-
Courtesy Image
A Port Arthur woman charged with murdering her live-in boyfriend in 2019 was found guilty of the crime and sentenced to serve 45 years in prison on Jan. 27.
Trial No. 520 under Judge John Stevens in the Jefferson County Criminal District Court, the State v Amesty Smith, commenced Jan. 24, with jury selection and a reading of the charges.
“It was one of those that got stuck during COVID and delayed longer than I like,” Stevens said from the bench, referring to the more than three-year-old case.
Smith, then 23, was accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend, 24-year-old Gerald J. Taylor, in the chest, following an argument at Pebble Creek Apartments in Port Arthur. As Smith was attempting to leave in the car, a mortally wounded Taylor ended up in the trunk.
“A witness saw the car hit a speed bump causing the trunk to pop open and Taylor to fall out,” the Port Arthur Police Department reported. “That same witness called 911. Officers found Taylor deceased upon their arrival.”
Presenting the case to the Jefferson County jury, prosecutor Mike Laird said Smith committed the textbook definition of “murder.”
“It’s just about as simple as it gets,” Laird said, explaining the definition of murder – essentially committing the act, and knowingly committing the act. A single stab wound to the heart, Laird described, took the man’s life, as revealed in the coroner’s report. Then, with Taylor in the trunk, Smith took off in the vehicle to attend a job interview.
“A guy came flying out of the trunk and hit the ground,” Laird said of what halted Smith’s course of business – since a passing motorist saw it all happen. The eyewitness wasn’t sure of what to do at first, initially continuing to drive before rethinking the series of events unfolding. “After a little bit, she does a U-turn and calls 911.”
At trial, Smith took the stand in her own defense, saying that her boyfriend’s death was an accident sparked by a crime of passion. According to her, she was trying to retrieve her property and Taylor was making her late for the morning job interview.
“He was a good person,” Smith said. “That’s my friend before anything.”
“I didn’t know,” she pleaded, while admitting that she did stab Taylor, however; “I didn’t know anything about him being hurt. He was still standing.”