According to a search warrant affidavit, Army Pfc. Matthew Kvapil told investigators he dressed in black and hid in bushes on Sept. Richard Smith, 26, and his wife, Sgt. Christina Smith, 29, walked near their home. When the pair passed his hiding spot, he told investigators, he jumped out and stabbed the woman to death.
Both men appeared in court Monday, charged with one count each of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Both will also receive court-appointed attorneys. Relatives and friends of the defendants rushed past reporters on their way out, declining through a sheriff's office spokeswoman to comment.
According to an affidavit, detective Jeff Locklear said someone came forward with information about the case. The person, whose name was not released, said they had been approached more than once by Richard Smith about killing his wife. The person said told police they refused to take part and told the detective that Richard Smith had talked to others about murdering his wife.
The search warrant affidavit entered in court Monday stated that officers responding to an emergency call the night of the slaying found Richard Smith holding his wife, stabbed and bleeding, in the roadway near their Fayetteville home.
Richard Smith first told police an attacker stabbed his wife in the neck and fled as he chased after him. She died on the way to the hospital. Officials who interviewed Richard Smith at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center later that night mentioned that his voice sounded robotic as he recounted the events that led to his wife's death.
