Career
Smith, then 24, a nephew of the elder McBeths", confessed to the crime. The McBeth family lived in rural Iowa, about four miles north of Martinsburg, and Gayno Smith had been living with them at the time. Another daughter, Patsy Lou, 15, was wounded by Smith but escaped in the night and ran to a nearby farm for help.
Kellogg"s six-month-old baby, Perry, was in a crib and left unharmed.
"Smith remained at the dance a short time, then disappeared until midnight, according to court records. He came back to pick up the group after the dance ended.
Thunder, lightning and heavy rain began as the five went to a truck stop for food. When they returned to their farmhouse, the lights were out."
The children found flashlights and made their way around the house to investigate.
They tried to call for help but discovered the lines had been cut.
"Suddenly, Smith appeared before them with a flashlight and a gun. He shot Amos in the face, then Donna. He shot Patsy in the shoulder.
Though badly wounded, Amos pleaded for his life but was shot again.
"Smith chased her to a ditch in the countryside. She played cat and mouse through the ditches, crawling and crouching to escape his roving flashlight through the early morning hours.
She finally reached a nearby farmhouse, where she called her uncle, Firman McBeth."
Smith went into hiding but was found four days later in a barn near Lake Wapello. Smith was sentenced to five life terms for first-degree murder and one 50-year term for second-degree murder.
Perry, the child in the crib, has spoken about the problems he faced growing up.
"All the way through school I was a bully because I wanted people to hurt as bad as I did. I hated everything and everybody," he said. "I"m sorry about that now.
When I see those people today, I try to tell them that, but they just don"t understand."
Perry graduated from Pekin Community High School
Gayno Smith"s body was cremated and buried in Mount Zion Cemetery next to the plot of his mother.
