287:. In it, Smith accepted the fact that he would die in prison. He said he was excited to get an education in prison. He started off by working through a lengthy series. At the time of the article, Smith was more than halfway to a college degree. "I had 68 quarter hours in commercial cooking and I've completed 66 quarter hours in academic courses so far," he said. He performed well in both subjects, having a 3.75 GPA in the cooking program and a 3.3 GPA in academics. Smith said he hoped to work with juvenile delinquents and help other young people with his newfound knowledge.
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plead with Judge C. R. Carson for mercy. Ultimately, Carson spared his life. After finding him guilty of five counts of first degree murder and one count of second degree murder, he instead sentenced Smith to six life terms at hard labor. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively to ensure he would spend the rest of his natural life in prison.
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places. It's an abnormal situation here in itself, then you say to the man, 'rehabilitate yourself'. YOU DON'T send a person on the street to a mental hospital and say, 'make yourself well'. There's nothing in here to change you. You can let prison society destroy you or you can get some education and change yourself."
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and speak to the legislature," he said. "I'd like to talk to them about this institution itself, about some of their laws, and some of their rehabilitation programs. All prison systems are inhumane. You take a man from society who 'fails' when he's in an abnormal situation and put him in one of these
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The McBeth family lived in rural Iowa, about four miles north of
Martinsburg, and Gayno Smith had been living with them at the time. Another daughter, Patsy Lou, 15, was wounded by Smith but escaped in the night and ran to a nearby farm for help. Kellogg's six-month-old baby, Perry, was in a crib and
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On May 27, 1962, Smith murdered Andrew McBeth, 51, and Dora McBeth, 41, and their three children: Amos and Anna McBeth, 19, and Donna Jean
Kellogg, 17. Smith, then 24, a nephew of the elder McBeths', confessed to the crime. He also confessed to having murdered his stepmother, Juanita Smith, who had
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Perry, the child in the crib, has spoken about the problems he faced growing up. "All the way through school I was a bully because I wanted people to hurt as bad as I did. I hated everything and everybody," he said. "I'm sorry about that now. When I see those people today, I try to tell them that,
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On the night of the murders, the McBeth children – Amos, Anna, and Donna Jean – had driven to
Brighton, Iowa for a dance and Donna Jean, as was her custom, had left her infant in the care of her parents. "Smith remained at the dance a short time, then disappeared until midnight, according to court
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Arguing for a death sentence, prosecutors said Smith had "attempted to exterminate an entire family." A psychiatric evaluation of Smith concluded that he was sane. His lawyers did not call any witnesses and did not contest that Smith was sane and the crimes were premeditated, choosing instead to
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Gayno Smith died from heart problems on May 16, 2005. He had been transferred to a hospital shortly before his death. Smith's body was cremated and buried in Mount Zion
Cemetery next to the plot of his mother. After hearing of Smith's death, Perry said he wished he'd been hanged. "I'm glad he's
244:"Suddenly, Smith appeared before them with a flashlight and a gun. He shot Amos in the face, then Donna. He shot Patsy in the shoulder. Though badly wounded, Amos pleaded for his life but was shot again. Patsy escaped to another room where she found her older sister, Anna, already dead.
247:"Smith chased her to a ditch in the countryside. She played cat and mouse through the ditches, crawling and crouching to escape his roving flashlight through the early morning hours. She finally reached a nearby farmhouse, where she called her uncle, Firman McBeth."
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The children found flashlights and made their way around the house to investigate. Donna and Amos found the murdered bodies of their parents in the garage, where they'd been dragged. They tried to call for help but discovered the lines had been cut.
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records. He came back to pick up the group after the dance ended. Thunder, lightning and heavy rain began as the five went to a truck stop for food. When they returned to their farmhouse, the lights were out."
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Infant Perry was adopted by his uncle Firman, Andrew McBeth's brother, and raised with Firman's own nine biological children.
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to live with his stepmother. When he had problems with her as well, he moved to the home of his uncle Andrew.
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dead," he said. "It was the best day of my life. I hope he burns in hell forever."
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Smith also spoke about making changes to the prison system. "I'd like to go to
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Klein, Mike. "A bloody night: More than 40 years later, memories won't fade",
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Smith went into hiding but was found four days later in a barn near
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440:"Gayno Smith Sentenced To Six Consecutive Life Terms"
328:"Gayno Gilbert Smith (1938-2005) - Find A Grave..."
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197:(January 23, 1938 – May 16, 2005) was an American
588:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
618:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Iowa
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212:Before the murders, Smith had been living in
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309:List of serial killers in the United States
583:American people who died in prison custody
229:been missing for several months, in 1961.
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633:Serial killers who died in prison custody
373:"A list of Iowa's worst mass killings",
216:, but due to problems there had come to
205:who killed six of his family members in
71:University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
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542:Photograph of Smith's grave marker.
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144:October 1961 – May 27, 1962
578:American people convicted of murder
613:People convicted of murder by Iowa
419:"Serial Killer True Crime Library"
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273:but they just don't understand."
120:Life imprisonment with hard labor
598:Familicides in the United States
285:The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
623:People from Keokuk County, Iowa
608:Massacres in the United States
573:American murderers of children
258:. At the time, Iowa still had
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278:Pekin Community High School
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628:Serial killers from Iowa
522:. 2005-06-12. p. 36
593:American serial killers
568:American mass murderers
520:The Des Moines Register
497:. 1974-08-21. p. 2
469:. 1962-09-13. p. 1
209:between 1961 and 1962.
183:Iowa State Penitentiary
16:American mass murderer
451:. September 14, 1962.
276:Perry graduated from
110:Second degree murder
393:"Re: McBeth family"
375:Des Moines Resister
362:Des Moines Register
195:Gayno Gilbert Smith
140:Span of crimes
105:First degree murder
52:Keokuk County, Iowa
23:Gayno Gilbert Smith
491:"Gayno Smith 1974"
331:www.findagrave.com
260:capital punishment
179:Imprisoned at
603:Massacres in 1962
463:"Gayno Sentenced"
218:Martinsburg, Iowa
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174:June 1, 1962
65:(2005-05-16)
63:May 16, 2005
563:2005 deaths
558:1938 births
495:The Courier
467:The Courier
552:Categories
526:2022-01-27
501:2022-01-27
473:2022-01-27
424:5 February
398:5 February
336:2022-01-27
315:References
292:Des Moines
107:(5 counts)
44:1938-01-23
303:See also
158:State(s)
87:Deceased
224:Murders
149:Country
131:Victims
126:Details
214:Denver
77:, U.S.
54:, U.S.
443:(PDF)
426:2016
400:2016
207:Iowa
201:and
163:Iowa
60:Died
38:Born
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