Canton Woman Pleads Guilty To Killing Cousin

MARIETTA, GA — A Canton woman has pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing her teenage relative at the victim's Cobb County home. Olivia Nicole Smith, 21, pleaded guilty on Monday, May 14 to voluntary manslaughter in the 2015 killing of Abbey Hebert, a 17-year-old student at Allatoona High School, the Cobb County District Attorney's Office said.

Prosecutors say the victim and defendant were related by marriage and partied together the night before the Nov. 14, 2015, incident. Smith, who was 18 at the time of her arrest, spent the night at her cousin's home and on the morning of the stabbing, they went to Chick-fil-A and Kroger and "all seemed normal."

However, Smith approached a neighbor around 9:30 a.m. and said "something happened," prompting the neighbor to call 9-1-1. Prosecutors also said Smith told someone else that she and Hebert had been smoking marijuana behind the home and that she saw God, who told her to "kill Abbey."

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Cobb County police responded to the scene at the home in the 3100 block of Blowing Wind Court in Acworth and found the kitchen in disarray. According the DA's office, investigators found a butcher's block on the floor, two broken chairs, broken glass, and dents in the drywall. The beginning of a blood trail indicated the stabbing started in the kitchen, and Hebert's body was found lying in the yard of the residence.

During the two years she has been held in custody since the killing, Smith met with a psychiatrist 15 times and no evidence of a mental health issue was found, according to prosecutors. Instead, all evidence suggests her "delusional and psychotic state was drug-induced," the DA's office added.

“Abbey Hebert was a vibrant young lady who played softball and was active in the community," Chief Assistant District Attorney Jesse Evans said Monday. "Abbey’s loss has deeply impacted the north Cobb community and those who attended Allatoona High School with her, as demonstrated by all of the people who now crowd this courtroom as this criminal case finally comes to an end with the conviction of (the) defendant, Abbey’s killer. There are absolutely no winners here. This is not a decision made lightly. We’ve had hours of consultation with family, friends, and the District Attorney, Vic Reynolds, and I believe that even at trial, a conviction for voluntary manslaughter is a likely outcome.

“It is a cautionary tale, indeed, about the uncertainty and dangers of drug use,” Evans said.

After accepting the plea, Cobb Superior Court Judge Ann Harris sentenced Smith to 20 years in prison. Marietta attorney Jimmy Berry represented Smith, and the Cobb County Police Department investigated this case.

Photo: Olivia Smith. Credit: Cobb County Jail