A little after 10:00 pm on the evening of May 1, 1990, Pamela Smart returned home from work to find her husband, twenty-four-year-old Gregg Smart, lying dead just beyond the front door of their condominium, a single bullet hole in his head. Detectives from the small town of Derry, NH arrived to find what appeared to be the scene of a robbery; though, very little looked to have been stolen and to investigators the scene felt staged. Two days later, Derry Police Captain Loring Jackson announced that Gregg Smart’s death wasn’t a random attacked, he’d been murdered by someone who knew him. The murder of Gregg Smart, and the trial that followed, shocked the population of New Hampshire, where it remains perhaps the most notorious criminal trial in the state’s history. As the first criminal trial to be televised from beginning to end, the case of Pamela Smart and her teenage lover captivated a national audience, leading to television and feature films, several nonfiction books, and countless television specials in the decades that followed.
Special thank you to the brilliant David White for research assistance
References
Baker, Frank. 1990. "Smart to be jailed until trial." Concord Monitor, August 14: 1.
—. 1990. "Widow charged as accomplice." Concord Monitor, August 2: 14.
Carton, Barbara. 1991. "The Pamela Smart story." Boston Globe, Marcg 21.
1991. NH v. Smart: Opening Statements. Directed by Court TV. Performed by Court TV.
Derry News. 1990. "Family and friends puzzle over murder." Derry News, May 4: 1.
Englade, Ken. 1991. Deadly Lessons. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press.
Gaines, Judith, and Alexander Reid. 1991. "Jurors say tales a key to their decision." Boston Globe, March 23: 1.
Hernandez, Monica. 2023. Accomplice in Smart murder asks for sentence reduction. January 10. Accessed May 1, 2023. https://www.wmur.com/article/smart-murder-vance-lattime-sentence-reduction/42449265.
Hohler, Bob. 1991. "3 guilty in N.H. killing." Boston Globe, January 30: 1.
—. 1991. "Confidant was wired by police." Boston Globe, March 15: 21.
—. 1991. "Smart is found guilty." Boston Globe, March 23: 1.
—. 1991. "Smart pleaded for life, N.H. teen-ager testifies." Boston Globe, March 6: 19.
—. 1991. "Tales of seduction." Boston Globe, March 12: 1.
—. 1990. "Tape offered at Smart hearing." Boston Globe, August 14.
—. 1991. "Witness: Smart asked for tips on reaction." Boston Globe, March 3: 27.
—. 1991. "Youth says blood flowed, tears did not." Boston Globe, March 13: 35.
Kilgannon, Corey. 2023. "Smart, who plotted with a teen lover to kill her husband, loses a parole bid." New York Times, March 30.
Kittredge, Clare. 1991. "A verdict to take to son's grave." Boston Globe, March 23: 1.
—. 1991. "Smart trial garners big TV audience." Boston Globe, March 17: 1.
Richardson, Franci. 1990. "Mrs. Smart absolutely convinced husband surprised thief." Derry News, May 9: 1.
Sawicki, Stephen. 1991. Teach Me to Kill: The Shocking True Story of the Pamela Smart Murder Case. New York, NY: Avon Books.
Schweitzer, Sarah. 2015. "5 years later, shooter to go free: William Flynn was 16 when he was lured into murder by Pamela Smart." Boston Globe, March 13: A1.
State of New Hampshire v. Pamela Smart. 1993. 622 A.2d 1197 (Supreme Court of New Hampshire, February 26).
Wang, Beverley. 2005. "Pamela Smart accomplice released." Concord Monitor, June 15: 10.
West, Nancy. 2016. Breaking Silence: Cecelia Pierce Speaks. October 12. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://www.nhmagazine.com/breaking-silence-cecelia-pierce-speaks/.
West, Nancy, and David Mendelsohn. 2016. Pamela Smart: innocent of (still) guilty. October 13. Accessed April 29, 2023. https://www.nhmagazine.com/pamela-smart-innocent-or-still-guilty/
https://www.bostonherald.com/2015/03/09/brother-of-pamela-smarts-victim-killer-did-his-time/
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Episode 569: “Weirdos’ Audiobook Club” presented by Audible – Desperate Deadly Widows with Special Guest, Sheena Melwani
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Episode 565: Fred & Rose West (Part 2)
Episode 564: Fred & Rose West (Part 1)
Episode 563: A Deeper Look at the Crimes of Joran van der Sloot With Christopher Cassel
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Episode 561: “Jolly Jane” Toppan: Angel of Mercy (Part 2)
Episode 560: “Jolly Jane” Toppan: Angel of Mercy (Part 1)
Episode 559: The Murder of Timothy Coggins
Episode 558: Listener Tales 85
Episode 557: The Glove Guy (With Jordan Bonaparte from The Night Time Podcast)
Episode 556: The Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders
Episode 555: Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield (Part 3)
Episode 554: Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield (Part 2)
Episode 553: Ed Gein: The Butcher of Plainfield (Part 1)
Episode 552: Marie Robards
Episode 551: Happy Land Social Club Arson
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