Man kills couple at home over muscle car, tries to fool cops, AZ officials say
Investigators say Alexander Lee Smith broke into Walter Mitchell and Susie Ephrem's Peoria home in November 2023 and fatally shot them, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said in a July 11 news release. The couple's 8-year-old grandson was inside the home but wasn't hurt, the attorney's office said.
Mitchell and Ephrem were 52 and 42 years old, KSAZ reported.
Ephrem called 911 and officers arrived to find her wounded, though she later died at a hospital, prosecutors said. Mitchell died at the scene.
Prosecutors say Smith, who was 20 at the time, had been communicating with Mitchell about buying his Ford Shelby GT500 — which is essentially an upgraded, and much pricier, Ford Mustang.
It's not only 'the most powerful Mustang — it's also the most expensive,' according to Car and Driver, with baseline models starting around $80,000 and higher trim levels climbing to nearly $130,000. Classic GT500s can list for much more.
Messages between the men show Mitchell was going to sell the car to Smith but 'called off the deal because the wire transfer didn't go through,' prosecutors said.
'That same night, Walter traded the Mustang at a car dealership. He and Susie were killed the next morning,' according to prosecutors.
But Smith wasn't ready to give up on acquiring the GT500, prosecutors say. The day after the killing, Smith went to the home and spoke to police, telling them he was there to pick up the GT500 that had been purchased by a car collector who he was working for.
That apparently didn't work, so he waited a little while and tried again.
'More than two weeks later, Smith went to the Peoria Police station and asked to speak with detectives about getting the car,' prosecutors said. 'His story did not match what he told detectives at the crime scene the day after the shooting.'
Investigation later revealed that police weren't the only ones Smith was trying to fool, according to prosecutors.
'Smith's phone records show that at the same time he was trying to buy the Ford Shelby GT500 from (Mitchell), he was also posing as the car's owner so he could trade it with someone else. Even after the deal had been called off, he told the third party he would trade the car the next day, which was the day of the murder,' prosecutors said.
By then the car was already gone, as Mitchell had traded it to a dealership.
Investigators found Smith's fingerprints on a door handle at the home, and GPS data shows he was nearby when the shooting happened, prosecutors said.
'This was an act driven by greed; even after taking two lives this defendant continued to lie to police to try to get the car,' Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said. 'Thanks to Peoria Police and MCAO prosecutors, his story unraveled, and he will spend the rest of his life facing the consequences of his choices.'
Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and one count of burglary, the prosecutor's office said. He was sentenced to two life sentences, plus 21 years, in prison.
Information about his legal representation was not immediately available.
Peoria is a northwest suburb of Phoenix.
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