

Same one, Cheryl. Nancy, this guy had been out of prison three weeks. He had 40 years worth of crime. This guy fixated on Cherish. He made his mind up what he was going to do to her. And he figured out a way to get her alone away from her mother. It is absolutely horrifying. I want to go now to Mark Klass.

Mark, how do you think this whole thing went down? Well, it went down pretty easy. I mean, Cheryl's testimony was spot on. He knew exactly what it was he wanted to do. He manipulated the mother into trusting him, even if only for a moment, and he then kidnapped the little girl and committed heinous crimes against her. But it begs the question, Nancy, what in the world was this character with a 40-year criminal history of heinous and violent crimes doing on the street in the first place? It makes absolutely no sense.

Absolutely. You know, I've listened a million times to this, but listen to Cherish's mother. When she tries to find Cherish, she realizes she's not there. She goes berserk and dials 911. Listen. 911, Robinson. I'm at Walmart. I'm going to try to take my daughter's been taken. What do you mean?

Taken by a stranger. I can't find her. Okay, ma'am, how old is your daughter? Eight and a half. And you say you're at the Walmart on Lynn Turner? Yes, I am. Okay, where did you last see her at? Walmart.

I met him in today at Dollar General. He saw that I was struggling to buy them some clothes. He drove us here to buy us some clothes. And the only reason I went with him because he said his wife was going to be here. Because I told him I don't take rides with strangers. Okay, ma'am. What's your daughter's name? Her name's Cherish.

Cherish? Yes. And her last name? Periwinkle with a P. Can you spell that for me please? P-E-R-O-Y-W-I-N-K-L-E. And is she a white female, black female? Excuse me? Is she a white or black female? She's a white girl. What color? Go ahead. I don't remember what clothes she's wearing because I'm panicking right now. I'm trying to look pathetic. Okay. And she was last seen with this man? Yes. He said he was going to McDonald's and he hasn't been there because the store is closed right now. Okay. Is he a white man or a black man? A white man. He's got white short hair and he's got dark eyebrows. You said dark short hair? No, he's got white hair and dark eyebrows. I had a strange feeling about him when I first met him.

He took her to the dressing room twice, and I was hoping that she would be okay. And I was looking at the shoes, and I didn't want him to think that I was overly protective, freaking out. But now they're not here. And I find it very odd because he knew that. Okay, ma'am. What kind of vehicle does he drive? It's a white fan. But do you remember any stickers or anything on the side of the van? Anything that you can remember at all? Do they have tenant windows or anything? And then we've the side of the van? Anything that you can remember at all? Did it have tenant windows or anything? I know he's got carpet in the van.

I didn't take a good look. Sorry. You said what? I didn't take a good look at the van. Okay. Do you remember what? Did you see any tag on it or anything? No. Was it a Florida tag?

No, I didn't look at that. I feel like a fool. Okay, can you remember what he had on? No, I don't remember anything because I'm panicking right now. Okay, ma'am, what's your name? My name is Rain, R-A-Y-N-E. He said his name is Dawn. He said he was supposed to meet his wife here, and his wife never showed up, and I couldn't figure out why. His wife didn't even show up at Dollar General. And he told you that y'all were going to meet his wife at the Walmart? Yes.

First she was supposed to show up at Dollar General, and then he was going to meet with her at Walmart. And we've been here probably two hours and she didn't show up and i had this cart full of clothes that he said he was going to pay for with a hundred dollar gift card and i excuse me i i had a bad feeling i thought well i feel like pinching myself because this is too good to be true. So I got to the checkout. He's not here.

Cherish isn't here. She's eight. She's eight years old. She's supposed to go to California in the morning. Who the plane? And he knows, as I told him this, he knew when the store was closing. He had a bad feeling about him. Okay. How long have you been looking for you? When was the last time you saw your daughter? How long ago? About half an hour ago.

You've been looking for her for a half an hour? Yes. There's nobody in the store. And he knew the store was closing. He said he was going to McDonald's. She went with him. I should have told her to stay with me. She keeps saying over and over, Dave Mack, syndicated talk show host, joining us this morning. She keeps saying, why in the world would he take my little girl? Why would he take my little girl?

