A Jackson County judge sentenced 36-year-old William Deandre-Kashawn Smith to life without parole on Thursday after he was found guilty of first-degree murder and felony firearms.
According to the Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, deputies and medical professionals were dispatched to a home in Summit Township on Jan. 22, 2024, after receiving reports of an unresponsive woman.
When first responders came, they discovered Shiana Gittens had been shot in the head. Investigators used cell phone data, car data, and surveillance video to determine that Smith shot and killed her in their bedroom. Their four children were said to have slept in the same room.
Smith was convicted on both charges on April 2, 2026, following a four-day trial.
“Any judge in the state of Michigan with these kinds of charges in front of them would have to, by statute, sentence somebody to life without the possibility of parole,” Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Kelsey Guernsey explained.
Guernsey said the case was constructed mostly on hours of digital evidence discovered after the shooting, but the element that stood out to everyone connected in the case was how Gittens was discovered by her loved ones.
“We had the cell phones, we had the car stuff, we had the videos,” Guernsey replied. “But there was also a really big emotional component to this case in that this woman was found by her then 8 and 6-year-old children.”
Throughout the trial, defense counsel Andrew Kirkpatrick claimed there was insufficient physical evidence to directly locate his client at the location.
“The crux of my defense was that no one could place him in the scene in the house at that time. “There were no eyewitnesses,” Kirkpatrick explained. “He’s proclaimed his innocence throughout, thus the reason why he had a jury trial.”
While the court’s judgment may be finalized, Guernsey says the attention now shifts to the four children left behind.
“Those aunts and that whole family are so committed to raising those kids in the way that Moni would want them to be raised with that good energy out in the world,” Guernsey stated. “Those kids are going to help change our world for the better.”
Kirkpatrick says Smith intends to appeal the ruling to the Michigan Court of Appeals, and Judge John G. McBain says the defense has 42 days to contest the verdict and resolve the matter.
Leave a Reply