William Scott Smith was born on April 29, 1959, in Portland, Oregon.

William Scott Smith is known for the murders of at least four women in Oregon between 1981 and 1984.

On February 12, 1981, Terry Cox Monroe, a 21-year-old clerk, went missing after leaving a tavern in Salem. Her clothing and personal belongings were found along the Willamette River the next day. On March 15, a boater found her body in the river, and the coroner determined that she had been strangled.

Sherry Melissa Eyerly, an 18-year-old Domino's Pizza courier, disappeared on July 4, 1982, after leaving for a delivery. Her abandoned car was found a short time later, but extensive searches could not locate her body.

Rebecca Anne Darling went missing on February 19, 1984, while working at a local Circle K store. Her car and personal items were left behind. A farmer found her decomposed body in the Little Pudding River on March 25, 1984. The autopsy revealed she had been strangled.

Katherine Ione Redmond, an 18-year-old university student, was last seen on April 11, 1984. Searches led to the discovery of her nude body, which also showed signs of sexual assault and strangulation, in a forested area outside Salem four days later.

William Scott Smith was arrested shortly after Katherine's death. During the investigation, he became a suspect in the murders of Darling and Redmond. He later confessed to both murders and pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to two life terms in July 1984.

While in prison, Smith confessed to killing Sherry Eyerly in 2006 and to strangling Terry Monroe in 2012. He received additional life sentences for these confessions. As of November 2021, Smith remains incarcerated and is suspected in other unsolved cases.