Rain Periwinkle says it over and over and over. She reportedly has her head down in court crying as she hears her own words on 911 telling a dispatcher, I feel like a fool. She couldn't even remember what Smith was wearing or what his license plate was. She was so out of her mind. And the cops, David Mack, think this is some kind of a weird custody maneuver on her part, and they delay David Mack. Nancy, there are so many sad things. When you talked about the mother not being on that 911 call, one of the things that really got me during the testimony was she wanted to believe that Donald Smith was what he pretended

to be, somebody who was there to help. This is a single mom. She's going through a tough time and doesn't have enough money for clothes for her kids. And here comes this man promising to be the kind of person that she could trust. And she said, when the prosecutor said, do you want to believe him? She said, very much so. That's why there's such pain and anguish when you hear her call that 911. She wanted to believe, but she knew in her heart that she just couldn't, but she did. That's why there's so much pain. That's why there's so much frustration.

But it has already been mentioned. Why was this man on the street and able to do this? You know, I just keep looking over and over at the video of her being led out like a lamb to the slaughter. An eight-year-old little girl being dragged out by what he's now being called the Walmart Monster. The mom thinks this killer was a good Samaritan. Joining me right now, Ashley Wilcott, child advocate.

Ashley, I'm just, I'm sick. You and I both have little girls about this age. And let me say this, Nancy, regardless what you do or don't do as a parent, because some people have said, oh, it's the mother's fault. No, it's not. No one deserves this. No one should have to go through this happening to their child. This man will always be a perp. There is no treatment. There is no fixing. There is no changing. This man will always prey on children. I'm looking at the photos with me, a renowned forensics expert, Karen Smith. We have worked together on many occasions before.

I'm looking, Karen, at pictures of Cherish Periwinkle. She's just gorgeous. And I'm looking at pictures of her mother crying in court. And I'm looking at pictures of this. crying in court. And I'm looking at pictures of this. I mean, he's straight from hell. He's the devil's minion. I'm looking at him. And you should see the way he's all dressed up.

He's got a pale purple button-down shirt with a matching tie and trousers, dress slacks. And he's perfectly manicured and groomed. He's wearing his eye spectacles up on top of his head. He looks like somebody's grandfather. I mean, Karen Smith, you have a very unique insight into this case. What can you tell me? This case happened about a month after I retired from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. I can tell you that had I stayed, I likely would have been pulled into some part of this investigation, and by the grace of God, I wasn't, because this is one that every investigator involved in this, the prosecutors and everyone, is going to carry with them for the remainder of their days. When I heard that Dr. Rao, the medical examiner, broke down on the stand, I've worked with Dr. Rao

on dozens and dozens of cases. She is a strong-willed woman. She is an outstanding medical examiner. I ask you to explain to the jury what is reflected here. Okay so when the scalp is reflected back you have an area of hemorrhage right there. I'm sorry where? On the left side of her scalp right there. And what how is that caused Dr. Rao? Blunt trauma. I'm going to show you two more photographs of the dissection taken of Chair Shapiro-Winkle's throat. Will you first tell the jury what you saw when you dissected her throat? Yes, so what we do is, I'm sorry, I have to take a break.

Can I just have like five minutes? When I heard that, I knew how bad this was. I know all of the investigators, and God bless them. You know, it got to be getting late, all right? They were shopping for school clothes, and it was getting toward 10 o'clock at night, and Smith's so-called wife had never appeared. Cherish's mom, Rain, says her daughters needed to go home. They hadn't had dinner, and that is when Smith tells Rain he would go to a McDonald's inside the store and get cheeseburgers. Cherish, eight years old, followed along

and was never seen alive again. The mom says less than 20 minutes later, she realized the McDonald's in the Walmart was actually closed. She started panicking. Her cell phone didn't work. Her daughter had dunked it in the water to try to clean it.

