Gavin Smith is escorted into a Kanawha County courtroom for sentencing on Jan. 17, 2023. Judge Kenneth Ballard sentenced Smith to three life sentences in prison for the first-degree murder of three family members and another 40 years for the second-degree murder of a fourth.
A new trial date has been scheduled for Gavin Blaine Smith after the West Virginia Supreme Court overturned his murder conviction. On Wednesday, Smith's new trial was scheduled in Kanawha County Circuit Court for Nov. 6.
Gavin Smith is escorted into a Kanawha County courtroom for sentencing on Jan. 17, 2023. Judge Kenneth Ballard sentenced Smith to three life sentences in prison for the first-degree murder of three family members and another 40 years for the second-degree murder of a fourth.
Gazette-Mail file photo
In December 2022, a Kanawha County jury found Smith guilty on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder in the slayings of his mother, stepfather and two brothers in 2020.
In June, the Supreme Court — in a 4-1 decision — ruled that Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Kenneth Ballard made an error when he told the jury that Smith would be eligible for parole after serving 15 years of a life sentence.
The issue of parole eligibility was first raised during the cross-examination of Smith’s girlfriend and co-defendant, Rebecca Walker. Walker, who pleaded guilty to four counts of accessory after the fact in exchange for her testimony, initially misstated the penalty for first-degree murder, prompting clarification by Smith’s attorney and, later, the judge.
Ballard sentenced Smith to three terms of life imprisonment and a term of 50 years to be served consecutively.
Since the jury found Smith guilty of second-degree murder on one of the first-degree murder charges, he cannot be tried again for first-degree murder on that charge, according to his attorney.
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