CHARLOTTE AMALIE — A mother charged with killing her 9-year-old daughter appeared in court this week and a judge ordered her to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine her sanity at the time of the crime.
The evaluation must also determine whether the mother, 32-year-old Anyah Smith, is a danger to herself or others, and if she is competent to stand trial and assist in her own defense.
Smith was arrested Monday and charged with first- and second-degree murder, reckless endangerment, third-degree domestic violence assault against a child, aggravated child abuse resulting in death, child abuse, and child neglect.
The Department of Education issued a statement expressing condolences to the friends and family of the victim, Jane E. Tuitt Elementary School student Ja’Qeada Isaac, and said bereavement counselors are available to help students and staff in mourning. The department’s press release misspelled the student’s name as “Jacqueda Issac,” and a spokeswoman confirmed the correct spelling Tuesday.
The probable cause fact sheet filed Tuesday provided additional details about the tragic circumstances that led to Smith’s arrest.
The case began at around 2:10 a.m. Saturday, when 911 dispatchers received a call from a family member who said Smith “may be having a psychotic breakdown,” and requested a welfare check.
The caller provided Smith’s address in Agnes Fancy, and patrol officers responded and found “numerous household items thrown on the ground outside the residence.”
Another witness said Smith and her daughter left the home on foot at around 2:08 a.m.
MURDER SUSPECT: Anyah Smith, 32, on St. Thomas
The witness said Smith was wearing “a white hat, blue dress and a funeral ribbon pinned to her shoulder,” and “was carrying a concrete block on her head,” according to the fact sheet. Isaac was dressed in a two-piece beige outfit.
After leaving the home, “Patrol Officers conducted a search for the defendant and the victim, but they were unable to locate them.”
At 5:22 a.m., there was a second call to 911 from Smith’s friend, who had been driving around searching for her with another friend, and located her at Vitraco Park Mall.
The caller said that when they got out of the vehicle and approached Smith, she “was pacing, back and forth, with the minor child victim on her back. Witness #3 stated that the defendant told her that the victim was dead.”
The friends “attempted several times to remove the child from the defendant’s back, but the defendant refused to release the victim.”
Patrol officers responded, and along with the friend, they were able to take Isaac from Smith.
“The defendant’s friends and family members rendered Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until Emergency Medical Technicians arrived at Vitraco Park Mall. While rendering CPR to the victim, water came out of the victim’s mouth,” according to the fact sheet.
EMTs rendered medical aid to Isaac, but concluded at 5:35 a.m. that she did not have any vital signs.
Officers transported Smith to the police station at 6:55 a.m., where she declined to give a statement.
“The defendant was dressed in a blue dress, which was wet, and she was not wearing any shoes,” according to the fact sheet. Investigators later learned that Smith had previously worn the dress at a funeral.
Smith told police she’d left her shoes on the waterfront, and officers transported her to Schneider Hospital for treatment for a cut on her foot. “She was subsequently committed to the psychiatric ward, pending a psychiatric evaluation.”
Police located Smith’s shoes at 7:30 a.m., “a pair of Green and Black Tommy Hilfiger bed slippers placed neatly near the Memorial Plaque for Emil E. White.”
Police also interviewed a family member who said she had been texting with Smith early Saturday, and Smith said she would miss her, “it’s time,” and “they coming to kill me when the sun go down.”
The witness also said that Isaac told her via text message that Smith was “breaking the devices and now she is breaking the phone.”
After Smith was located, the witness said she went to Vitraco Mall and asked her what was going on.
Smith said “people were chasing her, and she and the victim swam away,” according to the fact sheet. The witness asked why Smith did not let her daughter go, and Smith responded that “she did not know who to trust.”
Police obtained surveillance video that showed Smith and Isaac walking south on Irvin “Brownie” Brown Sr. Street at 2:14 a.m.
Smith was carrying the concrete block on her head, “and the victim was carrying what appeared to be a white appliance cord in her left hand and what appeared to be a hammer in her right hand.”
At 2:20 a.m., surveillance video showed Smith and Isaac cross Veterans Drive and walk onto the waterfront apron in the area of the memorial plaque. They sat near the water at around 2:21 a.m., “then shortly thereafter, they went into the water.”
On Sunday, a police diver and St. Thomas Rescue personnel searched the water and quickly located the concrete block “with a white electric cord tied to it, with the free end tied in a loop,” according to the fact sheet. “It is believed that the defendant tied one end of the white electric cord to the concrete block and looped the other end around the victim, and the defendant and the victim went into the water.”
The dive team continued to search, and found Isaac’s school identification card with her name and photo nearby.
Investigators reviewed Smith’s social media, and found a post from Friday that said today, “is the day they will kill me and my children.”
According to the fact sheet, “Investigation also revealed that the victim stated several times that they will kill her at sundown.”
When she was released from Schneider Hospital on Monday, police placed Smith under arrest and set bail at $1 million.
She appeared via videoconference from the St. Thomas jail before Magistrate Judge Simone VanHolten-Turnbull for her advice-of-rights hearing Tuesday.
Assistant Virgin Islands Attorney General Ziska Anderson argued that bail should remain at $1 million, and requested a mental health evaluation.
Public Defender Laina Arras asked that bail be set at $25,000, with the option to post 10% in cash.
Arras said Smith was born and raised on St. Thomas, and works out of her home as a beautician. Smith also has an 11-year-old son who lives with his father, and “she has no prior history, your Honor.”
According to publicly available court records, Smith was arrested once before in 2010 and charged with simple assault and disturbance of the peace.
Smith got into a fight with coworkers at Plaza Extra supermarket in Tutu Park Mall, and used a “metal plate” to hit another woman, who was not seriously injured, according to court records.
Smith pleaded guilty to disturbance of the peace, and received treatment under a section of the law that provides for “probation without conviction.”
After hearing from both sides, Judge VanHolten-Turnbull expressed concern for the safety of the community, and other children.
“The court is mindful that a minor child is no longer on this earth,” she said. “This is a very serious event, it’s her own child. And the events that unfolded up to the death gives me pause.”
The judge set bail at $750,000. She ordered Smith to undergo a psychiatric evaluation and scheduled arraignment for April 5.
VanHolten-Turnbull also ordered her to have no contact with any witnesses, and Arras asked that she be allowed to still have contact with family members who may be witnesses.
Anderson objected, and the judge agreed that she does not want any possibility of witness tampering or changing statements.
“They can be supportive from afar, they can be supportive monetarily,” but they cannot have contact, VanHolten-Turnbull said.
Arras said Smith’s sister also asked whether Smith will be allowed to attend her daughter’s funeral.
VanHolten-Turnbull said Arras must file a written request with the court, and the Superior Court judge taking over the case will issue a ruling.