About the author
Laurence Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up on the fabled North Shore, north of Chicago along Lake Michigan. With a Masters degree in clinical psychology from the University of Chicago, and as a member of the American Psychology Association, he has spent nearly 28 years in various areas of the psychology milieu including clinician, counselor, therapist, and staff consultant for various major corporations. Laurence Smith has often testified as an expert witness in civil
legal proceedings, in addition to testifying at felony criminal trials, and criminal grand jury hearings. He also has credible knowledge of forensic pathology, along with medical insight in criminal investigations.
 Personal Info
Mr. Smith was adopted at age 5 by two loving Christian parents. His favorite childhood memory is that of his father bringing home a large 2-year-old Irish Setter dog that became his constant companion. A lifelong romantic, he savors the great loves of his life, though he regrets never marrying, and possibly having a son. His many interests include classical music, opera, and most of all tennis, in which he has won numerous awards since the age of 12. He remains an accomplished player today.
Why I wrote this book
I wish this was a fictional murder case that I was writing about. But unfortunately it is not. This murder case is truly a human tragedy. After learning all the details in this case, and reading the various books that had been written about it, I came to believe this case needed to be approached from a multi-dimensional perspective in order to better understand how and why the life of Jon Benet came to be taken from her.
Initially, upon learning of this child’s tragic death, I thought her murder was the result of an act perpetrated by a mentally unbalanced sexual predator. With the emergence of more details, I realized that an intruder was not responsible for Jon Benet’s death. Purest of logic dictated this could not be the case. I then thought that perhaps a parent panicked after this child had a fatal accident, and then proceeded to cover up her death because of some form of guilt.
However, after the autopsy report was finally released stating that Jon Benet’s death was due to the dual factors of strangulation and head trauma, this then brought a new perspective to the circumstances surrounding her death. It was no longer a case of possible involuntary manslaughter, but murder. I soon came to see that there was a strong possibility that JonBenet’s life could have been saved if 911 had been called, rather than having her life taken to serve misplaced self-interest. I came to see this young child’s death as being all too symbolic of current American culture, where self-centered concerns are at times placed above everything else, including one’s own child. JonBenet did not have to leave this life as a 6-year-old girl who was so fascinated with the world she lived in, still believing in the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.
“It is up to future authors to document the conclusion of this drama, probably years from now.”
Steve Thomas -
Former lead detective On this case
Perhaps, I am that author.
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