So she started screaming for help when she realized her daughter was gone. I mean, Mark Klass, you know what it feels like to realize your daughter is gone. It's beyond that because she, for some period of time, cried out for help. She wanted somebody to help her get her daughter. And at Walmart, they ignored her. They ignored her until somebody finally loaned her a phone so that she could call 911. This is such a monumental betrayal. He betrayed this woman. He betrayed this little girl. She's left with the guilt of realizing that the one thing she always told her daughter, that she would be there to protect her, was something that she was unable to do, something that she couldn't do. You see this poor woman on the stand breaking down time and again and again and again. It's just another example of the power of evil and how one bad apple can absolutely destroy lives all around. You know, David Mack, syndicated talk show host, joining us.

The mom's testifying. I was yelling, call Mack, syndicated talk show host, joining us. The mom's testifying. I was yelling, call 911, call 911. My daughter's been taken, and no one would help me right away. About 40 minutes later, after she realizes her daughter is gone, an employee finally hands her a cell phone, and she calls 911. Dave Mack, why didn't Walmart use their phone to call police? You know, Nancy, I've been trying to figure that out for the longest and all I could think of, and you know, panic parents, maybe she wasn't, maybe people just didn't take her seriously.

You mentioned the police response and everything else. I'm trying to get my hands wrapped around this, but it took time for her to get from where she realized that her daughter was not coming out for McDonald's to the point where she got frantic. And that's why all I can think of is that maybe she wasn't expressing herself in a way that made people realize there was a real emergency going on. Maybe she was, I don't know, Nancy. Well, I think a mom running through the store screaming call 9-1-1 my daughter's gone cheryl mccollum i think that would be enough of a signal right

you would think nancy you would think 20 people in that store would have called but they didn't nancy the worst part is even when they finally got to 9-1-1 the call was put out as a missing person, not a child abduction. So that meant less officers were put on the road immediately to go into action to search for her, to put the bolo out on the van. So it was a perfect storm of just mistake after mistake after mistake of people that failed this child. You know, this is what I know about Smith. He had been released from jail three weeks before Cherish was murdered. He did 438 days on felony charges of child abuse. That's a little over one year on child abuse.

And get this, unlawful impersonation of a public employee now this is what he did he posed as a child welfare worker and got a little girl on the phone and started asking her sexually explicit questions that is screwed up mark class i don't understand nancy how evil is allowed to continue to proliferate we knew what this guy was he had the history he had demonstrated it time and time and time again yet they put him back out onto the street it's a we're in a situation now where we're not holding criminals accountable for a variety of reasons and based on a variety of laws. Victims have no rights. Innocent little girls have no rights.

All of the rights go towards the criminals, and they're allowed to continue in a turnstile system of justice that regurgitates them on the street time after time after time to commit ever-increasing and increasing and ever worse crimes against innocent citizens. He shouldn't have been on the street. This guy is the embodiment of evil. It's just killing me. It's killing me. I mean, I gave you that example, but his criminal history goes back to the 70s, related to lewd and lascivious conduct. He's a registered sex offender since he was convicted in 93 in Duval County for attempted kidnapping and selling obscene materials. Doctors even determined he met the criteria of a violent sex predator. He did prison time. He was ordered to get treatment. And then in this 2009 incident,

asking the little girl sex questions on the phone. It's the perfect storm. He gets out three weeks later. He's there at the family dollar. Cherish is there. Cherish mom has, on her own with her other children, Cherish Mom and Dad have been in a lifetime of custody battle over the girl. They're fighting. And so when the cops get the 911 call, they go, oh, this is just some custody BS. This has something to do with the custody battle. I mean, nothing, Ashley Wilcott, could have been further from the truth. No, Nancy. And not only that, you know what happens when we assume, any of us, what's that do to us? They should never have made that assumption. And it's amazing. I see this time and time again with people not reporting to DFACS or law enforcement. When you see a mother, like

you said, running through the store, things are, you know, my child's missing, somebody's taken my child. People have got to pay attention and take basic responsibility, report it, call it in. Police don't get to have the discretion to say, oh, it's a missing child or, oh, an abducted child. If a mother says someone has taken my child, that's an abduction treated accordingly take a listen to what prosecutors state in their opening statement her little sisters, from all she knew to save him as well. She spent the last petrifying hours of her life with him. He gagged her. He raped her. He sodomized her.

