Sasha took a front-row seat on the left side of the aisle, just behind the railing separating the gallery from the court staff, attorneys, and inmates. She scanned the active courtroom as other cases were being heard, attempting to determine whom the victim in this case might be—is she here?
Other than a general description of the charges and an age for injured party—that turned out to be off by two years—Sasha didn’t yet know much about Ayesha Mack or the details of the alleged assault.
While Sasha watched the courtroom proceedings unfold, the handcuffed inmates—both men and women—were led in. They wore prison jumpsuits with wide black-and-white stripes, the black now faded to gray. Sasha thought she would recognize Larry Lee, having seen pictures of him at nearly every stage of his life, the most recent being the mugshot taken less than two weeks before. But she’d never laid eyes on him in person.
As the inmates filled the seats closest to the walls, on the other side of a wood and glass barrier separating the spectators from the prisoners, Sasha still didn’t see Larry Lee. When the line ended and it seemed that all the prisoners had been escorted in, Sasha went over to the court clerk to determine that Larry Lee’s case was still on the docket. It was, the clerk confirmed; perhaps he would arrive in a few more minutes.
Sasha didn’t realize that inmates charged with more serious offenses came last and had their handcuffs attached to chains encircling their waists and wore shackles around their ankles. When Larry Lee and another prisoner shuffled in a few minutes later, they were secured in this manner. From Sasha’s seat at the front of the gallery, she had an ideal view of him; he was only twenty feet away. His nearly chin-length hair was thin, snow-white and bushy-curly around his full face. A wiry mustache once again covered his upper lip. He seemed to have difficulty walking. Sasha couldn’t tell if it was because of the chains, his ankle injury or his weight. She guessed he was close to 300 pounds now. Finally, he reached a chair, adjusted the chains binding his wrists to his waist and sat down, looking relieved to be done with that struggle.
Once sitting, he seemed relatively at ease in his shackled state. He smiled and chatted, first with the inmate seated next to him and later with his own attorney, a public defender. As he and his attorney conversed, Larry Lee’s expression transitioned from attentive and pensive to somewhat amused—he was lightly laughing—but Sasha could tell they were discussing a serious matter. She watched the interactions between the public defender, the assistant DA, and the defendant, and surmised that there was some negotiation taking place.
There are strict rules against those seated in the gallery communicating with the inmates—one girl was sent out of the courtroom by the bailiff for violating that directive during these proceedings—but Sasha couldn’t seem to keep herself from staring at Larry Lee. Four years had passed since she’d happened upon that talk given by Dr. William Bass. As a result, she had followed the trail of woe perpetrated by this almost-forgotten serial rapist. She’d compiled a history of his crimes and victims, researched the investigations (or lack thereof), and gained considerable knowledge about this predictable predator. Now here she sat, twenty feet away from him. At first she studied him out of curiosity, then it evolved into a kind of game on her part—an immature game, she acknowledged to herself—because she wanted him to look back.
Larry Lee himself would periodically scan the courtroom crowd. To do so—given the location and angle of their seats—he had to look directly past Sasha, whose eyes were focused upon him. He seemed to be searching for someone (most likely his sister or Ayesha) and acted as if he was unaware of Sasha’s scrutiny. She stared at him each time he looked around, but he continued to appear oblivious, as if he didn’t notice. Then, on his sixth or seventh courtroom scan, Larry Lee’s line of vision shifted focus, and his eyes looked deliberately and directly into hers.
Despite feeling a mild jolt of sudden surprise, Sasha’s face purposely bore no expression except for a solemn, unbroken stare. Who is this? Larry Lee must’ve wondered about the identity of the middle-aged woman in a gray suit who was staring him down in the courtroom. There was a mildly confrontational quality to his look, a non-verbal What!? What are looking at!? Finally, he scooted his chair far enough to the right that he was blocked from Sasha’s view by the angle of the wall, and she chuckled silently to herself.
