Nick Lampson: “yesterday the people of Friendswood, TX, whose lives have been inexorably altered by the kidnapping and murder of…”

“yesterday the people of Friendswood, TX, whose lives have been inexorably altered by the kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Laura Kate Smither, saw a light at the end of their tunnel. Police Chief Jared Stout announced yesterday that they had a prime suspect who was in custody. The Friendswood police were able to name this suspect after his arrest for kidnapping a 19-year-old woman from a nearby community called Webster. In the case for which this suspect was arrested, he approached a young woman changing a flat tire and offered assistance, but as he approached, he pulled a knife on her and ordered her into his truck. This woman escaped by throwing herself out of his truck, which was moving down an interstate highway at 70 miles an hour sustaining significant injuries. That was not the first time this individual had attacked a woman. The prime suspect in the murder of Laura Smither had been sentenced on December 18, 1986, to a total of 28 years for convictions on charges of aggravated kidnapping, forcible oral sodomy, and rape. He was released a year ago. He served less than half of that sentence, and now this man has been named as the prime suspect in the slaying of Laura Smither. In less than a year, this individual, who had committed previous acts of kidnapping and violent sexual assault, has already been charged with aggravated kidnapping again. It is outrageous.…”