And then he strangled her. He gagged her with such force, her gums and her nostrils bled. He strangled her with such force, her eyeballs bled. Cherish did not die quickly, and she did not die easily. In fact, her was a brutal and torture death. After he killed her, he pulled her little lifeless body through the woods, pushed it under the water, forced it under a tree and took asphalt, bricks and debris and weighed her down. Because

he planned for no one to find her. But as he learned, things did not go according to his plans. He was caught. She was found. And though not in that time to save her young life,

in enough time to collect and gather the incriminating evidence of his guilt. Evidence on her body and in her body that would tell us, and now will tell you, the grim truth of her horrific death. Let me pause and thank our partner making our podcast today and our investigation possible. It's LegalZoom. You know, small business is the big hot topic right now, and that means National Small Business Month at LegalZoom comes at just the right time. Whether you're just starting out or you already have a business, 2018 presents a very unique opportunity. New tax laws include the biggest changes for business owners in the last 30 years, And LegalZoom can help you understand what that

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A lot of people are blaming the mother. They're saying you should never have let her walk off with a guy, even if you think they're a good Samaritan, that you don't know. You know, out to you, Cheryl McCollum, blaming the mom. Yeah, I don't think I would let my child go with somebody I just met. I mean, I know I wouldn't. But blaming the mom is not the answer. The mom did not murder her child, Cheryl.

Blaming the mom is absolutely the wrong call. There's only one person that is responsible for what happened to Cherish. And that is the man on trial, Mr. Smith. Now next time I tell you something else, you and I say it all the time. A lot of times, the person that ends up hurting your child is somebody already

in your house. People that make their mind up that they're going to hurt a child could date you, could be related to you, could live next door to you, or like this person, be a complete stranger. It's not the family's fault. It's not Cherish's fault. It's not her mama's fault. It's Mr. Smith's fault. Take a listen to Cherish's mother. This is heartbreaking on the stand. Ma'am, why did you feel okay to let Cherish walk through McDonald's with the defendant? If he would have asked me if he could take her, I would have said no.

But because McDonald's is inside Walmart with people around, I knew she would never leave, leave my side. Well, you've seen the photograph, the photograph in the state's exhibit here. Did you know and believe that there were surveillance cameras in the Walmart? Yes, I did. You knew that McDonald's was in the Walmart, right? Yes. Did you feel that if Cherish went to the McDonald's with him inside the Walmart that she would be safe? Yes. Had you known that they were going to leave the store, would you have let Cherish leave the store with the defendant? No. Did he ever ask you, can Cherish come with me to leave the store? No. No.

Would you have ever let your child leave the store and leave the Walmart with this defendant? No. You thought they were just going to get cheeseburgers? Yes. After they walk off, what do you do? I went to the shoe section because my five-year-old, Destiny, wanted a pair of shoes a bigger size did you continue to shop for the girls and look at clothes and things of that nature i was just looking at

the shoes and then i started to walk to the front of the store had you heard an announcement about the store would be closing? Yes. And what time was the Walmart actually closing that night? 11 o'clock. So did you gather up your kids and take your purchases or the items that you were looking to purchase and go towards the front? Yes. Did you see Cherish anywhere in the store? No. Did you see the defendant, Donald Smith, anywhere in the store? No. Did you look for him? Yes. What did you do to look for him? I quickened my pace and I looked through every aisle at the register.

There was no one there. Could you find Cherish? No. How did that make you feel? I started to panic. Did you look at the Walmart to see if they were at the Walmart? They weren't there. What about the McDonald's at the front of the store?

I went to the McDonald's. Were they at the McDonald's? No. Did your panic start to become worse? Yes. Could you find your daughter and this defendant anywhere in that store? No. At some point, did you seek help from the Walmart employees and try to call the police?

