A 21-year-old man from Arizona was handed a significant prison term last week after admitting to shooting a couple when his attempt to buy a classic sports car from them did not succeed.
Alexander Smith confessed to two charges of first-degree murder and one charge of burglary, receiving two consecutive life sentences, along with an additional 20 years in prison.
“This act was motivated by greed; even after claiming two lives, this defendant continued to mislead police in an attempt to acquire the car,” stated Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “Due to the efforts of the Peoria Police and MCAO prosecutors, his deception was exposed, and he will now spend his lifetime dealing with the repercussions of his actions.”
Mitchell said that Smith forced his way into the home of Walter Mitchell, 52, and Susie Ephrem, 42, in November 2023. Ephrem called 911 but died at the hospital while Mitchel was pronounced dead on the scene. The couple’s 8-year-old grandson was at the home but was not physically harmed.
The next day, while police were at the home investigating the scene, Smith showed up and said he had arrived to pick up a Ford Shelby GT500 for a collector who had bought the vehicle from Mitchell. He did not provide paperwork and was denied the vehicle; meanwhile detectives found messages between Smith and Mitchell about the sale of the car.
“This message show that the day before the homicide, the victim called off the deal because the wire transfer didn’t go through,” the county attorney’s office said. “That same night, Walter traded the mustang at a car dealership. He and Susie were killed the next morning.”
Two weeks after the murder, Smith appeared at the Peoria Police station and again asked detectives about retrieving the car. This time he told a different story from the one he told the day after the murder.
Investigators checked Smith’s phone records and found that he was posing as the owner of the Shelby to try to trade it with someone else. He kept up that ruse even after the wire transfer failed and Mitchell called off the sale, telling his potential buyer he was trade the car the next day — the day of the murder.
GPS data found that Smith had been nearby around the time of the shooting, and his fingerprints were found on the victims’ door handle.
