AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- The court affidavit released Wednesday morning described the details Leroy Smith III told investigators about his father's murder in the apartment they shared on Cannard Street in Gardiner.
WARNING, DISTURBING DETAILS FOLLOW
Smith III said he filleted his father, Leroy Smith Jr., stabbed him in the neck and head and buried him in the woods because he had sexually assaulted him his entire life. He said he used three knives. In an interview with investigators, Smith III said he could point on a map where he left his father's body.
Smith III waived his rights early in the interview and went on to state he murdered his father on Saturday, May 3, 2014 between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. Early Sunday morning, between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m., he said he put his father's remains in black trash bags and placed them in a dumpster. However, the trash truck wasn't going to arrive until 1:00 or 2:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon, so he moved the trash bags into a vehicle. Investigators believe he was referring to a white 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which investigators have towed for inspection.
Smith III then said he dumped the bags off the side of the road about 30 feet into the woods by a large yellow pine tree on private property. Investigators have stated the location is on Lincoln Street in Richmond. Smith III was able to pinpoint the specific tree on a map. He said he planned to bury the body Monday. Westbrook Police arrested Smith III early Monday morning for a warrant out of Massachusetts. He was wanted for violating a harassment order, requested by his former landlord. While he was being arrested, he gave details about the location of his father's body.
Smith III also told investigators that the FBI told him to put a video of his father's murder on YouTube. He went on to say he recorded it with a digital camera and uploaded it to both Twitter and YouTube. He said he later deleted the posts and the video from the camera and computer.
Court papers described what investigators found when they went to the location Smith III had described. There were a total of 16 trash bags on the side of the road. An officer did not open them, but saw what appeared to be blood spatter on the inside of a translucent bag. There was also household trash within the bags. An officer saw a short-handed spade shovel and household furniture, some splattered with what appeared to be blood.
Investigators from the medical examiner's office took the bags and found body parts and blood-spattered clothing. The clothing was consistent with what a younger person would wear, like a Slip Knot t-shirt, court papers said. In addition, the court papers said bags had some cleaning products and evidence of diluted blood.
While documenting evidence, investigators found a small zip lock bag with light powder in it. On the outside of the bag was written "KwaZulu," which was then crossed out. KwaZulu was a semi-independent homeland for the Zulu people in South Africa during the apartheid government.
Smith III has referred to himself as God and said he was part of Hells Angels. During his court appearance Thursday, he said to the court to follow a specific Twitter account, but NEWS CENTER has been unable to find the Twitter account he referred to.
NEWS CENTER will update this story as more details surface.