Yes, I was yelling, calling 911. My daughter's been taken and no one would help me. Now, this is a real twist of justice. Thank you, Mr. Smith. Earlier, your attorneys had indicated that they may want to have some discussion with the court and then have some cross-examination of this witness. But your attorneys told me now that you wish for them not to do any cross-examination of this witness but your attorneys told me now that you wish for them not to do any cross-examination of this witness is that correct that's correct do you understand there will not be another opportunity for them to cross-examine her do you understand that

and you understand of course as i've told the jury you're not you and your attorneys you're not required to do anything you're not required to cross-examine any witness do you understand that and that's clearly how you wish to proceed You're not required to do anything. You're not required to cross-examine any witness. Do you understand that? Yes, ma'am. And that's clearly how you wish to proceed? I don't want to do anything she doesn't have to do. Okay. Okay, so you don't want any cross-examination. No, ma'am.

And it's clear on the record your age. You're 61, is that correct? We've gone over this before. You've got a work history. You've got an education history. You've understood everything that's going on in the courtroom before making this decision, correct? All right. I do find that Mr. Smith has freely and voluntarily advised his counsel that he wishes no cross-examination of this witness. To mark class, the defense is saying, oh, we did not cross-examine Cherish's mother because she was so upset. That is BS. They wanted her off the stand as quickly as they could get her off the stand because the jury started crying and getting upset listening to her. Now they're trying to act like they're the good guy in this scenario.

No, that is BS, Mark Glass. Well, yeah, and I think to give a little perspective and a little context to this, this woman, as bad as a mistake that she made, and there's nobody that questions that at all, she's now living out a life sentence. She'll never spend another day when she doesn't realize what happened and the mistakes that she made. And certainly this is not something that this poor woman who has struggled for so long deserves. This has to go back on the perpetrator. It has to go back on a system that allowed him to regurgitate and commit and commit and commit

to the point that a little girl is dead. You know, according to bystanders, they say nobody noticed. It looked like a grandfather and a granddaughter. And that is what the lawyer trying the case said as well. And if you look at it, it does look like that no one had any reason to suspect anything was wrong. To Ashley Wilcott, joining me, veteran trial lawyer and child advocate, what was the condition of Cherish's body when it was found, faces down in murky mud and water? Explain. Oh, it was horrible. And so when the police did find her, she'd been hit in the head.

She'd been raped. And here's the part that gets to me. She was wearing a top with fruit on it. So you can really envision this young, vulnerable eight-year-old in the mud, in the water. He's wet up to his waist. So you can only imagine what he did to her in the water. Beaten, bruised, knocked in head, awful conditions. I have reviewed hundreds of pages of documents and photos in this case, personally reviewed them. When Cherish's body was found, it's nauseating, it's sickening. That June day her body was found.

These photos, so upsetting. Her Cherish little body was found in a tidal creek of the Trout River out behind the Highlands Baptist Church. The little girl's partially clothed body was facedown in about six inches of water, muddy water in a tidal creek, and stuffed underneath a log and weighted down by asphalt chunks. That's how her body was found. His van was stopped on Interstate 95 at about the same time that morning. And as Ashley just said, he was still soaking wet, had mud on his shoes, covered in scratches. He said he didn't know Cherish. He had been doing drugs all night.

I mean, he told his mom he was going out to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, according to the mother, his mother. Cherish, the little girl, was raped, strangled, blunt force trauma to her head and face. I remember looking at the crime scene photos, and there was blood. It looked like blood in the back area, the carpeted area in the back of the van. And when I look at it, it just overwhelms me, Cheryl McCollum. Probably his intention of putting her body in the water was hoping it would wash away some of the evidence as to who did it. DNA was on her body, and the likelihood that it came from anybody other than him is 35 quintillion to one, Cheryl McCollum. It's him. It's him, and his DNA was found on multiple places on her body.

