A California Man named John Creech was convicted of beating to death a 20th Century Fox movie executive. The Fox executive disappeared in 2012 and his remains were found in a shallow grave in the desert in 2014.
Creech was not found guilty of first-degree and second-degree murder, he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter.
Victim was having affair with suspect's wife
According to the prosecutor, Creech killed the movie executive, identified as Gavin Smith, then 57 years old, because he caught the latter having an affair with his wife. Smith and Creech’s wife met at a rehabilitation facility back in 2008.
They had an on-and-off relationship. Smith was married and had three children.
The Fox executive went missing on May 1, 2012. Before he disappeared, he and Creech’s wife met at their secret spot in West Hills. They were inside Smith's Mercedes-Benz and Creech was able to track them using his wife’s iPhone.
John Creech buried Gavin Smith's body in a shallow grave
Creech initially placed Smith's car inside a self-storage unit in Simi Valley. Later, he took the dead body of Smith outside Palmdale. He buried the victim’s body in a shallow grave and hikers discovered his bones two years later, Los Angeles Times reported.
It was found out that Smith died of blunt force trauma. The defense team of Creech said that he acted in self-defense as Smith chocked him and threatened him with a tool similar to a hammer or an ice pick.
When Creech took the stand, he noted that Smith cursed at him and punched him in the face. Creech also acknowledged the fact that he was taking growth hormones when things turned physical between them.
Creech said he initially left the scene but came back and saw Smith has not moved. He added that Smith was inside his car and had his mouth open.
He, then, checked if Smith was still breathing and, when he did not feel any pulse, he did not call 911. Creech said if he could go back in time, he would call 911 and noted that he said a prayer while he buried Smith's body. Creech said he did not want to contact police because he had run-ins with the law in the past. He was convicted of possession of sale of cocaine.
The manslaughter came after two of Smith's sons went to Creech to apologize because of their father's affair with the Creech's wife. The visit took place on December 8, 2010. Creech allegedly told Smith's sons that they saved their father’s life by going to his to apologize.
