Chesterfield man convicted of fatally stabbing stepfather

A troubled Chesterfield County man whose family was about to evict him from their home was found guilty yesterday of fatally stabbing his stepfather with a chisel during a fight over a pizza.

After a 2½ hour trial in Chesterfield Circuit Court, Circuit Judge T.J. Hauler convicted Heywood Sinclair Smith, 25, of voluntary manslaughter in the March 29, 2008, slaying of James E. Henley Sr., 42.

Hauler granted a defense motion to strike the evidence on the original charge of second-degree murder, but he found Smith guilty of killing Henley by plunging a wood chisel with a 1-inch-wide blade deep into Henley's heart. Hauler characterized the crime as a heat-of-passion killing but said Smith's version of what happened was "totally inconsistent" with the physical evidence.

Henley's then-10-year-old daughter witnessed the events leading to her father's death, and she testified yesterday how Smith immediately took offense when both he and Henley went to the front door to pay for a delivery pizza. After Henley touched Smith on the shoulder and tried to gently move him aside, Smith exploded in anger and began swinging his fists, the girl testified.

"You shouldn't have touched me," the girl said Smith told Henley.

She said her father didn't fight back and tried to block Smith's blows with his forearms. After trying to break up the fight, the girl ran from the living room crying and began to pray, she said. When she returned moments later, she found her father lying on the floor with Smith sitting nearby. Henley was bleeding badly and his chest bore a star-shaped wound.

The girl, now 12, called 911 at her father's urging, then ran to a neighbor's to call her mother.

Smith, who was to be evicted in less than a month because of earlier confrontations with his stepfather, told police a different story.

In a lengthy interview with Detective Keith Applewhite, Smith claimed that Henley was the aggressor and that Henley pulled a chisel from Smith's pocket and it punctured his chest after Henley fell on top of Smith as they struggled, with both landing on a loveseat.

But Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney M. Duncan Minton Jr. said Smith's account would have been physically impossible. Among other things, the prosecutor noted that there was no blood on Smith's shirt after Henley fell on him, there was no bruising on Smith's chest from the chisel handle and the wound suffered by Henley would require greater force than falling on the tool.

Defense attorney Greg Sheldon successfully argued that the murder count against Smith should be dropped because there was no clear evidence of an intentional killing. "We have no clear picture of what happened that day," Sheldon told the court, noting several inconsistencies in the girl's testimony.

The judge set sentencing for Feb. 1. Smith faces up to 10 years in prison.

Smith has a history of mental illness and was diagnosed last year as having schizoaffective disorder. But he was deemed competent to stand trial and responds well to medication when he takes it, officials said.

Henley's family was disappointed that Smith wasn't convicted of the more serious crime.

When Henley was killed, his family said yesterday, Smith was awaiting trial on charges of vandalizing two of Henley's vehicles.