Maryland Woman's Family Who 'Staged Killing' and Blamed Death on Panhandler Arrested Near Mexico Border: Police

The husband and stepdaughter of a Maryland woman have been charged with her murder, after the two suspects originally claimed she had been killed by a panhandler.

Police commissioner Michael Harrison confirmed Keith Smith, 52, and his daughter Valeria Smith, 28, had been arrested in relation to the death of Jacquelyn Smith, 54.

Keith Smith called police on December 1 last year claiming his wife had been killed after giving money to a street beggar. "We now know that was not true," Harrison told reporters.

Investigators were initially told that the victim had rolled down her car window to give money to a woman who was holding a sign reading: "Please help me feed my baby." They were told a male suspect reached into the car and stabbed Smith to death after a struggle over a wallet.

That narrative has now been discredited, Harrison said, adding that the family members had been arrested in Harlingen, Texas, near the Mexican border and charged with first degree murder.

"We developed evidence that Mr. Smith was leaving Maryland so we made the appropriate national notifications and Texas State Police arrested him this morning," he added.

Harrison described the case as a "terrible tragedy" and called Jacquelyn Smith an "innocent victim." He declined to go into specific details because the investigation into the death remains ongoing, but said that his detectives had pursued hard evidence to reach their findings.

Last December, David Hood, Jacquelyn Smith's son, told the Associated Press that his mother was in the car with her husband and stepdaughter at the time of the incident.

The motive of the killing remains a "trial matter" but enough evidence existed to find a probable cause, Harrison said, adding that "the evidence points to it was not a panhandler."

Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh said in a statement yesterday: "Like everyone in our city, state and across this nation, we mourned the senseless killing of Jacquelyn Smith.

"To now learn that family members staged this brutal killing is beyond belief and represents a double tragedy. They were responsible for taking Jacquelyn's life with unconscionable cruelty and contrived to do so in our city under the guise of random violence, exploiting the legitimate fears of our residents."

"I commend our homicide detectives for their expert and tireless work in bringing those truly responsible to justice in this very troubling and sad case," mayor Pugh added.

Keith Smith's Facebook profile still displays an image of the couple. In a TV interview at the time, the husband called for new laws to stop what he described as an "epidemic of these people out here begging for money and getting in close proximity of your car." Beside him, his daughter nodded and wept.