Left: Justin Smith (Philadelphia police). Right: Dianna Brice (Donohue Funeral Homes).
A Pennsylvania jury rejected a man's testimony that he shot his pregnant girlfriend in the head 11 times by accident when the gun went off during a struggle — and a judge sent him off to prison for the rest of his life.
Justin Smith, 28, was convicted of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and arson in the death of 21-year-old Dianna Brice, who was 14 weeks pregnant. He was sentenced to life behind bars, court records say.
Brice was reported missing on April 2, 2021, from her home in Upper Darby, which is near Philadelphia. Authorities knew she was last seen with Smith outside a laundromat in nearby Yeadon. A few hours after authorities announced her disappearance, Philadelphia firefighters found her torched car.
But neither she nor Smith was located.
About a week later, cops discovered her body in a wooded area in southwest Philadelphia. Cops immediately pinned Smith as a person of interest, but he wasn't arrested until last year in Atlanta, Georgia, during a traffic stop.
According to a courtroom report by the Philadelphia Inquirer, an argument escalated after Brice accused Smith of giving her herpes. Smith blasted her 11 times in the right temple and once in the shoulder, a medical examiner reportedly testified.
Smith took the stand in his own defense. He claimed a "switch" was affixed to the gun, and the shots went off in quick succession during the struggle.
"It went off, and she died," he reportedly told jurors.
But prosecutors pressed him on why he didn't call for help if the shooting was an accident.
Instead, he and an accomplice set the car on fire and disposed of her body.
"I just felt like this wasn't going to go my way," he said, per the Inquirer.
Assistant District Attorney Lauren Crump pointed out during closing arguments all the steps Smith took to cover up his crimes. After ditching his girlfriend's body and setting her car on fire, he fled to Florida with hopes of going to Cuba. He ended up in Atlanta where he was arrested four years later.
"That is not panic," Crump said. "That is premeditation."
Brice was a mother to a son and worked as a caregiver.
She had hopes of becoming a dialysis technician and was looking forward to learning the gender of her second child. She had ordered a gender reveal kit and had planned a party for a couple of weeks before her death. Brice never learned she was set to have another son.
"Born with angel eyes, Dianna had the spirit to brighten and lift everyone around her with her smile, laughter, character, and overall being," her obituary said. "Her beautiful soul was very loving and she cared above and beyond."