And Nancy, remember, a few days before this event happened, he took the back seat out of his van. This was planned. He was hunting for a victim, period. And if it had not been Cherish, it would have been somebody else. And that is what we have got to recognize and wake up to. As you know, Nancy, in the state of Georgia, we used to have the Department of Rehabilitation. We don't call it that anymore. We call it the Department of Corrections because rehabilitation doesn't work. There is no counseling you can do.

There is no punishment you can give to make these people stop. The only thing that makes them stop is prison or death. You know, to Karen Smith, forensics expert, what do you make of all the forensics? What do you know of them? I know that the crime scene investigators went and they processed Donald Smith's van and they found a lot of evidence in the back. There were a couple of markers that indicated some hairs were found back there, like the blood that you mentioned earlier. In addition, when they went to the scene where she was dumped behind the church, I should say that location is less than two miles from the Walmart where she was running around the Walmart screaming, call 9-1-1. I would hate to say that it would be too late, but he had already taken her less than two miles away to the church. When they got there, a canine officer located the body based on a tip that they received from neighbors who saw a white van parked there overnight. And when they found the body, the crime scene investigators went and they swabbed

all kinds of areas of her body, regardless of whether or not she was in water. They took every precaution and swabbed numerous areas. The DNA analyst gave testimony, and that's when she came up with the statistical evidence of 35 quintillion to one. The other was 12 quadrillion to one. So we're talking to the exclusion of every other person on the planet and then some. Guys, we are talking about the horrific case of a little girl being lured out of a Walmart superstore in Florida to meet her horrific assault and murder. The perpetrator somehow trying to twist the facts to blame the mother, the mother in this scenario. But when you look at this guy in court, he looks so meek and mild, like maybe a English

professor or somebody's grandfather. But catch this, unbeknownst to defense attorneys and jail inmates alike, there were taping devices inside that Florida jailhouse. Take a listen to what we have learned. We got our mitts on those tapes. Hear this guy talking behind bars. And let me tell you, this is not for the weak need. Listen. These are young girls, you hear me? They're young.

Man, man, when you look at a girl's ass, you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You know how old they are? About 12, 12, 13. But this one got an ass like, oh, oh, you can see the riding back on her ass. The second voice that's on that recording, is that the voice of Donald Smith? Yes, sir. Okay, the person who said they're about 12. Yes, sir.

Yeah. You still think she's 12? Yeah. You said that she's slow? Yeah. That's right in my alley right there. That's my target area right there. That's what I go after. Well, you have one, that one. Officer Carter, the person who said, that's my target area, that's what I go after, whose voice is that?

The defendant's. You sure that she's well? Yeah. That's right in my alley right there. Uh-huh. Sweet. That's my corner of the area right there. That's what I go after.

Well, you have fun, that one. See, her office would be the same, you. Yeah. Letting that girl run off looking like that, man. With fake eyelashes, fake fucking nails, fake hair, fake tits, probably. Yeah, I'd like to run into her at Walmart. Officer Carter, the voice that just said, I'd like to run into her at Walmart, is that the voice of the defendant? Yes, sir. That was secretly recorded sound inside the jail, behind jailhouse walls,

of this perp that murdered Cherish Perry. Michael, on trial right now, allegedly murdered her, talking about the bodies of 12- and year old little girl talking so obsessed with little girls he was talking through the toilet in the jail to another inmate so if he couldn't get his hands on the little girls he just wanted to talk about them and fantasize about them and it turns turns out he was being recorded mark class god nancy you know it takes me back um one of the things that paulie's killer told a psychiatrist during an evaluation back in 1978 is that he sits in prison and thinks about past victims and masturbates at least twice daily. So this is a crime that will never end.

As long as this guy is alive, he's going to be fantasizing about Cherish. He's going to be acting out about Cherish. And there's absolutely nothing we can do except make sure that he stays behind bars. And that's what these guys do. It's all about the fantasy. Once the crime is committed, these victims are being victimized for the rest of their lives. In the last hours, we are on trial watch. We are bringing you live streaming of the case on crimeonline.com, we pray for justice. Child Advocate Ashley, I'm just sick to my stomach.

