816: Edgar Smith – Republican Sexual Predators

Edgar Smith was a conservative cause célèbre back in the Sixties. He murdered fifteen-year-old Victoria Ann Zielinski. Her death was brutal and vicious. Smith happened to have borrowed a car when he murdered her. The car’s owner noticed the blood and called police who questioned him and he confessed to what happened before and after it without the actual murder, but concluded “I must have been the one who really did it.” He was convicted and sentenced to death.

Smith wrote to Wm. F. Buckley, founder of National Review, befriended him, writing letters back and forth, sharing his views on Chappaquiddick, for example. Smith was a fan of Buckley’s magazine and described himself as a Barry Goldwater supporter which made him appealing to Buckley who began advocating for him. The advocacy led to a successful appeal that moved the government to offer Smith time served. Everyone was certain this charming man would not kill again.

Except he did. Or he tried to. He kidnapped a woman, she fought, he stabbed her in the chest and she got out of his car, running away with his knife in her chest. A witness got Smith’s license plate number and a hunt began. He actually ended up calling Buckley for help, though now Buckley knew he had been conned and gave him up. The woman survived and testified against Smith. He remained in prison until his death in 2017.