Arizona man sentenced for killing couple over Ford Shelby GT500

PHOENIX —An Arizona man was sentenced to two consecutive natural life sentences and an additional 21 years for murdering a couple over a Ford Shelby GT500.

Authorities said Alexander Lee Smith, 21, broke into a Peoria home belonging to Walter Mitchell, 52, and his 42-year-old wife Susie Ephrem in November of 2023 and shot both of them.

Mitchell died at the scene, while Ephrem was able to call the police but later died at the hospital.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said the couple’s 8-year-old grandson was also in the house at the time of the shooting but was not injured in the break-in.

What else do we know about Arizona man who murdered couple over Ford Shelby GT500?

The Peoria Police Department later found messages between Smith and Mitchell over a pending sale of the car; however, the day before the murder, Mitchell canceled the deal because a wire transfer from Smith was not received. Later that night, Mitchell instead opted to trade the car at a nearby dealership. 

Smith then went back to the house located near 79th Avenue and Cholla Street the day after the murder and told detectives he worked for a car collector who purchased the Ford GT500 from Mitchell and was there to pick up the car.

More than two weeks later, the 21-year-old went to the Peoria Police station and asked to speak with detectives about getting the car; however, his telling of the events did not corroborate with what he told authorities the day after the shooting.

Detectives also found phone records from around the time Smith was trying to buy the car from Mitchell that showed Smith was pretending to be the car’s owner so he could trade the car.

Even though the potential swap had been canceled, authorities said Smith told someone else that he would trade the car the next day, which was the day of the murder.

Detectives were later able to use GPS data to determine that Smith was near the home belonging to Mitchell and Ephrem around the time of the shooting. Smith’s fingerprints were also discovered on the front door’s handle.

Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the first degree.

“This was an act driven by greed,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a press release. “Even after taking two lives, this defendant continued to lie to police to try to get the car. Thanks to Peoria Police and MCAO prosecutors, his story unraveled and he will spend the rest of his life facing the consequences of his choices.”

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