Family gets answers, no justice in girl's death

Suspect in 1995 killing died months before DNA match, police say.

She dreamed of being a doctor and was days away from her middle school graduation. Nacole Smith was excited to shop for a pretty white dress to wear to the ceremony.

But on June 7, 1995, the 14-yearold died after being raped and shot twice in the face before she could make it to school, according to Atlanta police. For more than 26 years, her family prayed for answers, hopeful the person responsible would be found.

The wait for answers is over, but the family says there is no justice for Nacole. The suspect identified by DNA died last year of natural causes, having never been charged, police say.

“I never imagined this person would be deceased. So many unanswered questions I had for him,” Acquanellia Smith, Nacole’s mother, said Tuesday. “I’ll live with this pain for the rest of my life. Just take it one day at a time. There’s nothing more I can say right now.”

The suspect, a 49-year-old man who lived near Nacole’s family’s home in Atlanta, died in August from liver and kidney failure, police said Tuesday. He had no known criminal record. DNA linking him to Nacole’s case was gathered from another victim. In 2004, a 13-year-old East Point girl was pulled into the woods on Connally Drive and raped. She was able to run to safety, and DNA from that case showed a forensic match to Nacole’s attacker.

Survivor Betty Brown stood beside Nacole’s mother during a news conference at Atlanta police headquarters.

“I’m sorry we had to meet under these circumstances,” Brown told Acquanellia Smith.

The AJC does not typically name survivors of sexual assaults. In this case, Brown spoke publicly to share her experience.

Brown helped investigators develop a sketch of the suspect: a man in his late 20s to early 30s, with a medium complexion and a gap in his front teeth, wearing round prescription gold-framed glasses. The sketch was featured on a billboard near where Nacole was killed, and the story went

HYOSUB SHIN/HYOSUB.SHIN@AJC.COM Acquanellia Smith gets emotional at a news conference Tuesday at Atlanta police headquarters to announce a suspect in the 1995 rape and killing of her daughter Nacole Smith, 14.

AJC FILE On June 7, 1995, Nacole Smith, 14, died after being raped and shot twice in the face before she could make it to school, according to Atlanta police.