Austin Smith, 30-years-old, has been identified as the Phoenix, Arizona man who allegedly killed his wife Dasia Patterson, two of their children, and another man.
According to Phoenix police, Smith, 30, was arrested on Thursday, April 11 and booked on suspicion of four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault.
Police say that Smith allegedly murdered his 29-year-old wife Dasia Patterson, two of their daughters — aged 5 and 7 — and a 46-year-old man named Ron Freeman.
Sgt. Tommy Thompson with the Phoenix police said that officers found the body of 46-year-old Ron Freeman following reports of a shooting at an apartment complex before later finding the bodies of Patterson and two of their daughters, 5-year-old Nasha Smith and 7-year-old Mayan Smith, at Smith’s home.
Police say that Nasha died from gunshot wounds while Mayan died from apparent blunt-force trauma.
The couple’s other 3-year-old daughter was found uninjured hiding beneath a bed when police arrived on the scene.
While speaking to reporters, Sgt. Tommy Thompson said ““it is my understanding that for whatever reason he elected not to shoot her [the 3-year-old].”
CBS 5 reports that Smith said “God” told him to kill his wife and that his 5-year-old daughter Nasha’s bad behavior was “against God’s laws”, so he killed her too.
Furthermore, CBS 5 reports that court records indicate Smith beat his 7-year-old daughter to death because she was crying and he believed “nobody should weep for the wicked.”
In addition to the deceased, another man and woman were shot at the apartment complex where Freeman’s body was found.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends, family, and loved ones of Ron Freeman, Dasia Patterson, Nasha Smith, and Mayan Smith during this extremely difficult time.
That is all the information that is available at this time. This article will be updated with new and relevant information should it become available at any time. If there is anything that we missed, please feel free to send an email to editor@teamcoed.com and we will respond as soon as possible.