Adrian Hedden
Carlsbad Current-Argus
A 12-person jury convicted Kelli Smith of the same child abuse charges handed down to her daughter last year, after the women were accused in the 2021 death of 12-year-old Brent Sullivan from a fentanyl overdose.
Smith, Sullivan’s grandmother was charged with a count each of intentional child abuse resulting in death and child abuse not resulting in death as an infant was present in Smith’s home where Sullivan died.
Alexis Murray Smith, Sullivan’s mother, was convicted last year on the same charges and sentenced to 18 years in prison. She appealed the conviction in February.
The verdict was read out after a six-day trial in Fifth Judicial District Court in Roswell, after the trial was moved from Carlsbad where a jury unaware of the case could not be found last fall.
Both admitted fentanyl addicts, Smith and Murray Smith were accused of providing the fentanyl Sullivan died from at the Carlsbad home on Western Way.
“Permitting children to become a victim, or worse, as a direct result of abuse or neglect will not be tolerated in this district,” said Fifth Judicial District Attorney Dianna Luce in a statement after the verdict.
“Cases involving the death of a child are by far some of the hardest cases for my office and our law enforcement partners to work. We thank the jurors in this trial for their patience and careful review of all evidence presented in this case.”
Smith was being held in custody as she awaits a sentencing hearing. She faces a mandatory 18-year sentence for child abuse resulting in death, and up to three years for child abuse not resulting in death.
Here’s what happened as Smith’s trial wrapped up.
Sullivan’s mother ‘pleads the fifth,’ does not testify
Murray Smith invoked her right against self-incrimination on the fourth day of the trial when she was called to the witness stand by the prosecution, only confirming for the jury that her children were at the home the day Sullivan died.
Her attorney Todd Holmes argued since Murray Smith’s conviction was being appealed, she could face a new trial on the charges and should be allowed to not give statements that could be used against her, despite a subpoena.
Michael Ortiz who was staying with Smith, his girlfriend at the time of her grandson’s death, was also called to the stand to testify on the fourth day of the trial. He described the events on the morning of the boy’s fatal overdose, how he found Sullivan unconscious in the shed.
Ortiz explained how Smith sent him to go look for Sullivan after he’d gone missing the morning before he was found dead. Ortiz said he and Smith tried to revive the boy when he was found and was unresponsive.
“I started yelling for help. He wouldn’t respond. He was on the ground,” Ortiz said. “I was just trying to get help.”
Fifth Judicial District Attorney Dianna Luce detailed during Ortiz’s questioning drugs that were found in Ortiz’s vehicle parked on the property.
Ortiz, also an admitted drug user, testified Sullivan stole beer from him in the past and had shown other signs of substance abuse.
Drugs found in home, police say
On the third day of the trial, the jury heard from lab analysts, medical investigators and law enforcement agents who described evidence of drug abuse found in the home.
Rick Wiedenmann, a Carlsbad-based field investigator with the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator described Sullivan’s body as Wiedenmann documented the boy’s remains at Carlsbad Medical Center.
He testified to blood pooling found at Sullivan’s back. Indicating he’d been dead for hours before being brought to the hospital.
During Wiedenmann’s testimony, images of Sullivan’s body were displayed in the courtroom.
Kelli Smith covered her eyes with her hands throughout the discussion.
Trey Thompson, an evidence technician with the Carlsbad Police Department at the time of Sullivan’s death described several photographs he’d taken from the home in the 2400 block of Western Way and the shed where the boy was found dead.
He described finding several pieces of burnt tinfoil, maintaining it was a common sign of fentanyl pills being smoked.
Police, analysts describe evidence of drug use
Sarah Salemeh, a lab analyst with the New Mexico Department of Public Safety described for the jury how she received and studied evidence taken from the scene of Sullivan’s death, including pills she said were fentanyl and other drugs including methamphetamine.
“I identified fentanyl,” she said.
Prosecutors attempted to show that the drugs identified in the lab were used in the home. Kevin Matthews, a former deputy with the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office described the signs of a person abusing opioid drugs, including appearing depressed. He also testified that drug users and traffickers use “code” terms to describe the drugs they use and sell.
This was an apparent effort by Deputy District Attorney Megan Kirtley to explain how Smith and Murray Smith communicated with others about fentanyl trafficking in text messages that were admitted as evidence for the jury.
“They don’t want law enforcement to know what they’re talking about,” Matthews said. “I’ve only ever seen slang, there’s no one that just spells out fentanyl. All drugs, the same thing. I’ve never seen them referred to by their legal name.”
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 734-972-6855, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.
