Man pleads to killing wife in grisly sword slashing

A Sampson County man will serve at least 25 years in prison for the murder of his wife, who was stabbed and slashed dozens of times by a samurai sword in February 2019 at the home the couple shared. The man, who worked with his wife, a local hairdresser and minister, exhibited bizarre behavior in the days that followed the killing, telling authorities he thought he was slaying a demon and believed he had “the sword of God.”

Winfield S. Smith, Jr., now 49, pleaded guilty Friday to second degree murder and felony obstruction of justice in Sampson County Superior Court. He was sentenced to a minimum of 300 months (25 years) and maximum of 372 months (31 years) for second degree murder and a minimum of eight months and a maximum of 19 months for felony obstruction of justice in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.

The sentences, handed down by Judge Henry L. Stevens IV, will run consecutively.

Barbara Ann Draughon Smith, 55, was found dead at her Trinity Church Road home in the Magnolia area of Sampson on Feb. 16, 2019. She was a minister and hairdresser with Clean Cutz in Wallace, where she worked with Winfield, who was a barber at the business. They were married for about 11 years and lived together at the Trinity Church Road residence.

The state was represented by District Attorney Ernie Lee and the defendant was represented by W. James Payne of Shallotte, NC and Hayes Ludlum of Clinton at the plea hearing. Lee put out a lengthy statement Monday, recapping the case and his reaction.

According to Lee, Barbara Smith’s family had not heard from her since the previous night, around 10 p.m. Feb. 15, 2019. On Feb. 16, 2019, between 9:45-10 p.m., Barbara’s son, Michael Marable of Clinton, found her lying on the living room floor in the Trinity Church Road home, located in the southeastern portion of Sampson.

Authorities responded minutes after 10 p.m. Feb. 16. Sampson County Sheriff’s deputies and EMS personnel determined that Barbara Smith suffered numerous stab and slash wounds to her torso, legs, arms and breasts. There was a substantial amount of blood on and around her body and an opened Bible covering her face, they said.

Deputies found a sheath and box for a sword, later determined to be a Musha Katana type samurai sword, but the sword was there, nor was Winfield Smith. Michael Marable gave law enforcement a description of a vehicle, a dark Honda Civic, that Winfield Smith may be driving.

Sampson County Sheriff’s officials requested assistance from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and several agents were assigned, including Special Agent Bill Brady of the Southeastern District.

At about 7 a.m. Feb. 17, 2019, Winfield Smith was found trespassing at Fortron Industries in Wilmington. He was found by employees in a control room at Fortron, wearing pajamas with no shoes, and claiming to be Lebron James. He was escorted to a conference room and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office was contacted.

“The defendant said he had killed ‘something’ and said something tried to swallow him up,” Lee stated.

Winfield had blood on his hands and cuts on his knuckles. The Honda Civic was located on the premises of Fortron. Blood was found on the steering column and in other areas of the driver’s side of the vehicle. No sword was found.

He was ultimately taken to the New Hanover County Detention Center, where he was examined by medical intake personnel. He said he had killed his wife “but continued to provide bizarre, inconsistent statements to the medical intake personnel.”

Winfield Smith was involuntarily committed at Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro for evaluation.

On Feb. 18, 2019, a murder warrant was obtained by Sampson County Sheriff’s authorities for Winfield Smith’s arrest. Four days later, as he was being transported from Cherry to Sampson, he claimed he was hearing voices in the back of the deputy’s car. Later, when being told he was being charged with murder, Smith said he did not believe he killed his wife and hoped the officers were “lying.”

Also on Feb. 22, the day authorities were transporting Winfield Smith back to Sampson, Lt. Lawrence Dixon viewed video at Johnson’s Corner Grill, located on Highway 421 in Currie, NC. The video showed a person matching Smith’s description at a vehicle near the fuel pumps. He began talking with customers and said he had killed something. He left and then immediately returned, removing a long box from the backseat of the vehicle and placing it on the pavement behind his vehicle. He told them they would believe him now. Winfield Smith then placed his car in reverse, ran over the box and then drove toward Wilmington.

The box was picked up by a customer, who subsequently heard on the news about the murder and on Feb. 25, 2019, the sword was recovered by Dixon. The obstruction of justice offense to which Winfield Smith pleaded, stemmed from removing the sword from the crime scene and attempting to dispose of the sword.

