Man Says He Convinced Slaying Victim to Die
A man accused of murder told detectives he persuaded a brutally beaten Washington state woman to let him kill her to stop her suffering.
“She didn’t want to die. I had to convince her,” Paul Smith said on a videotape played for jurors this week.
Smith, 24, of Redding, is charged in the April 1998 killing of 20-year-old Lora Sinner of Hoquiam, Wash. She was camping near Ono with Smith when three others in their party allegedly beat and tortured her, authorities have said.
On the tape, Smith tried to take full responsibility for the killing.
He denied that others harmed Sinner, saying they wouldn’t be able to handle serving time in prison. One woman has already been convicted in the killing.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
