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Left: Ash Smith (GoFundMe). Right: Wyatt Storm Belcher (Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office).
An Oregon man who fatally shot a mother of five children at a drum circle event in 2022 has been convicted by a jury after one hour of deliberations.
According to a press release from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, Wyatt Storm Belcher, aged 28, received a life sentence from a judge on Monday, with a chance for parole after 25 years. Last Thursday, Belcher was found guilty of second-degree murder when a jury reached their decision in just one hour, as reported by The Oregonian.
Belcher was found guilty of fatally shooting Ash Smith, a 31-year-old mother who was attending a drum circle event in Portland on May 8, 2022.
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Documents from the court, shared by local CBS station KOIN, revealed that after a crowd that was part of the drum circle began to leave, several witnesses heard a loud noise and saw a woman, later named Smith, collapse. Bystanders rushed to help Smith, who had been shot at the back of her neck.
Deputy District Attorney Devin Franklin mentioned in a press release, accessed by McClatchy News through news sources, “Although [Smith] didn’t deserve to be attacked in such a senseless manner by Wyatt Belcher, the compassion shown by the bystanders during her last moments was remarkable. Three of those witnesses found the courage to testify in this trial despite the deep personal impact of what they saw.”
Portland police soon located Belcher after several witnesses gave them a description of the gunman, who still had his gun on him. The DA’s office said in its press release that Belcher “racked the slide on the gun and asked if [Smith] was dead then asked the witness if he wanted to be shot as well.”
The shooting appeared to be completely random. Police said Belcher and Smith had no known relationship.
According to reporting by KOIN, Smith had been struggling with homelessness at the time of her death. A witness who spoke to the outlet soon after the incident said that she saw Smith “going around asking people for $6” in the moments leading up to her death, adding, “she didn’t have anything to take.”
Family said on a GoFundMe page to raise money for Smith’s funeral that she was “given a difficult hand in life,” but “was a good hearted person.”
Belcher, whose trial was delayed several times and was declared unfit for trial at one point, was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and schizoaffective disorder, according to court documents obtained by KOIN. He was later deemed fit to stand trial.