On Feb. 23, 2019, while at the Sampson County Detention Center, Smith told detention personnel that he wanted to confess to killing his wife.

“Defendant subsequently made statements … about February 16, 2019, including references about the Bible and 666 but he did not admit to killing his wife,” Lee stated.

An autopsy conducted by Dr. Falvy Carl Barr, Jr. determined that there were 66 sharp force injuries on the victim, including injuries to the head and neck, torso, and her arms and legs. These injuries included stab like wounds or incisions and superficial wounds. One stab wound perforated the victim’s heart.

Psychological reports of experts Dr. Ginger C. Calloway Ph.D. stated the defendant “suffered from steroid induced psychosis before, at, and after the offense.” She further opined that this met the criteria for disease of the mind, a psychiatric illness experienced before, at, and after the offense date. Dr. Calloway stated that in her opinion, the defendant was incapable of knowing the nature and quality of the act committed due to delusions he suffered and that he was incapable of distinguishing right and wrong in relation that incident, believing he was slaying a demon.

Winfield Smith said he believed he was waging war against the Devil and in court on Friday stated that he used a sword because swords were the weapons used to fight demons. He believed he had the “sword of God.” The expert further stated that an admitting psychiatrist at New Hanover Regional Hospital and Dr. James Bellard, MD, maintained Winfield Smith suffered from psychosis, which was prompted by use of steroid medication after his back surgeries.

Dr. Bellard said Winfield Smith was so mentally ill that he could not distinguish right from wrong at the time of the homicide, meeting the definition of insanity pursuant to North Carolina law. Winfield, in his delusions, reportedly believed that his wife was a demon, who had to be destroyed and that he was serving a higher sense of good than what the laws of man would require, Bellard stated.

“After receiving these expert mental health reports on May 28, 2024, as District Attorney, I met with the family of the victim. This was one of many meetings since 2019,” Lee stated. “After consultation with the victim’s family, the state and defendant’s attorneys entered into a plea agreement in which the defendant would receive the maximum aggravated sentenced permitted by law for second degree murder and felony obstruction of justice, with the sentences to run consecutively. The defendant was facing a possible sentence of death or life without parole. The defendant had no prior criminal record.”

At Friday’s plea hearing, three family members spoke on behalf of Barbara Smith, including her son, Kenneth Draughon, her daughter, Jazmine Robinson, and her daughter-in-law, Victoria Marable. Winfield Smith also requested to speak at his sentencing, facing the family and speaking in a subdued tone, indicating that he loved his wife and that he sought some degree of forgiveness from the family. He said the victim was a mother, friend, business partner, minister and wife.

The victim was survived by her mother Ester Draughon, currently of Kenansville. The victim was survived by four sons and one daughter. The victim’s five adult children were present in court for the guilty plea. That included Kenneth Draughon and his wife, Aleema Draughon of Clinton; Phil Marable of Charlotte; Jazmine Robinson and her husband, Edwin Robinson of Warsaw; Torrey Verdun and his wife, Corletha Verdun of Clinton; and Michael Marable and his wife, Victoria of Clinton.

“This was a very challenging case for both sides,” Lee stated. “This case was not ‘who done it?’ but ‘why’ was this atrocious, unconscionable act committed. The defendant exhibited psychological and mental issues prior to and after the homicide, which were verified by the mental health experts.”

Lee noted that the case was delayed in large part by limited court during the pandemic and then the lengthy, but necessary, mental health examinations and evaluations of the defendants.

“I appreciate the patience, cooperation, and assistance provided by the family in helping me prepare and evaluate this case,” the district attorney stated. “Many hours were placed in the preparation of this case for possible trial.”

He thanked Sheriff Jimmy Thornton, now-Captain Lawrence Dixon, Detective Anthony Brown and the other detectives and deputies of the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office, as well as Brady and the other agents of the SBI, for a thorough investigation, particularly in the recovery of the sword.

“This was a senseless and violent act committed by the defendant that adversely affected so many members in the Draughon and Smith families,” Lee stated. “As stated during the sentencing, this office hopes that this guilty plea finally provides some degree of closure and justice to the family of Barbara Ann Draughon Smith.”