After nearly eight years of stalled leads and silence, the Memphis Police Department (MPD) has made a breakthrough in a cold case homicide that dates back to 2016. Forty-year-old Jason Smith has been indicted for the first-degree murder of Elmore Howard, who was fatally shot on Marianna Street in the Orange Mound area of Memphis, Local Memphis reports.
The case, which had gone cold due to "a lack of evidence" and the absence of witnesses coming forward, was reignited in October 2023 when the MPD's Cold Case Unit received new information implicating Smith. On May 24, 2024, a Shelby County Grand Jury returned an indictment against Smith for the charges, including first-degree murder in the perpetration of especially aggravated robbery as well as being a convict in possession of a handgun, according to Action News 5.
Howard, who was 35 at the time he was shot several times, had told officers before being transported to the hospital that he was robbed and shot by an individual named Jason Smith. He succumbed to his injuries a week later at Regional One Hospital. The Shelby County Medical Examiner officially ruled his death a homicide as per the multiple gunshot wounds he sustained, as stated in reports by Fox13 Memphis.
Currently, Jason Smith is serving time for unrelated charges at Yazoo City Medium Federal Correctional Institution and is expected to be released on December 17, 2025. The Memphis Police Department intends to serve the warrant for the cold case homicide where Smith is housed at the present time. "While justice may have been delayed, it has not been denied," the MPD stated, highlighting their continued support and compassion for the victim's family as they navigate the next stages of the legal process.
