1,000 Views and Counting

I have some exciting news to share with you. Yesterday, “Our Final Day In Court” became my first blog post to hit 1,000 views. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the post and to share it on their social media sites. I am both humbled and grateful for your overwhelming support. Below is a repost (including 2 added photos), in case you have not had a chance to check it out. The original post can be found at Our Final Day In Court. Repost – Our Final Day In Court This blog post is a little READ MORE

Our Final Day In Court

This blog post is a little longer than usual and was a difficult entry to write. I hope this part of my story will speak to you. For almost 4 years, Kenneth Allen Keith, a former pastor who was charged with the murder of Daniel P. Smith (my dad), Michael Hockensmith, and Angela Hockensmith,  maintained and proclaimed his innocence. For 3 years and 8 months, I kept my phone within arm’s length, hoping to get a call from the district attorney’s office concerning a new case development or piece of evidence the police/prosecution would be able to disclose. My heart READ MORE

Guilty

I started to write a post about the update in my dad’s murder case, but I couldn’t find the words to express what I am going through right now. I can tell you that the case has come to an end. On May 26th, Kenneth Allen Keith changed his plea to guilty, guaranteeing him life in prison with no parole. Those are the facts. I have so much still unsettled in my heart. The grief process didn’t stop when Keith entered his guilty plea. It made a sharp turn. Although a part of me wants to talk about it, another READ MORE

God Is Faithful!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been considering changing my writing schedule for the summer. This week, I made the decision to start blogging every weekend, instead of every Thursday night. I’m hoping the schedule change will give me and my family more flexibility to travel and enjoy activities. Today, I received some news concerning my dad’s case, but I am not able to share the details yet. I will share it in the future. Needless to say, I am not really feeling up to writing the blog post I started working on last night. I may READ MORE

On the Horizon

It has been 3 1/2 years of waiting to get a trial date. Every month or so, I pick up the phone to make the same call to the District Attorney’s office. “Hi, this is Dan Smith’s daughter, Crystal. I was just calling to check on any developments in my dad’s case.” I press my ear firmly to the phone, listening carefully to the friendly yet matter-of-fact voice on the other end of the line, anticipating something I did not read in the online news feed. Of course, they share few new details because almost any information could jeopardise the READ MORE