SA murder suspect loved me, says wife
US woman married Queenstown man arrested for double murder
TANYA WATERWORTH
IT WAS a whirlwind romance in Durban, but turned into tragedy, thousands of kilometres away in Alaska.
This week Stephanie Bissland, the wife of South African Brian Steven Smith, who has been accused of brutally murdering two women in Anchorage, Alaska, spoke to the Saturday Star’s sister newspaper, the Independent on Saturday, about how the couple’s love turned to heartbreak.
Smith, 48, who grew up in Queenstown, was arrested on October 8 and is being held pending trial on 13 counts, including murder in the first degree, second degree, sexual assault, tampering with physical evidence and misconduct involving a corpse in connection to the murders of Alaskan women Kathleen Henry and Veronica Abouchuk.
He was arrested after an Anchorage resident found an SD card on the street. It was titled “Homicide at Midtown Marriott” and contained videos and shows images of a woman being tortured, raped and murdered.
The man’s voice on the video had a South African accent, which police identified as belonging to Smith.
Bissland, 69, who is a blues musician, said she and Smith first met through online gaming in February 2013.
“We began to talk about things other than games. We also became Facebook friends.
“We continued to get to know each other more. With the time difference, we Skyped twice a day. Sometimes our sessions were hours,” she said.
Smith tried to get a visa to work in the US so he could visit Bissland in Alaska, but the restrictions were too tight.
Bissland said in July 2013, Smith proposed to her on Skype. She said yes and planned her first trip to South Africa so they could meet in August 2013.
“I first saw him rushing over to me in the Durban airport. We were both excited and happy. The next day we drove to Estcourt and stayed in the guesthouse he managed. He proposed again on his knee,” she said.
The couple shared their first proper date in a local steakhouse.
“We sat close and talked. The management didn’t kick us out at closing and left us alone talking until the smiling staff were going home.
“I think they saw something special was happening.”
Bissland said they spent the holiday visiting nearby places, sharing a picnic next to a fire at Wagendrift Dam and having dinner in Nottingham Road.
When they drove back to Durban, Bissland said Smith bought her “a token engagement ring” before she left.
In September 2013, Bissland petitioned for a visa for her fiance and Smith arrived in the US at Dulles Airport, Virginia, in March 2014.
There the couple were treated to an engagement party by Bissland’s best friend before before going to Bissland’s home in Anchorage.
They were married on May 17 2014. “Brian took care of me, he is a clever man. He was proud of my accomplishments.
“He loved to pull pranks on me and laughed like a kid on his jokes. He has a good work ethic. He was an open, pleasant, normal person,” she said, adding that Smith would often surprise her with generous gifts, such as a book or a violin.
She described Smith as enjoying woodwork, fixing electronics, hiking and photography.
For Bissland, it was just simple togetherness, which remains her favourite memory of those heady romantic days.
Together they made a greenhouse from a pile of windows. He also helped her to make props for a stage play she was involved in.
They ate sandwiches and talked and “swimming with him in the ocean in Hawaii and in South Africa”.
In February 2016, the couple visited South Africa so Bissland could get to know his family and friends better.
They travelled from Johannesburg to tour around the Southern Cape to Smith’s hometown, Queenstown, as well as East London, where he had lived and worked.
“We had ‘us’ time along the route” and they visited the Cango Caves, animal reserves, historic sites, stopping at small villages and stalls.
“It was a fabulous vacation. We hoped to go back for another visit this year again,” she said.
But instead this year Smith will stand trial for murders which have shocked
Alaska and made newspaper international headlines.
Bissland said that on learning of his arrest “I was horrified and could not believe it. No one who knew him believed it.”
She was on holiday in Virginia at that time.
“The detectives who flew down to Virginia asked questions that showed me that there were things I didn’t know, I was a mess,” she said.
She cut short her holiday and headed back home.
“I was worried about Brian. I was outraged at the terrible messages sent to me, but I never commented back. I was lost.”
Bissland said that since her husband’s arrest she has been seeing a therapist and “I went through the steps of grieving several times. I went through the ‘if only’ stage and have come to accept the situation.
“I prayed and put much on God’s shoulders.”
She added that she and Smith exchanged letters and she had visited him behind bars.
His bail was set at $2m (R29.5m). She said they never discussed the case, but “just us”.
She has also kept in close contact with his family in South Africa. “Some people are hot on why I haven’t divorced him, why would I stand behind him?
“Frankly, there is other business higher on my things-to-do list. I am his wife. I take care of his welfare. I can do things for him from the outside. I think he needs to communicate with someone. I am helping the part of the man I married,” she said.
Smith is scheduled to be back in court in Anchorage at the end of the month for a discovery hearing.