Nancy, the verdict came back, and in this case, I think justice has well been served. Within 15 minutes, the jury came back and had convicted him on all counts for first-degree murder, kidnapping, and sexual battery of a child under the age of 12. So I think we can all agree justice has been served. Ashley, Nancy, let's listen to the reading of the verdict. State of Florida v. Ronald James Smith, verdict count one. We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of first-degree murder as charged in the indictment. We further find the killing was premeditated. We further find the killing was done during the commission or attended attempted commission of a felony to a kidnapping of sexual battery. Verdict count two, we determine the defendant guilty of kidnapping as charged in the indictment.

We find the victim was under 13 years of age at the time of the offense. We find the defendant committed sexual battery on the victim during the commission of the elements. Verge, count three. The media jury finds the defendant guilty of sexual battery upon a person less than 12 years of age as to person in the indictment. So say we all, Donna Jacksonville, Dubois County, Florida. Signed the court version, February 14, 2018. Okay, thank you, Madam Clerk. Does either party wish to have the jury polled? Yes, ma? Yes. Madam Clerk, if you would poll the jury, please. She's going to ask each

one of you, is this your verdict and correct verdict? Yes. Jury Number 17, is this your true and correct verdict? Yes. Jury Number 18, is this your true and correct verdict? Yes. Jury Number 24, is this your true and correct verdict? Yes. Jury Number 29, is this your true and correct verdict? Yes.

Jury Number 33, is this your true and correct verdict? Yes. Jury Number 34, is this your true and correct verdict? Yes. Jury Number 46, is this your true and correct verdict? Yes. Jury number 46, is this your true and correct verdict? Yes. Jury number 62, is this your true and correct verdict? Yes.

Jury number 63, is this your true and correct verdict? So let's talk about the fact, first, the defense did not present any witnesses. So keep in mind that when they cross-examine the state's witnesses for the prosecution, that is a type of evidence they're presenting. But typically, when a defense does not present evidence and waives closing, it's because they believe the evidence has already been presented by the prosecution. What I mean by that is if they think that jurors have already made up their minds and have already found for the prosecution, they don't want to get up there and present evidence and make closing because that may solidify those jurors they think have

already made the decision to convict. And so it's a safer bet to sit back and remain silent and hope that maybe at least one juror is on their side. And Ashley, the sentencing phase starts very soon on Tuesday for Donald Smith. Let's listen to the judge's instructions to the jury. We're going to start on Tuesday. I need to let you know ahead of time that we may be here a little bit later on Tuesday because some of the witnesses have to travel and based on their schedules, we need to let you know ahead of time that we may be here a little bit later on Tuesday because some of the witnesses have to travel, and based on their schedules, we need to get them in and out on that day. So I would ask you to plan to be here a little bit later on Tuesday than you have been this week, and I would ask you, if you could, to be here at a quarter of nine so that we can start at nine o'clock.

You cannot discuss a case still among yourselves or with anyone else, and you cannot discuss their deliberations with them at this point. The trial is still continuing. All 16 of you will be back or need to be back on Tuesday morning, and all 16 of you are excused now with our thanks for your patience and your time this week. And we'll see you Tuesday morning at nine. So remember, this is the state of Florida. And so death penalty is a possible sentence for this particular defendant. And we'll look forward to Tuesday when the sentencing will follow and we will see whether or not he actually receives the death penalty for these heinous crimes. Three minutes.

That's how long, Dr. Rowe, how long he said. That's how long it took at minimum, to take her life. While she fought, while she bled, while every last breath left her body. He silenced her and they took her and dumped her in that water. If that is not premeditated murder, then I don't know what is. Back in jury selection, one of your fellow jurors commented that Cherish did not have a voice in this court. Respectfully, I disagree. Even in death, through the irrefutable physical evidence that was left behind, the injuries to her body, the biological evidence that he left on her and inside of her.

Through that evidence, she has a voice. And from the grave, she is crying out to you. Donald Smith, rape me. Donald Smith, so me until every last word left my mind. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing off. Goodbye, friend.