Georgia Supreme Court Upholds Arson, Murder Convictions of Forsyth Woman

The conviction of a Forsyth County woman who set a fire which killed her husband in 2010 has been upheld on appeal by the Georgia Supreme Court.

Jill Smith was convicted of malice murder and first degree arson for setting the fire which killed her husband Michael on Oct. 22, 2010. Smith was found dead in the master bathroom following a night of drinking and socializing with his wife and another man, Peter Delaney. Delaney also faced felony murder and first degree arson charges, was acquitted during the same trial which convicted Smith.

During the original trial, the prosecution claimed that Smith was having financial difficulties and was having an affair with Delaney. There was also a $500,000 life insurance policy on Michael Smith, that Jill would have received in the event of her husband’s accidental death. Investigators testified that an accelerant was used in the fire, and that Jill Smith’s business had burned down a few months before Michael’s death.

On appeal, Smith’s attorney argued that the evidence which convicted Smith was circumstantial, and that the state had never identified the person who set the fire which killed Michael Smith. The Georgia Supreme Court ruled against Smith, upholding her 2012 conviction.

Smith was sentenced to, and will serve, a life term in prison plus 20 years.