Bio

David Phillip Smith was born in 1976. He grew up in Clayton County, Georgia. As a child, he lived with his mother in Oregon until he was five years old. After that, he moved to Georgia to live with his father and stepmother. 

As a teenager, Smith faced various challenges and was known to have some conflicts with peers. He became close friends with Jeremy Javies, who lived nearby. The two were reportedly close, but there were also moments of tension in their friendship, particularly concerning issues involving firearms.

In the period before his arrest, Smith was known to have acquired sawed-off shotguns, the circumstances of which might have contributed to further problems in his life. While little is documented about his interests or activities during this time, the presence of firearms in his life suggested a growing conflict that would eventually lead to tragic events.

Murder Story

On March 22, 1995, David Phillip Smith went to the home of his friend, 16-year-old Jeremy Javies. The two had an argument on the front porch, which was overheard by Javies' mother. After this argument, Javies told his mother that he would no longer see Smith unless Smith got rid of his guns.

Later that night, Smith and Javies went into the woods carrying shotguns. Neighbors reported hearing one shot, followed by a pause, and then several more shots in quick succession. About 15 minutes later, an acquaintance of Smith, Lamar Hopkins, saw him walking along a nearby road with two shotguns in a blue book bag. Smith told him that he had just killed Javies. Hopkins accompanied Smith to where he hid the shotguns.

The next day, Javies' body was found along with the shotguns. He had multiple gunshot wounds, including several to his arms and shoulders, and shots to his neck and face. Smith eventually admitted to shooting Javies but claimed it was in self-defense, stating that Javies had fired at him first.

Smith was arrested the day after the murder and charged with malice murder, among other offenses, and was later convicted. Initially sentenced to death, his sentence was later commuted to life in prison.