When the court reconvened after a brief recess, Larry Lee’s public-defender attorney took a seat in the gallery on the same bench as Sasha, to her immediate left. This caught her off guard. She tried to think quickly, to determine how and if she could utilize this sudden opportunity. After a couple of minutes, she scribbled a message on her yellow, college-ruled tablet: “You are representing Larry Lee Smith?” She pushed it toward him. The attorney with wavy brown hair and wire-rim glasses read the note, looked up at Sasha and nodded in the affirmative.
In a hushed tone, she whispered: “Is his case going to be heard?”
“It’s going to the grand jury,” he replied. The preliminary hearing was being waived. In this crowded, open courtroom, testimony in this case would no doubt be riveting. The grand jury would be a quieter route, sparing the victim.
“Do you know about his other crimes?” Sasha whispered.
“I know that he has had other charges,” the public defender responded. In a low voice Sasha quickly told him about the Michelle Anderson case and touched on the others. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Larry Lee scoot his chair so he could watch his attorney converse with the woman who had earlier been so focused upon him. Sasha wondered how far the attorney would allow this to go. She reached into her briefcase, retrieved one of her cards and extended it toward him. He held up his hand. “I really shouldn’t.” Instead, he pointed out a young, dark-haired woman on the other side of the courtroom, indicating that Sasha would probably want to speak with her.
Sasha stood and made her way toward the woman. She was leaning against the rail and talking with courtroom staff while supporting a stack of files in the bend of her arm. Her name was Kim Strike. She was the Victim Services Coordinator in the Violent Crimes Unit of the Knox County District Attorney’s Office, and she answered to Leslie Nassios, the prosecutor assigned to Larry Lee’s case.
It was nearly noon and the courtroom had fewer people in it now. Kim Strike joined Sasha a few rows back. She informed Sasha that the most recent victim and her mother were cooperating; they’d been present in the courtroom that morning but were gone now. Sasha then shared a brief description of Larry Lee’s criminal history and her research into the Michelle Anderson murder. She requested permission to create a timeline of Larry Lee’s offenses for the prosecutor. Ms. Strike expressed endorsement of that plan and agreed to inform her boss of their discussion.
As they talked, Sasha faced Ms. Strike on the bench, her back toward the prisoners on the other side of the courtroom. “Does he know who you are?” Strike asked, glancing over Sasha’s shoulder in the direction of the prisoner.
“No, he doesn’t.”
“Because he’s looking over here,” Strike said. Sasha felt pleased about that.
Knox County, Tennessee, mugshot taken of Larry Lee in October 2011, following his arrest for the kidnapping and rape of Ayesha Mack. He was now 50-years-old.
23. TIMELINE
Sasha set to work creating the timeline for Knox County Assistant DA Leslie Nassios. She saw it as a method of conveying information in an orderly, chronological and concise manner. She wasn’t an insider in the investigation, but despite the KPD’s reopening of the Michelle Anderson cold case, Sasha remained the holder of the majority of information and knowledge—for better or worse—regarding Larry Lee Smith. She’d been collecting it for nearly four years now.
Sasha wanted Nassios to possess a complete picture of this perpetrator. She wanted her to feel moved and motivated to bring an end to the sexual crimes of this broken man who would never be able to control his deviant, violent impulses. Maybe it was a fantasy to believe that he would ever be charge
d for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Michelle, but if Nassios really understood who he was, maybe she could bring his predatory ways to a grinding halt.
Sasha began with Larry Lee’s adolescence and compiled a list of his known victims, covering more than thirty years in the life of this very disturbed individual and his journey through the legal system. It ended with the most recent assault. Sasha inserted herself into the timeline—at the time she became involved—including her attempts to revive the Michelle Anderson cold case, which seemed to have cooled once again.
When completed, the timeline ran for eight-and-a-half pages. Sasha both mailed and emailed it to Nassios, with the accompanying cover letter:
Dear Ms. Nassios,
I have been researching and writing about the crimes of serial-rapist Larry Lee Smith for several years. My interest began with the unsolved kidnapping and murder of Michelle Denise Anderson in Knoxville in 1987.
Enclosed is a timeline summarizing much of what I have learned about this man and his victims. I hope the timeline is helpful to you in gaining insight into the history and nature of Mr. Smith. The world is a degree safer with his incarceration. I realize that you are prosecuting only the current case, but I hope this information will be of value.
