Mother, son killed in Dale City

A mother and son described as the "kind of people you aspire to be" were found dead in their Dale City home last week, Prince William County police said.

Jean Claire Smith, 39, and James Marshall Smith, 19, were discovered Friday about 3 p.m. by a younger son of Jean Smith, Maj. Ray Colgan said. The husband and father, Rick Smith, was at work at the time.

Mother and son were found in different rooms of their house in the 13600 block of Langford Court, Colgan said.

How the Smiths were killed was unclear, and Colgan said police hadn't developed a motive for why anyone would harm them. The family was active at Holy Family Catholic Church, he said, and in activities at C.D. Hylton High School.

Investigators on Friday night were trying to determine when the Smiths were killed, Colgan said. Jean Smith had updated her page on the social networking site Facebook about 10 a.m.

Tammy Dement, a friend of the family, said her daughter, Taylor, graduated from Hylton with James Smith last year and sang in the school choir. She first saw mention of the deaths on Facebook.

Jean Smith served as kind of the "choir mom," Tammy Dement said. "They were just the kind of people you aspire to be."

County Supervisor John D. Jenkins, who has known the family for several years, said Jean Smith and her husband had served on a number of boards and commissions in his Neabsco District, and were trusted advisers. Jean Smith had served on the Prince William Park Authority, he said, and had been president of Enterprise Elementary's PTA when her children attended the school.

She also ran for the Prince William School Board in 2003, losing to Julie C. Lucas, who continues to serve.

"You couldn't ask for a more supportive mother," said P.J. Pcsolinski, head wrestling coach at Hylton. "She could walk the halls, and on a daily basis, 10 to 15 kids would yell, 'Hi, Mrs. Smith!'"

One of four children in the Smith family, James Smith had wrestled for Pcsolinski and was supposed to stop by practice today to work with the team. Of James Smith, a music major at James Madison University, the coach said, "You couldn't ask for a more loyal kid."

Jonathan Hunley is a staff writer for the Potomac News and Manassas Journal Messenger. Potomac News and Manassas Journal Messenger staff writer Brian Hunsicker contributed to this report.