The Reporter newspaper, Camdenton Missouri

The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Wednesdays.

Published June 17, 2015

Smith charged with murder

By Jeff Thompson
CAMDEN COUNTY - The arrest last week of a 52-year-old Camdenton man for the alleged murder of a person officially missing since 2007, came after years of on-and-off investigation into the case.

David W. Smith was arrested June 9 and charged with First Degree Murder and Armed Criminal Action in the apparent shooting death of Shawn E. Spencer in April of 2006.

The charges stem from a probable cause statement filed by Camden County Sheriff’s Department (CCSD) Detective Stacy R. Eden on June 8.

According to the CCSD, deputies had responded to Smith’s residence on Silver Mountain Drive on April 1, 2006 in response to a report of a shooting.

“The deputies were unable to locate the reporting party and after speaking to Smith, who owned the residence and conducting a search of the property, they cleared from the scene determining the call to be unfounded,” the CCSD stated.

Eden stated that Spencer had been reported missing on April 17, 2007 by his mother, Pamela S. Gilbert, who had not heard from him since March of 2006 (and that Spencer was possibly in the company of Jake L. East).

According to the CCSD, Gilbert explained that although Spencer had been missing for about a year, it was not uncommon for him to go missing for extended periods of time due to his transient lifestyle.

However, a break in the case came on June 23, 2001, according to Eden’s statement.

Sgt. Chris Moehle - who was a CCSD detective at the time - spoke with Jake L. East.
East stated that he and Spencer had gone to Smith’s residence to visit East’s dog who had been staying there, adding that Smith had been in the backyard target practicing.

While Spenser remained with Smith in the backyard. East went back to the vehicle to visit with his dog.

“Jake L. East stated that after approximately five minutes, he heard a shot,” Eden said in her statement. “He went back to see what happened and observed Shawn E. Spencer and David W. Smith rolling around on the ground fighting over control of the gun.

“Not knowing what to do, he went back to his car and drove away.”

It was at this time that East apparently called the CCSD and reported the shooting: “He stated he saw blood but would not give further details,” according to Eden’s statement. When he returned to Smith’s residence a few days later, “David told him that ‘Shawn was in heaven’, and David W. Smith was mad at Jake L. East because he did not help clean up after the incident,” Eden stated.

In June of 2011, detectives contacted an out-of-state witness who claimed to have seen David W. Smith shoot Shawn Spencer to death on April 1st, 2006, according to the CCSD.

In addition, Eden stated in her report that Jarrod Powell - who lived with the Smiths at their residence for one to two years - said that Smith had told him he had shot and killed Spencer, first shooting him in the left shoulder (aiming for his heart) and a second shot that was aimed at Spencer‘s head.

Allegedly Powell also stated that Smith had his wife - Carolina Smith - go to the MFA store to buy bags of lime.

“David W. Smith then cut up the remains, pulled all of Shawn Spencer’s teeth and burned the cut up pieces,” Eden attributed to Powell in her statement.

Apparently Smith also told Powell that “he used his .38 Special that he keeps in his computer bag and that the dental remains are somewhere on his property.”

Eden earlier noted that Smith owns 28.6 acres of land at the Silver Mountain Drive location.

Detectives - apparently acting on Powell’s statement - applied for and received a search warrant for the property on Silver Mountain Road in September of 2011.

“Despite the cooperation of several supporting agencies and the use of cadaver dogs, detectives were unable to locate any remains at the property and Smith denied any involvement in the disappearance of Shawn Spencer and again, without additional evidence, the case went cold,” the CCSD stated.

However, both Eden and Moehle spoke to Smith’s wife - Carolina Smith - two weeks ago on June 3, 2015 at the CCSD.

According to Eden’s statement, Carolina said she had been out to garage sales with her three children on the day that Spencer had been killed by her husband.

She passed a CCSD vehicle on the way home and was stopped by a neighbor’s kid who told her deputies had been to her house. When she arrived home she asked her husband “what was going on.”

“He told her that Jake East and Shawn Spencer had been at the house to sell him some marijuana and the deal turned bad,” Eden said in her statement. “He told her that he shot and killed Shawn Spencer during a fight over David’s gun.”

“He told her that Jake left and Shawn Spencer ran after Jake’s car headed down the hill and that is when he shot Shawn Spencer a second time, killing him.”

Eden’s statement also shows that Smith “had already taken a chain and his vehicle and dragged the body up the hill into the woods,” according to Carolina.

After apparently spending the weekend at a friend’s house in Buffalo, Carolina returned home when her husband told her to purchase bags of lime to cover the smell of the body.
“She stated that at one point she went to a burn pile of trash, beside the house and was going to burn it,” Eden said in her statement. “While standing there with the fire, a bag let go and human hands, which Carolina presumed to belong to Shawn Spencer, fell out of the bag.”

Her children asked about the hands and Carolina told them they were Halloween decorations, according to Eden’s statement. In addition, Carolina stated the lime eventually stopped working “and the smell got bad again” so her husband allegedly went into the woods and set the remains on fire.

“She stated that she would never forget the smell that came down from the hill that day,” Eden said in her statement.

Afterwards, detectives applied for and secured a warrant for Smith’s arrest, according to the CCSD. Smith was arrested at his place of employment without incident.

He was charged with a Class A Felony of Murder in the First Degree and a Class A Felony of Armed Criminal Action and is currently being held without bond in the Camden County Adult Detention Facility.

A motion hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, June 16, at 1 p.m. His attorney of record is Christian Rasmussen.

Eden’s probable cause statement ended stating there has been no tax or credit activity or any contact through any media with Spencer that would have indicated he has been alive since April of 2006.

The statement added that his name and birth date had not been registered in the United States as having a driver’s or non-driver’s license.

“He is still entered as a missing person of this state,” Eden concluded.

Smith’s wife has also had at least one run-in with the court system.

According to court records, Carolina had been convicted in March of 2013 of Felony Possession of Any Methamphetamine Precursor Drug W/Intent To Manufacture Amphetamine, Methamphetamine Or Any Of Their Analogs.

She had been given a suspended sentence and placed on supervised probation for five years.