Nov. 9, 2001 – Lisa Ann Smith, daughter of former Territorial Court administrator Viola Smith, was shot and killed Thursday in a robbery at a Home Depot store in Clayton County, Georgia. She was 32.
Smith, an armored car guard for Dunbar Security, was carrying a bag of money when she was shot in the chest by the killer, who was last seen climbing a fence near the store with the bag.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, police described the killer as a thin, African-American male dressed in black. A police sketch and description of the man is being broadcast on Atlanta television stations, and a $35,000 reward is being offered for information about the shooting.
Smith was leaving the store through a back door when employees heard the single gunshot that killed her.
Clayton County police officials said Friday that they were continuing to investigate the shooting, along with the FBI.
Verne Hodge, former Territorial Court chief judge, recalled the young woman as a teen-ager on St. Thomas, saying she had been one of the early members of the Territorial Court Rising Stars Steel Orchestra, which Hodge founded. "She was a tenor first and then played bass," he said Friday.
Viola Smith, like Hodge, was involved with the acclaimed steelpan group from the start, an involvement that has continued since her retirement in 1999.
Lisa Ann Smith had lived in Atlanta since her graduation from Sts. Peter and Paul High School, according to one relative.
Of his work with Viola Smith at Territorial Court, Hodge said, "She was in charge when I got there. She started out as the court clerk, but we grew so much we had to split the work and she became court administrator." She worked for the government for more than 40 years, he said.
She lost another daughter, Lurleen, several years ago. Lisa Ann's father, Wilbur Smith, also is deceased.
No funeral arrangements have been announced.
