Woman accused of killing husband in Victorville in 2015 arrested in Mexico
VICTORVILLE, Calif. (VVNG.com) — Nearly 7 years after she was accused of killing her then 35-year-old husband, 40-year-old Leticia Smith was arrested on an extraditable warrant for murder of Antoine Smith.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith were married and lived together, with their 8- and 4-year-old daughters, in the 13000 block of Brynwood Street, in Victorville.
According to a previous VVNG article, On May 10, 2015, multiple reporting parties called the Sheriff’s Department after Antoine had not been heard from in several days.
Friends and co-workers became increasingly concerned after they received text messages from Antoine’s cellphone number, which were not consistent with Antione’s messaging style.
On May 11, 2015, a missing person report was filed with the Victorville Sheriff’s Station, and the following day deputies continued the investigation, and a welfare check was conducted at Antoine’s residence.
“Antoine was found inside the residence, deceased from multiple gunshot wounds. Through the investigation, Leticia was identified as a suspect in Antoine’s murder. Investigators were unable to locate Leticia and had evidence she fled to Mexico with their children,” a press release stated.
The case went cold until December 2021, when investigators from the Sheriff’s Cold Case Homicide Team assumed the investigation.
“Investigators worked with Mexican authorities and located Smith living in Rosarita, Mexico. Investigators, with the assistance of the Department of Justice, had Smith arrested on an extraditable warrant for Antoine’s murder,” officials confirmed.
Smith was arrested in Mexico without incident and the children were found to be safe.
On March 4, 2022, the United States Marshals Service took custody of Smith from Mexican authorities, and she was transported to the United States where she was taken into custody by Sheriff’s investigators.
Leticia is currently being held at the West Valley Detention Center on $2,000,000 bail for violation of Penal Code 187(a)(1).
