Lubbock woman found criminally insane in elderly mother’s 2020 slaying

A 54-year-old woman accused of beating her elderly mother to death nearly five years ago was committed to a mental health institution indefinitely.

Letitia Smith, who has been held at the Lubbock County Detention Center since her March 8, 2020 arrest, was ordered to be committed to a state mental health facility until she is determined to no longer be a threat to the community or herself.

More: Records: Lubbock woman charged with mother’s murder had threatened to kill

That determination will come after annual hearings in the 137th District Court.

Smith was indicted on a charge of murder alleging that on March 8, 2020, she intentionally or knowingly caused the death of her mother, 79-year-old Wanda Porter, by blunt force trauma.

She appeared with her attorney, Mark Snodgrass, before District Judge John McClendon of the 137th District Court and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to which the Lubbock County District Attorney approved.

Letitia Smith is escorted to the 137th District Court for a hearing after which she was found not guilty by reason of insanity of murder in the March 2020 death of her mother, Wanda Porter.

An insanity defense requires defendants to admit they committed the crime but were under the grips of a severe mental illness or defect and didn’t know their actions at the time were wrong.

Since her charge involved dangerous conduct that caused serious bodily injury, her case will remain in the court’s jurisdiction and the possibility of her release will be evaluated yearly.

Lubbock police arrested Smith after responding to a March 8, 2020, domestic disturbance about 5 a.m. at a residence in the 3300 block of East 16th Street.

Responding officers entered through the open front door and found the house in disarray.

Smith was in the kitchen tossing items out of the refrigerator, her hands and arms covered in blood, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Porter was on the floor next to a wall stained with her blood, the affidavit states.

“I killed her,” Smith told the officer, the warrant states.

Porter was taken to University Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.

The officer restrained Smith and escorted her to his vehicle but she pulled away from him, prompting the officer to call a paddy wagon, which took her to the Lubbock County Detention Center where she was initially booked on a charge of capital murder.

A question of competency

However, the Lubbock County District Attorney’s office presented a murder charge to a grand jury, who indicted Smith.

To plead not guilty by insanity, a defendant has to admit to committing the charged offense, in this case murder, but did so because of a serious mental illness.

On July 2, 2020, Smith’s attorneys asked the court to examine her after believing she was incompetent to stand trial.

Competency issues relate to defendants’ ability to understand legal proceedings and consult with their attorneys with a reasonable degree of rational understanding.

“Based on conversations with Ms. Smith, as well as observing Ms. Smith’s behavior, it is my personal belief Ms. Smith is not competent to stand trial,” Snodgrass wrote in his motion addressing his client’s competence.

A competency evaluation was set for Sept. 4, 2020 and Dr. Greg Hupp found Smith competent to stand trial.

On Feb. 11, 2021, Snodgrass notified the court that he intended to raise the insanity defense in the case and asked for an evaluation, which was also done by Hupp.

Three years later, Smith’s attorneys again asked the court for an insanity evaluation done by a psychiatrist of their choice.

In March, the court appointed Dr. Greg Joiner to evaluate Smith for insanity.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock woman found criminally insane in elderly mother’s 2020 slaying

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