Greene County grandmother turned killer loses appeal

The case of a Greene County woman who was convicted for killing the mother of her grandchildren has lost her case with the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

Judge Robert Montgomery said in his ruling that Vonda Smith had failed to provide enough proof of the failure of due process, the absence of exculpatory evidence, and other complaints. He also affirmed Smith’s 25-year-sentence for the second-degree murder of Jessie Morrison, 21, and her unborn child.

Investigators said Smith killed Morrison in August 2016 with several blows to the head, crushing the back of her skull, then left her body near a creek off Jud Neal Loop in Afton.

(IMAGE: ST 929 ARCHIVES)