CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina man who prosecutors say assaulted his estranged wife and killed his in-laws in 2017 has been sentenced to life in prison.
Vurnel Smith Jr., 43, of Charlotte pleaded guilty Thursday in the deaths of Jacqueline Gordon-White and Rufus Gordon, news outlets reported. He entered an Alford plea, which allows a defendant to plead guilty while not admitting to a criminal act, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Smith had been living with his wife and her parents before he was kicked out of the house, according to news outlets. Mecklenburg Assistant District Attorney Kevin Minton said Smith returned to the house and waited for his wife to come home and then knocked her unconscious with a metal pipe. He tied her to a bed, then raped and beat her multiple times over the next two days.
Smith then went to Walmart to buy camping equipment after telling his wife that he was going to live in the woods, Minton said. The woman, who was not named by news outlets because she’s a victim of sexual assault, was able to escape from the bed while he was gone. She found her mother dead in another room but could not find her stepfather. She drove herself to a hospital for treatment. Police later found his body in the truck of the car.
A medical examiner said the couple died from strangulation.
Smith had faced the death penalty but was given two life sentences for the murders and 20 to 25 years for the rape by Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin.
Smith’s ex-wife spoke during Thursday’s hearing.
“I lost two of my best friends, almost my own life, by the one person I thought was supposed to support and protect me, my husband,” she said.
Smith also addressed the courtroom and blamed his ex-wife.
“For (her) to sit here and point fingers at me like I’m this monster. If I’m a monster, she created it,” Smith said.
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