A year after a deadly shooting rattled a Peoria neighborhood, a suspect has been apprehended by authorities. Alexander Lee Smith, a 21-year-old Gilbert resident, was taken into custody on charges related to the incident that resulted in the death of a married couple. The Peoria Police Department, alongside the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force, reported the arrest on Monday, exactly one year after the tragedy.
Last Monday, 42-year-old Susie Ephrem called 911 to report that she and her husband had been shot. When officers arrived at their home near 79th Avenue and Mescal Street, they found Ephrem and her 52-year-old husband, Walter Mitchell, both with gunshot wounds. Mitchell died at the scene, and Ephrem later died at the hospital. A third person at the home was unharmed, as detailed by AZfamily.com.
Investigations showed that the couple's home was forcibly entered, suggesting the shooting was not random. Smith, who allegedly fled to Illinois after the incident, was arrested in Gilbert during a traffic stop. Court documents revealed he had returned to Arizona, though the exact timing is unclear. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and is being held in Maricopa County Jail on a $3 million cash-only bond, according to FOX 10 Phoenix. The motive for the crime is still unknown, and it's unclear how Smith knew the victims.
