‘There are no winners in this’: Family reacts to guilty plea in Brunswick Co. cold case
Bryan Lee O'Daniels pleaded guilty for the murder of Timothy Smart in 1995 in Boiling Spring Lakes
BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — After more than 25 years, a family receives closure after the man who killed their missing loved one pleads guilty in a Brunswick County courtroom.
Two years ago, Bryan Lee O’Daniels was arrested for the murder of Timothy Smart, who disappeared in July of 1995. At the time, Smart lived in the 200 block of South Shore Drive in Boiling Spring Lakes. That was the last place he was ever seen.
For years, Smart’s disappearance weighed on his family.
“Tim was a very happy human being. He was very positive. He didn’t deserve what happened to him,” a very close family friend Juanita Verdin said.
“There isn’t a Thanksgiving that doesn’t go by that I don’t remember that we spent it with Tim and that was the last Thanksgiving we got,” Smart’s step-mom Jeanette Smart said.
Smart’s step-mom Jeanette Smart said it has been really hard for her and Smart’s dad.
“It’s affected him so much, he can’t even talk about it,” Jeanette said.
Jeanette and a very close family friend, Juanita Verdin say it was extremely hard for Smart’s mom, Gale. They believe she died of a broken heart in 2016.
“Her heart was broken. Tim was her only child,” Verdin said.
“My opinion was her worry, her fretting, her not knowing where her son was wore on her heart until she just gave out,” Jeanette said.
For almost twenty five years, Smart’s case remained unsolved until 2019.
“Every once in a while, the press plays an indispensable role in not only reporting the news, but help us to solve cases. In this particular matter, investigative journalism coupled with the follow up work by very seasoned detectives helped crack a cold case over a quarter century old,” District Attorney Jon David said.
WWAY reported on the missing man’s unsolved case as part of Hannah Patrick’s “#Unsolved” series that aired in May of 2018. SBI says after the news story aired, an anonymous caller contacted the SBI and provided information that revitalized Smart’s case.
“Someone had the courage to call in and share information which literally broke this case wide open,” David said.
But the case was still not easy to solve. It took a lot of leg work from investigators in many different agencies.
“Cold cases are notoriously challenging under the best of scenarios. In this case, at the time we made the arrest, it was not only a cold case, it was a no body homicide,” David said.
David said that tip led to a series of interviews among a group of friends from 1995. In July of 2019, investigators arrested Bryan O’Daniels.
David said that based on the friends interviews, they believe that O’Daniels killed Smart, because he thought smart was interested in his girlfriend at the time, and because O’Daniels thought Smart had stolen about $40 from him for drugs.
Two months later after the arrest, in September of 2019, investigators found Smart’s remains buried in a shallow grave in the woods.
“We were able to locate an area where we believed the victim was buried in a shallow grave and through the use of forensic scientists, soil experts and medical examiners. We pinpointed a location where we believed his body was located and we did in fact recover him,” David said.
Two years later, O’Daniels, pleaded guilty to second degree murder with Smart’s family watching over video conference.
“It’s bittersweet. It revives a lot of emotions. It’s painful,” Verdin said.
While it may be closure, Jeanette said it does not feel like justice for anyone.
“We’ll never get Tim back. Mr. O’Daniels is not going to get his life back as to what it could have been, but when you’re young and you make bad choices, you have to pay for ’em. It’s a sad situation. There are no winners in this,” Jeanette said.
It’s not easy, but Jeanette is hoping at least that Tim and Gale are somewhere watching.
“I prayed to them last night just asking them to give us support to get through it and hopefully that they knew that we made it, that we finally got there,” Jeanette said.
O’Daniels appeared in court on Monday morning and pleaded guilty to second degree murder as part of a plea deal. He was sentenced to a minimum of 14 years in prison and a maximum of 18 years. He will get credit for time served waiting for trial.
