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Hartung Convicted Of Murdering Three Family Members For Money
January 29, 2020
An Escambia County man has been found guilty of murdering three family members in 2015.
A jury returned the verdict late Wednesday afternoon against 63-year old Donald Hartung on Wednesday on three counts of first degree premeditated murder of his mother, 77-year old V Voncile Smith and two half-brothers, 47-year old John Smith,and 49-year old Richard Smith.
Hartung showed no emotion as the guilty verdicts were read aloud. Sentencing hearings are expected to begin Monday and are expected to take about four days. The state is seeking the death penalty.
All three bodies were found on July 31, 2015, in their home on Deerfield Drive. All three were beaten with a claw hammer and their throats slit, and Richard Smith was also shot in the head.
Prosecutors say Hartung was intentionally left out of his mother’s will with everything set to go to John and Richard Smith. The state says the interhertience was Hartung’s was motivation, and the only way he would collect any cash would be to kill all three.
Hartung allegedly hit John Smith with a hammer and slit his throat, just before his mother met the same fate. He took steps to hide the bodies, according to prosecutors, before brother Richard — a Department of Homeland Security IT professional — came home. Hartung, the state said, shot him in the head and also slit his throat.
The defense disputed the motive and the time of death. The defense also claimed crime scene technicians did not properly change gloves during their investigation, and that could have transferred Hartung’s DNA to the hammer used in the killing.
Comments
3 Responses to “Hartung Convicted Of Murdering Three Family Members For Money”
The world has tons of these monsters still loose
Morgan thought it had to do with the blue moon and witches.. What a humdinger. It is usually the family and about money. Ask the ESCO about the Billings and the vans. Zzz.
The time of death versus the body temperatures. But when you cover up a body with a bundle of clothes, don’t you think the body would maintain a higher temp for longer than no bundle? That’s my reasoning on it.
Tuesday had to be the day it happened because Richard Smith didn’t report to work the following day.
The jail mate knew too much about this case. The Discovery papers in Hartung’s cell would not have had all the information that was told. If it did, Hartung would be telling on himself. ex: The end of Voncille’s pinky finger was amputated. That certainly would not be listed in the Discovery.