If I can be of any assistance, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Sasha Reynolds, LCSW PIP
A few weeks later, Sasha got an email response:
Hello Ms. Reynolds,
Thank you for your interest in Mr. Smith’s case. I will appreciate any information you can forward to me related to this matter.
Leslie Nassios, Assistant District Attorney
Sasha had forwarded Anita a copy of the timeline and the letter. When she forwarded Nassios’ response, Anita was encouraged by the knowledge that a prosecutor in the Knox County District Attorney’s office was aware of her daughter’s cold case. She sent an email to Nassios that very evening. Nassios promptly responded with an offer to meet with Anita, and they scheduled an appointment.
Anita felt nervous before her one-on-one with Nassios. Here she was again, opening old wounds, wounds that had never fully healed. But she had high hopes Nassios could help.
At their meeting, Nassios noted that it was unusual for her to have responded to an email as she had to Sasha’s, someone who was writing about the case, a “kook” for all she knew. She also admitted that, due to her heavy case load, she had not yet read the entire timeline. So she asked Anita to walk her through Michelle’s story. Anita tried as best as she could. She started crying only a few sentences in, but she powered through, even if she was an emotional wreck by the end.
Nassios was supportive and compassionate with Anita and assured her that she would follow up on Michelle’s case. Buoyed by the meeting, Anita left feeling guardedly hopeful.
On Tuesday, January 17, 2012, five days after Anita’s meeting with Leslie Nassios, the Knox County Grand Jury met to hear the basis of the prosecution’s case against Larry Lee Smith for the October 24, 2011, kidnapping and rape of Ayesha Mack. The following witnesses were summoned before the grand jury: the KPD Custodian of Records for the 911 calls, the investigating officers, the victim, Volunteer Studios staff, and staff from the Sexual Assault Center of East Tennessee.
The victim, though, was not present. On the official police report of Ayesha’s assault, her address was listed as “Homeless.” (She and her boyfriend had been living with Khristy in exchange for drugs.) So Ayesha’s subpoena had been mailed to Ayesha’s mother, but the address on file was incorrect, the subpoena was returned, and Ayesha didn’t get notice to appear before the grand jury.
Fortunately for the prosecution, the grand jury still determined there was enough evidence to indict Larry Lee Smith on charges of Aggravated Kidnapping and Aggravated Rape. He was bound over for trial.
They’d surpassed this hurdle, but Nassios was concerned that her office might be losing the cooperation of its most important witness, who was now living with her mother and siblings south of Atlanta, Georgia, close to two hundred miles away.
KPD Investigator Jeff Day saw Larry Lee’s indictment as an opportunity. With a return to prison looking inevitable, Larry Lee might be willing to cooperate on the Michelle Anderson cold case. So two days after his indictment, Larry Lee sat across from Jeff Day in an interrogation room in the City-County Building, the session being videotaped. Retired KPD homicide Investigator Randy York watched from a nearby viewing room, out of the inmate’s sight.
Day started off by discussing Larry Lee’s current charges. Larry Lee put forth a cocky defense, expressing confidence that he would get off, that Ayesha—Jade—wouldn’t follow through and testify. He said this more than once. When they moved to the Michelle Anderson case, Larry Lee sang the same old song about dropping Michelle off at the corner of Cherry and Jefferson. Day pressed for details, pushing for something new, something different, something altered, but after four hours of questioning, Larry Lee still stuck to his story. When Day introduced the subject of DNA, he thought he detected a flinch on the part of the prisoner, but that was all.
Yet there had been a moment near the end of the interview when the investigator thought that the suspect just might cave. Larry Lee had reportedly lowered his head as his eyes became teary, and he mumbled that he felt “responsible” for Michelle. When the KPD Investigator followed up by asking what he meant, Larry Lee asked for his lawyer.
