Case Details

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This person was missing Missing Since 05/13/1988

Missing Since:

Missing Since 05/13/1988

Missing From:

Missing From Palm Bay, Florida

Classification:

Classification Endangered Missing

Gender:

Male

Race:

Race White

Date of Birth:

Date of Birth 09/13/1939 (85)

Age:

Age 49 years old

Height and Weight:

Height and Weight 5’10, 270 – 280 pounds

Clothing/Jewelry Description:

Clothing/Jewelry Description A silver Rolex watch, a Leister Junior College class ring with a blue stone, and a gold chain with a lion’s head pendant.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, hazel eyes. Smith has a scar on his buttocks and a birthmark on his lower back. His nickname is Ed. He is balding.

Details of Disappearance:

In May 1988, Smith disappeared from his Palm Bay, Florida home. He’d advertised for a roommate, and a man named Charles Schuhart answered the ad. Schuhart stole Smith’s checks and $88,000. Smith was never seen again.

Schuhart was later caught and convicted of the check theft in 1993. He served three years in prison but continued committing crimes under many different names.

In 2005, hoping for a lighter sentence for another crime, Schuhart confessed to killing Smith. He said he lured Smith to a wildlife area, shot him, and buried him. He implicated two others, but they were never charged.

In 2007, Schuhart was charged with Smith’s murder. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in 2010 and served three more years in prison (he’d already been in jail for three years awaiting trial). He was released in 2011 and now lives in Georgia.

Police believe Smith was murdered, and Schuhart is the main suspect. Smith was divorced and had a teenage daughter. He had previously worked as a prison guard.

Agency:

Palm Bay Police Department 321-952-3456

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