A Texas man lured his father into a garage by asking him to find some meat before he turned around and bludgeoned him to death with a 15-pound dumbbell.
Ryan Mitchell Smith was found guilty of murdering his own father on Tuesday, after he also allegedly stabbed a police dog days before.
The 26-year-old racked up a list of charges that all stemmed around the week of January 22, 2022 and ended with the grisly death of his father, Cameron Smith.
He admitted to killing his father on January 24 by distracting him under the guise of searching for deer meat in their garage, before whacking him with a dumbbell.
According to an arrest affidavit seen by Law&Crime, Smith then tied a plastic bag around his head and dumped his father’s body into a trash can.
Just a few days previous Smith tried to unsuccessfully jack a car in Houston and was chased down a police dog, later identified as a Belgian Malinois named Nate.
He then stabbed the animal who suffered non-life threatening injuries, Houston cops said at the time.
Smith was taken to Harris County Jail after that incident where his family – including his father he killed less than 24 hours later – posted his $50,000 bond for him.
Ryan Mitchell Smith was found guilty of murdering his own father on Tuesday, after he also allegedly stabbed a police dog days before
Smith’s family then reported his father missing the day after, where they found the younger Smith driving his father’s GMC pickup with its plates removed and lights off.
Cops tried to pull him over but he fled the scene, leading them on a 10 mile chase that lasted 15 minutes.
Smith crashed the car and continued on foot, inside the vehicle they found a loaded hunting rifle, a black Labrador dog, and a 15-pound dumbbell covered in blood.
It was at the address that police then found the body of his father, they eventually caught up with Smith and he was formally charged with murder.
He admitted to killing his father and this week a jury convicted him of his murder, after his attorneys had used the insanity defense.
According to court documents Smith told investigators he distracted his father before striking him three times with the weight, then tying a plastic bag around his head.
His lawyers claimed their client was experiencing a manic episode at the time of his spree, according to the Houston Chronicle.
One of his lawyers, Gianpaolo Macerola, told the court that Smith didn’t believe his father was human any longer, adding: ‘He didn’t think what he was doing was wrong.’
He admitted to killing his father, seen here, by distracting him under the guise of searching for deer meat in their garage, before bludgeoning him with a dumbbell.
In an obituary for his father, he is described as being a ‘caring son, supportive brother, dedicated husband, loving father’.
It adds: ‘Everyone he met was instantly a friend for life. He had a warming smile and a contagious laugh.
‘You could always find him in a crowd by going to the largest group of smiling people. He loved to have a good time and lived every day to the fullest.
‘If you were with Cameron, you were going to have fun. He had a tremendous zest for life!’
Smith will return to court on Monday to be sentenced.
