Judy Smith was a 50-year-old married nurse, born in Hyannis, Massachusetts, in 1946. Smith was recently married when she and her husband traveled to Philadelphia in April 1997. Judy had reportedly wanted to tour the city to see some historical attractions, while Jeffrey, an attorney, attended a business conference. Nothing seemed odd or out of the ordinary about Judy leaving, until early that evening, around 6 p.m., when Judy never showed for a planned cocktail party.
Judy was a mother, a registered nurse, and a certified case manager, who had recently married Jeffrey, or Jeff, five months prior. The two met while Judy cared for a relative of his. By all online accounts, Judy Smith was finally living life. But something happened to Judy Smith on that trip that remains a mystery, even to this day. Roughly five months after her disappearance, in September 1997, a discovery made more than 600 miles from Philadelphia in Western North Carolina raised even more questions.
Immediate search efforts to locate Judy Smith yielded no clues as to what may have happened. Early on, the search for her had focused on the Philadelphia area, where several sightings had been reported. However, those early sightings may have been of a homeless woman who strongly resembled Smith.
For five long months, authorities continued to search for the missing woman, without success. It was almost like Judy Smith just walked outside on that spring day and vanished into thin air, without a trace.
But, in early September 1997, a break finally came in the case when a father and son were hunting in the Pisgah National Forest and found what appeared to be human bones near the Stoney Fork picnic area, near Asheville. Some have reported that the bones appeared to be spread over an area 100 yards in diameter, and that a shallow grave was found where the majority of the skeletal remains were located.
According to multiple online articles, the body was recovered partially buried and clothed in hiking apparel, and some of Smith’s belongings, including money and her wedding ring, remained untouched. The clothing Smith was found in was not the same articles she had reportedly disappeared in. An autopsy revealed the deceased had suffered multiple stab wounds.
Now, the bigger question was, why would someone want to harm Judy Smith?
Even more bizarre are the alleged interactions she had with people after her disappearance. One article stated, “Local witnesses in Asheville reported seeing a woman matching Judy’s description in the area shortly after she disappeared, alert, pleasant, and seemingly traveling alone. Some say she arrived in a gray sedan and even mentioned that her husband was at a conference in Philadelphia.”
It’s unclear how Judy Smith ended up so far away in North Carolina, or who is responsible for her death. More than two decades later, her case remains unsolved. The police have ruled out her husband, Jeffrey, as a suspect, who died in 2005.
If you have any information regarding the murder of Judith Smith, please call the Philadelphia Police Department at 215-686-8477 or the Asheville Police Department at 828-252-1110
Written By John G. Clark Jr.
