Smith is being tried in Warren County Common Pleas Court on charges of special felony murder, voluntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence.
On Tuesday, the second day of the trial, investigators described Smith’s persona and the scene they found when arrived at the couple’s home at 30 Beam Drive, where they discovered Takach bleeding.
Franklin police Lt. Gerald Massey told the jury Smith appeared to be nervous but was not distraught when he arrived.
Massey said he was not sure if it was the right apartment because there was no frantic feeling when he entered with his gun drawn. He found Smith talking to neighbor Lauren McCoy and both appeared nervous.
Smith told Massey that Takach had pulled her into a bedroom and had his right arm around her neck and she had no idea how he got cut. Massey told her it was “a significant cut.”
In an interview with detectives, which was played in the courtroom, Smith admitted she found a steak knife during their confrontation and intended to cut him in the arm when Takach was grabbing her.
“I meant to cut him but from my understanding, I did worse,” she said during the interview. “I wanted to cut him in the arm but I went down further.”
She said Takach ran out of the house.
“I wish the whole situation could have been prevented,” she said while sobbing in the interview.
Dr. Lee Lehman, chief forensic pathologist with the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, said in a knife attack that people put their hands and arms up to protect themselves. He said Takach did not have defensive wounds.
Under cross-examination by the defense, Lehman admitted he had seen instances where there were no defensive wounds in a knife fight. Lehman also testified that Takach had a low concentration of marijuana in his bloodstream right after his death.
Steve Weichman, a forensic scientist with the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab in Dayton, said no blood was found on the alleged knife used to stab Takach. He said if the knife was used in the stabbing, he would expect to find traces of blood. He testified blood could be removed with water, bleach or dish soap.
Defense attorney Mike Allen said Monday Smith was in a relationship with another man and was pregnant with his child and that Takach’s jealously got out of control.
Brandy Whitlock, now of Florida, said the relationship between Smith and Takach “was good when it was good, and when it was bad, it was bad. There was lots of arguing.”
Whitlock testified about an incident at her Florence Street residence in Middletown, where Takach got angry with Smith when she was running late to pick up their two small children.
Whitlock said the two got into an argument and Smith eventually used her car to hit Takach in the hip and went over the hood. He walked away from the incident and made Whitlock promise not to call police
The trial is expected to continue through Thursday.
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4504 or erichter@coxohio.com.
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