Gavin Smith Death: Man Found Guilty of Killing Fox Exec
John Lenzie Creech was convicted on Monday for voluntary manslaughter of 20th Century Fox distribution executive Gavin Smith, who was having an on-again off-again affair with his wife.
It did not take long for the jury to decide a verdict for Creech, 44, for the alleged murder of Smith. The panel, which was composed of nine women and three men, found Creech guilty of voluntary manslaughter of the 57-year-old Fox exec. The jury acquitted the convicted drug dealer for more serious charges: first-degree and second-degree murder. He was originally sentenced to maximum life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. But now that the sentence has been lessened, he may serve up to 11 years in prison.
Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 19.
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The father of three was killed in a West Hills business park in May of 2012, but his remains were recovered two and a half years later at a shallow grave in Angeles National Forest in the Antelope Valley.
Creech believes that his estranged wife, Chandrika Cade, was having an affair with Smith, who at that time was also married. He claims to have found the exec with Cade in a parked car through his phone's GPS. It was there that he beat him to death. But he insisted that it was done in self-dense.
Deputy District Attorney Bobby Grace acknowledged in his closing statement that Smith "was executed in cold blood by this defendant, who hit him repeatedly in the face."
"This was a tragic fight between two grown men, two flawed men, two imperfect men," defense attorney Irene Nunez retorted. "There was no intention to kill. This was a spontaneous fight."
Nunez told the jury that although Creech made "errors in judgment" for concealing Smith's body as well as his Mercedez-Benz, he is not guilty of first-degree murder.
Authorities found Creech a prime suspect in Smith's murder when they found his car in a storage unit under Creech's name.
