William Trickett Smith II

William Trickett Smith II
Born
William Trickett Smith Jr.

(1981-01-18) 18 January 1981 (age 43)
Pennsylvania, United States
Other names"The Suitcase Murderer"
Criminal statusIncarcerated
SpouseJana Claudia Gómez Menéndez (March 2007 – died July 2007)
Children1 son (born c. 1999)[3]
ParentWilliam Trickett Smith Sr.[2]
Conviction(s)Drug trafficking (2000)
Escape, eluding arrest (2004)
Murder (2011)[1]
Criminal chargeMurder (2007)
PenaltySentenced to 35 years in prison

William Trickett Smith II (or Jr.) (born January 18, 1981) is a U.S. citizen from Paxtang, Pennsylvania who pleaded guilty to killing his Peruvian wife, Jana Claudia Gómez Menéndez de Smith of Trujillo, Peru.[2] Gómez Menéndez was reported missing and was found in a suitcase that washed up on a beach near the capital city of Lima the day after the 2007 Peru earthquake. Her body was identified by a tattoo of a butterfly on her neck.[4] The homicide investigation became known in Peru as "The Mystery of the Butterfly".[1]

On May 23, 2011, Smith was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the murder of his wife.

  1. ^ a b "E-mails offered in request to extradite Smith to Peru". The Patriot-News. March 31, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Pa. man held after death of wife in Peru". USA Today. Associated Press. September 9, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Patriot-News-20101123-fraud was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Shellem, Pete (September 17, 2009). "Federal judge halts extradition of Paxtang man charged in the murder of his wife in Peru". The Patriot-News. Retrieved June 13, 2010.