Murder Charges Dropped In ‘Killed While Giving Money Case’

28-year-old Valeria Smith has been indicted in Baltimore Circuit Court on one charge of accessory after the crime

BALTIMORE (AP) — The attorney for a woman accused of fatally stabbing her stepmother in a killing that authorities said was falsely blamed on a panhandler says prosecutors are dropping murder charges against his client.

Attorney Brandon Mead says 28-year-old Valeria Smith has been indicted in Baltimore Circuit Court on one charge of accessory after the crime.

A spokeswoman for the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office declined to discuss the charges.

Smith and her father, 53-year-old Keith Smith, were charged in March in the December killing of 54-year-old Jacquelyn Smith, a mechanical engineer at Aberdeen Proving Ground.

The killing attracted national attention after the two suspects claimed Jacquelyn Smith was stabbed after she gave a panhandler $10 while the family was driving through East Baltimore.