‘HE SHOT THEM!’
THE WIFE OF A 30-year-old man suspected of slaying two Ohio cops called 911 pleading for someone to help her young daughter as she hid outside in the bushes.
“Please help me, help me. He shot the police officers,” she cried out hysterically, according to audio obtained by the Columbus Dispatch.
Smith’s wife, identified in police reports as Candace Smith, told the dispatcher that her husband, Quentin Smith, was responsible for killing a pair of veteran Westerville Police Department officers as they responded to a 911 hangup call Saturday afternoon.
“He shot them when they came into the house,” the woman said after being asked if she had seen the officers.
The dispatcher tried to keep the caller calm when she realized that she could no longer hear her 1-year-old daughter crying. “I just wanna see my daughter,” she said through breathless tears.
Authorities identified Smith as a suspect in the cop killing late Saturday, noting that he had a history of domestic abuse that frequently brought police to his door.
Records also showed he illegally possessed a gun, according to Cincinnati.com.
Smith was charged Sunday with two counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of Officers Anthony Morelli, 54, and Eric Joering, 39.
Police Chief Joe Morbitzer told reporters that the officers were checking on a “potential domestic situation” when they were shot and killed.
A teen neighbor heard at least five gunshots erupt at the home, which he associated with constant “arguing and fighting” ever since the couple moved in eight months prior.
Candace Smith inquired about protection orders on Nov. 29 after being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease. She told police that she and her husband were not getting along and claimed that Smith would threaten to “kill her, their daughter and himself” if she tried to leave.
Smith was apprehended after the attack and treated at a local hospital for unspecified injuries.