Bio

David Lee McNish was born on July 15, 1953. By 1983, McNish was living around Elizabethton, Tennessee. He had been divorced and had been unemployed since at least the summer of 1982. He often spent time at the Lynnwood Apartments, where his parents and girlfriend lived.

McNish knew Gladys E. Smith, an elderly widow who lived alone in the same apartment complex. He said he considered her a friend and had helped her with errands. Court records also show that he sometimes borrowed small amounts of money from people he knew, including Smith.

McNish also had a history of using prescription medication after a 1974 car accident left him with recurring headaches. He later said he had taken pills on the day of the murder, but witnesses and court records showed he was still able to move around and carry out normal activities.

Murder Story

On April 5, 1983, Gladys E. Smith was living alone at the Lynnwood Apartments in Elizabethton, Tennessee. David Lee McNish knew her because his parents and girlfriend also lived in the same apartment complex.

That evening, McNish told others that he needed money to buy beer and might try to borrow it from Smith. Shortly before 8:00 p.m., a neighbor heard loud noises, breaking glass, and moaning from Smith’s apartment. When the neighbor went to check, McNish rushed out and said Smith had fallen and was hurt.

Inside the apartment, Smith was found badly injured on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood. Broken glass from a shattered vase was found nearby. She was still alive when she was discovered, but she died soon after from severe head injuries.

After leaving the apartment complex, McNish drove to his former wife’s home. She later said he appeared affected by drugs or medication. He had blood on his hands and trousers, washed himself, and asked to be taken to a mental health center. Police later found him in the back seat of her car and arrested him the same night.

Investigators recovered McNish’s bloodstained trousers. Testing showed the blood matched Gladys Smith’s blood, not his. A glass fragment connected to his clothing also matched glass from Smith’s apartment.

McNish first denied knowing anything about the attack. Months later, he claimed that another person had attacked Smith and that he only tried to help her. The jury did not accept his explanation.

McNish was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death on August 15, 1984. His appeals were later rejected, and his conviction and death sentence were upheld.

He remained on Tennessee’s death row for many years. On October 5, 2016, McNish died of natural causes at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. He was never executed.