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The Gruesome South Carolina Murder of Shari Smith
How handwriting analysis and another murder helped to track down a serial killer.
The 1980s was a time of big hair and rock and roll. Teenagers would run around town until it was time for dinner. Pac-Man was a hit and video gaming was on the rise. The New York Islanders had just won four consecutive Stanley Cups and Ronald Reagan was President.
But, the number of serial killers also rose during the 80s. The Golden State Killer and the Night Stalker were very prominent during this decade. Given that much DNA technology was unavailable then, many of these heinous crimes went unsolved.
The murder of 17-year-old Shari Smith was a massive case in the 1980s and the investigative tactics used in this case helped shape the next era of solving murders.
The Murder
On May 31, 1985, around 3:38 pm, Shari Smith was just coming back from a graduation pool party for one of her friends. The Smith family lived in Lexington County, South Carolina. She was set to graduate high school in just a few days. While standing in her own driveway, she was abducted with her father just standing a few yards away.
Her parents immediately called the authorities and a full-scale search party began.
