18years old Ismemen David Etute was charged in the death of Blacksburg restaurant manager Jerry Paul Smith after allegedly punching and stomping the 40-year-old multiple times on May 31, Oyogist.com reports.
Etute who paired with Smith on Tinder never thought he was a man as his profile states that he was a woman named “Angie”.
According to Montgomery County Commonwealth’s Attorney Mary Pettitt who told the Montgomery County General District Court that the two initially met on April 10 for oral sex, during which Etute was still under the belief Smith was a woman.
It appears that Smith lived as a man during his day to day life, including at work, and his family referred to him with male pronouns.
Etute did not discover Smith was a man until they met again on May 31 for a second sexual encounter at Smith’s apartment.
Following his discovery, Etute punched Smith in the face five times before he fell to the ground. He punched him at least five more times and stomped on him, Commonwealth Attorneys told the court. And Smith reportedly did not fight back.
‘No one deserves to die, but I don’t mind saying, don’t pretend you’re someone you’re not,’ Etute’s lawyer, James Turk, said outside of court on Wednesday. ‘Under that guise, don’t target or entice anyone.’ That’s completely incorrect.’
According to Autopsy results,Smith died as a result of blunt force injuries to the head.
All the bones in Smith’s face were broken and his teeth were missing, the report said. Etute was immediately suspended from the football team and the institution, according to a statement made by Virginia Tech on Wednesday.
“Blacksburg Police continue to lead this ongoing investigation,” the institution stated in a statement. “The institution will help law enforcement agencies pursuing the case in any way it can.”
