Derek Smith has pleaded guilty

[Surfus]

Man pleads guilty in killing of 9-year-old Oakhurst boy
By Charles McCarthy / The Fresno Bee

(Updated Saturday, April 29, 2006, 5:19 AM)

MADERA — Derek Keldon Smith pleaded guilty Friday to murdering a 9-year-old Oakhurst boy, whose body was found in a downtown Oakhurst concrete culvert under Highway 41.

Smith, 23, admitted killing Kristopher Turner, and also pleaded guilty to molestation and mayhem charges stemming from the May 23, 2004, death.

Smith is expected to be sentenced May 26 to life in prison without parole. The admissions were part of a plea bargain in which prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.

"He'll never get out," Madera County District Attorney Ernest LiCalsi said about Smith's future. "He'll never be able to do this again."

LiCalsi said he agreed with Smith's lawyer, Barbara O'Neill of Fresno, about dropping the death penalty. Madera County Judge Edward Moffat accepted the plea.

Kristopher's mother, Susan Mackie of Oakhurst, was adamant that Smith should remain alive to think about what he had done to her child, LiCalsi said outside the courtroom.

"She feels that he needs to spend the rest of his life in prison so he can think every day about what he did," LiCalsi said.

Amid friends and family after Friday's hearing, Mackie said that she doesn't think there will ever be closure for her. She plans to attend the sentencing.

"It's too easy," she said about the death penalty. "As soon as I see him, I think about what he did to my little boy in the tunnel."

Kristopher was killed with a broken bottle, LiCalsi's office said after Smith pleaded not guilty in a May 2004 arraignment. LiCalsi called Kristopher's death "the most brutal murder of a child that I can recall in this county."


The reporter can be reached at cmccarthy@fresnobee.com or(559) 675-6804.

[CatdaBrat]

I admire the boy's mother's strength ... I don't think I would have been able to sit in court and see that guy walk right past me if he had murdered one of my kids. I am sure I would have done something, or tried to, that woulda landed me in prison, too (or at least landed me in a psych ward). But what she is doing is smart, and she can remain available for the rest of her family.

[beautiful_mess38]

I agree especially what he did t the kid before and after murdering him.

I'm glad he'll rot in jail. Hopefully he'll get the same treatment he gave to that little boy before killing him.

[Goddesschyyld]

I covered this story from the beginning and was hoping to see it to the end, but I'm happy with the outcome. I hope Susan and her kids can move on with their lives and get some closure to the situation. It's a shame the rights remain with the suspect and the victims don't have rights.

[John @ 3300ft.]

I have a feeling his "life" in prison will be a short one.

[jakobscalpel]

Originally posted by John @ 3300ft.:
I have a feeling his "life" in prison will be a short one.

We can only hope it will be short and very painful.

[jjcheyenne]

Make that a very slow, long painfull life. Let him suffer for a looooong time! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/angry.gif

[CatdaBrat]

I am thinking perhaps this guy did something that horrible to make sure he could return to prison and be taken care of for the rest of his life. He had been in prison, then had to face life on the outside, dealing with trying to feed, clothe and find shelter for himself. Wasn't he living as a homeless person, somewhere near that bridge?

There are a lot of people who come to think of state prison as their real home and commit crimes on purpose after being paroled just so they can go back.

Smith made sure the authorities knew all about the murder. He must have been homesick and tired of living out in the rain.

I could be way off base about this, but it's in the realm of possibility.

[beautiful_mess38]

Well he just so happen to have alot of mental problems too. Most sexual abusers stay that way.
He is a very sick person. There are things he did to that boy, that he did not have to do to get back in prison.

[Dodgergirl]

Yup. Just murdering someone woulda most likely ensured him prison time. He did sick, twisted things to Kris.

[CatdaBrat]

yes, i heard about the details ... there is no doubt it takes a hopelessly sick mind to do such things. i am glad he will not get paroled. i wonder which prison he will be in?

