Posted 11:05 pm Tuesday, January 15, 2013
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Man's trial in shooting death of friend starts today
The trial for a Whitehouse man accused of shooting and killing a female acquaintance in March begins today in the Smith County 114th District Court with Judge Christi Kennedy presiding.
Larry Joe Smith, 68, has been held in the Smith County Jail on $1 million bond since March. He is charged with the first-degree felony count of murder.
Smith is accused of shooting Sandra Greenshaw to death on his front porch on County Road 2171 in Whitehouse. Smith told deputies who arrived at the scene that someone attempted to break into his house through his front window, so he fired a shotgun through his window.
Authorities found Ms. Greenshaw on the porch with a single gunshot wound to her upper body. She was taken to East Texas Medical Center, where she later died.
Former Sheriff's Chief Deputy Bobby Garmon said Smith told authorities he didn't know who he was shooting at, but evidence at the scene did not match up to the story. Deputies later found out the two were acquaintances, and that Ms. Greenshaw's keys and shoes were found inside Smith's home.
In March, Garmon said officials thought Smith knew who Ms. Greenshaw was when he shot at her.
"The evidence doesn't add up to what he's telling us," Garmon said. "He changed his story (multiple times) and got to the point where he said he doesn't remember what happened."