When it was apparent that the interview was unlikely to produce any results, Day played his final hand. Retired KPD Investigator York stepped into the room. “Hello, Larry,” he said. “It’s been a long time.” Larry Lee squinted at this newcomer while his memory cells reconfigured. More than two decades had passed, but few people had aged as little as York. “White as a sheet” is how York described Larry Lee when he realized who was standing there, the investigator who’d made his life miserable all those years ago. Larry Lee immediately requested to leave the interview. He had nothing else to say.
When told about the interview later, Anita confided to Sasha that she wasn’t quite sure she believed the part about Larry Lee’s tears. She had become skeptical of everything and everyone. She believed that others just told her what she wanted to hear.
With Day’s interview yielding no results, Michelle’s case cooled down yet again. Communication between Sasha and Anita with the KPD cooled down with it. Neither Sasha nor Anita knew if the nails had ever been sent for DNA testing, although both repeatedly inquired. Clearly, no new case-altering developments had occurred. Even Nassios, who initially showed an interest in the case, had little time to devote to it. She had her hands full with other cases and in making sure Ayesha was going to show.
Nassios eventually made contact with Ayesha. The prosecutor then asked Anita’s permission to give Ayesha her number with the hope that Ayesha would reach out to her and be encouraged to follow through in the case.
A few days later, while driving, Anita received a call. The connection wasn’t perfect, but as Ayesha launched into her story, Anita quickly realized who it was and pulled over. Ayesha cried as she described her ordeal. “I thought he was going to kill me,” she said. “I really did. I couldn’t breathe. I felt my eyes rolling back in my head.” Anita cried as she listened. It became an overwhelming emotional experience for both women. Ayesha told her how scared she’d been and how sorry she was to hear about Michelle.
Ayesha wondered aloud why fate had delivered her to the path of someone like Larry Lee. Yet of one thing she seemed certain. There had been a sign in this traumatic event—that knock on the apartment door. As her eyes were rolling back in her head, and her rapist’s sweat was dripping onto her face, that knock changed the course of events. It was that thump-thump that caused Larry Lee to pause, allowing Ayesha to take a breath and yell out to the anonymous knocker.
Yet when Ayesha’s voice rang out, no answer came back in reply, and nobody stood before the door when it was cast open as she fled some minutes later. It was as if th
e hand of God had reached into the long hallway of Volunteer Studios and rescued a strayed member of His flock. That’s how Ayesha’s mother saw it, she explained to Anita. Ayesha was beginning to see it that way herself.
At the end of the conversation, she promised Anita she would show up for the trial. “There’s no way I won’t be there,” she said.
24. PRIOR BAD ACTS
In June 2012, Joey Smith’s cousin Jenny contacted Sasha with tragic news. Sara Smith had died suddenly from a stroke. She’d had a hard life, endured unspeakable horrors at the hands of her own relatives and sadistic husband, and then coped with those horrors through drugs and alcohol. At age forty-eight, all her years of hard living seemed to have caught up with her.
Sasha was distraught that Sara wouldn’t see Larry Lee come to trial. She couldn’t imagine Larry Lee’s twisted saga coming to an end without Sara around to see it. She located Sara’s obituary on the funeral home’s website, which allowed visitors to share photos. She uploaded a photo she had of Sara and Joey, taken when Sara was in her twenties and Joey was a pre-teen.
Sara’s short obituary contained a descriptive statement of clear and accurate truth: “She was a loving, caring person and kind to everyone.” But Sasha felt that this description left out the most important detail of all: Sara Smith had been a survivor. Despite her inner pain, she’d remained warm, compassionate, and generous to others, family and friends alike. Sasha could take solace only in that Sara’s troubled mind, plagued as it was by repulsive memories and perpetual nightmares, was finally at rest.
Due to an unspecified “conflict,” Larry Lee’s public defender had been excused and a court-appointed attorney, Mitch Harper, had taken his place. In July 2012, Harper, a former assistant district attorney who had since gone into private practice, filed a motion for a hearing, but no one seemed to know what the hearing was about. Sasha called the criminal court a number of times to see if any additional paperwork had been filed clarifying the subject of the motion. None had, but the case remained on the docket, so she made the several-hour trip to the courthouse in Knoxville.
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