[Dodgergirl]

Well, since Kris's stepdad is in one of the local prisons... interesting?

[CatdaBrat]

Whichever prison Smith ends up at, they will probably (look, John@3300ft -- I typed "probably" instead of my usual "prolly!" http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif )have to isolate him from the other inmates.

They may all be criminals, but one thing's for sure -- they HATE child molesters/killers. If they ever get a chance to get their hands on him, he will not be growing old and gray in prison.

[Kim]

We met Derek when he was a little kid. His house was at my daughter's bus stop. He was mean back then; he used to sic his big ol' dog on my tiny little girl. I spoke to his parents and got no results. As the few years went that we knew him, he got stranger; this was as a child. I really think something's not right with his head, and it may not have been anything anyone could do anything about. But I know it started early. Yeah, siccing your dog on a kid isn't crazy, but the look on his face whenever I spoke to him about it was unsettling.

[CatdaBrat]

That is really troubling and scary. So glad nothing tragic happened to your family back then. This doesn't sound like anyone who could ever be rehabilitated.

[monkey]

When I was growing up, a boy next door had some similar issues. His family was a good, hardworking family and it seemed he was a "bad seed". He always scared the cr*p out of me even as a little kid. He got into raising birds of prey and I remember one day walking to elementary school finding that he had ripped all the wings off of his beautiful birds and had the bloody bodies and wings hanging from the trees. I never heard of him causing harm to a person, but he was shot and killed by the police in a standoff when he was in his 20's.
So, are people like this born that way, become that way because of unknown abuses or perhaps mentally ill from an extremely young age? And do we treat them all the same way? My feelings are that someone that can do unspeakabe things to someone else must be mentally ill to be able to do it, but also must be made to pay for their crimes.

[jakobscalpel]

Tough call without knowing the secrets of the family, but I think many are just born this way. If people can be born as gifted athletes or geniuses, why not as brutal criminals? Some people just aren't worth saving.

[CatdaBrat]

that's how i feel, if people can be born to be extraordinarily gifted, then it stands to reason they can also be born extraordinarily twisted.

[BGW]

So, are people like this born that way, become that way because of unknown abuses or perhaps mentally ill from an extremely young age? And do we treat them all the same way? My feelings are that someone that can do unspeakabe things to someone else must be mentally ill to be able to do it, but also must be made to pay for their crimes.

Having grown up knowing the Stayner family, I have definite opinions about this. Though I am not sure it is proper to voice them here. What I do know is that any mental disorders one may end up having are already in place by the tender age of 15; even if the disorder doesn't 'show up' for many years. Scary thought to think about.

[monkey]

What I do know is that any mental disorders one may end up having are already in place by the tender age of 15; even if the disorder doesn't 'show up' for many years.[/QUOTE]

What's your source on this BGirl? It is scarey. How many times do we all hear "He was just a nice, quiet guy" or "I never would have suspected him" from neighbors/coworkers of mass murderers, etc?

[CatdaBrat]

In a psychology class once, we were taught that a lot of our personality traits were set even as young as age 5 (not necessarily just the bad ones). Very interesting subject.

[BGW]

Monkey-- the 15 year old statistic is something I learned in College; (Psychology minor) just textbook knowledge. Like *Cat stated, we are pretty much who we are going to be by the time we are 5 yrs. old. The Stayner family claims that Cary was showing signs of dysfunction by the age of 3 (he had started uncontrollably pulling his hair out).

It is a scary thing to think about. I wonder how childhood traumas manifest themselves in some and not others or at the very least in varying degrees of disorders?

Again, another thread that has made me think and given me a need to go do more research.

[monkey]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bgirlsworld:
It is a scary thing to think about. I wonder how childhood traumas manifest themselves in some and not others or at the very least in varying degrees of disorders?/QUOTE]

Yes, it's very interesting how one child can survive the trauma of abuse, molestation, etc and go on to live a productive life and another will turn to a life of crime, violence, drug/alcohol abuse.