Donald James Smith was born on September 4, 1956.

On June 21, 2013, Cherish Lily Perrywinkle was out shopping with her mother and two younger sisters. They met Donald James Smith at a Dollar General store. He offered to buy them clothes with a Walmart gift card. The family got into Smith's white van and went to Walmart.

The group shopped for about two hours. Around 10:30 p.m., Smith suggested they go to the McDonald’s inside the Walmart. Cherish followed him out of the store. However, instead of going to McDonald's, they left the store. This was the last time anyone saw Cherish alive. Her mother reported her missing about 30 minutes later, and an Amber Alert was issued several hours after her disappearance.

The next morning, police found Cherish's body in a creek behind a church. They believed that Smith had forcibly restrained her in his van, where she was sexually assaulted and strangled to death.

Police quickly identified Smith as the abductor based on vehicle descriptions. The following morning, officers found his van on the interstate and arrested him without resistance. Smith was a known sex offender and had a long history of crimes against minors. He had been released from jail just three weeks prior to the murder.

Smith's trial began in February 2018. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and sexual battery and was sentenced to death in May 2018. The jury was shown graphic crime scene photos during the trial. Many of the jurors were visibly affected by what they saw. The defense attorney attempted to shift focus away from emotional reactions to the law itself.

In April 2021, the Supreme Court of Florida upheld Donald James Smith’s conviction and death sentence.