@ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/nnTMgN1vnC, FDLE DNA Expert is on the stand right now. There was nosign of Don or Cherish. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. The van itself was empty. ", Smith is heard on the recording saying,"She ain't black, but she had a lot for a white girl.". Smith allegedly lured Perrywinkle's family to Walmart in 2013 with promises to buy food and clothing, then left with the girl. Despite working hundreds of cases, Rao became emotional during her testimony, "I'm sorry I need to take a break," Rao said. Smith had his back turned to the screen and did not view the photos, Matter reported. Theyare in our work places, our friendship groups and sometimes even our homes. ", Even the state attorney and Medical Examiner seem to be getting caught by the enormity of the emotion. To follow live onTwitter, please follow Bridgette Matter at @BridgetteANjax, LATEST: Graphic testimony details moments before Cherish Perrywinkle's death. We all get those warning signsand sometimes we act on them and sometimes we ignore them. A Florida man who was convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle has been sentenced to death for first degree murder and sexual battery convictions. The suspects criminal record dated back to 1977. She was able to develop a full profile on him. @ActionNewsJax, Dollar Store purchases were also found in a trash can, Carter collected as evidence. What she sustained was tremendous force on her neck, such that she basically, she could not breathe. Police were familiar with Don. Wu said that the characteristics of Smith's brain, post-injuries, show a tendency to become fixated on something. HARROWING images of the battered body of an eight-year-old girl who was raped and brutally killed have leftan entire jury traumatised and in tears. Sign up below to be added to our mailing list for the latest news updates, access to exclusive contests, and more! Don didn't have a wife. His DNA was found on and inside Cherish's body and Cherish's DNA was found on his penis. @ActionNewsJax, #DonaldSmith has not turned around to look Cherish's autopsy photos, he is not looking at photos of himself either. That same man waited for Rayne outside the store. When 20 minutes had passed Rayne began to worry. Check back with CrimeOnline as we provide upcoming trial coverage. During pre-trial testimony earlier this week, shocking details emerged when a medical examiner explained the significant injuries found on the little girls body. It took a jury just 14 minutes to find Smith guilty, after enduring countless graphic images of the 8-year-old victim's battered body, often leaving them in tears. The suspect could face the death penalty if convicted. "Why in the world would he take my little girl?" Rao says she also examined Smith at the Police Memorial Building, and he had injuries to his penis which related to trauma and were consistent with the timing of Cherishs death. . He told me I was safe, she said in court on Monday. Around the same time, officers received a tip that a suspicious van was seen aroundBroward Road. At 11.20pm, Rayne called 911. Cherish was also raped prior to her death, and Rao says injuries resulting from that were severe. Smith had been released from prison just 21 days before he abducted and murdered the little girl and had been on the sex offenders register since 1993. He picked out some shoes for her to wear, really inappropriate shoes for an eight year old child as they were women's highshoes. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. The evidence, some of it. On Day 2 in the trial of Donald Smith, many female jurors cried when graphic autopsy photographs of Cherish Perrywinkle were shown in court Tuesday. On June 21, 2013, Cherish Perrywinkle, 8, was abducted from a Jacksonville Walmart, raped and murdered by Donald James Smith, a sexual offender. 1 Comment, "My family and myself are good, decent and very honest people. #DonaldSmith #CherishPerrywinkle, Two women cover their mouth as next photo is shown. Closing arguments are scheduled to begin at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday. Medical Examiner and forensic pathologist Valerie Rao took the witness stand in Cherish's murder trial on Tuesday and talked clinically about the extensive list of injuries she sustained. Donald had gagged her so severely that her gumshad bled, he raped and sodomised her. The June 2013 murder of Cherish Perrywinkle drew huge amounts of news coverage and public attention in Jacksonville, with a jury in 2018 finding Donald James Smith guilty and a judge sending him . taking the girl from her family at a Northside Walmart, environmental factors like the presence of water where the remains were found, Florida Senator proposes bill to cancel Democratic Party in state, Georgia star Jalen Carter charged with racing in fatal wreck, Bartram Trail High School girls lacrosse player denied NIL opportunity, PCSO: No charges in case of mail carrier mauled by 5 dogs, Airport Authority discusses bringing new commercial flights to St. Johns County. After waiting for his wife for a few minutes he told Rayne they could meet her at Walmart instead. @ActionNewsJax, "All her injuries she sustained were prior to her death." Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. The last of the footage shows the little girl being led across the store's carpark. According to a police report, Smith brought the girl out of her familys sight while shopping at that Walmart. Rao says she actually went out to the scene where Cherish was recovered. Devastating footage was released during the trial last year showing the moment the young girl was approached while out with her mother and sisters. There was blunt force trauma to her head and ligature marks around her neck. But the most extensive injuries were to her genitalia which was torn, swollen, clearly abused, and distorted. Prior Arrest . So in reality she didn't have a lot of money to buy Cherish new clothes for her trip. At 11.20pm, Rayne called 911. He suggested getting food at the McDonalds inside the store and asked for Cherishto accompany him and pick out the food she wanted. A number of troublingincidents happened inside Walmart. A series of swabbings were taken, as well as nail scrapings and clippings. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Domestic violence speaks many languages, has many colors and lives in many different communities. Rayne was reluctant at first but agreed to the lift. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! He saw Cherish as a sexual object and when he raped her, he murdered her in an attempt to evade justice. @ActionNewsJax, "Semen positive" in vaginal swabs. @ActionNewsJax, Lee has worked with FDLE for 20 years. Because of the nature of the case. #DonaldSmith @FCN2go pic.twitter.com/IqHaXOp8UO. She got into Don's van. The swift guilty verdicts must come as a relieft to the medical examiner who performed an autopsy on the battered body the young girl. Medical Examiner and forensic pathologist Valerie Rao took the witness stand in Cherish's murder trial on Tuesday and talked clinically about the extensive list of injuries she sustained. DNA other than Cherishs could not be detected in the oral swab. Rao described autopsy photos shown to the jury which pictured hemorrhaging and busted blood vessels around her neck, as a result of her strangulation. Dr. Valerie Rao was. Doctor Valerie Rao performed the autopsy of 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle back in 2013, and today, she walked jurors through photos and details of her findings regarding the child's death. At that point, Rayne had no idea that there was a man watching her every move. Medical Examiner Valerie Rao said that the girls injuries were extremely shocking, and the photos apparently show the damage that 61-yearDonald James Smith allegedly inflicted upon the 8-year-old in 2013. @ActionNewsJax, The DNA was a 1 in 35 quintillion match. The child is not incapacitated, and she is going to struggle during this entire process, she said. Around three hundred potential jurors filed into the Jacksonville courtroom this week, where they were shown an up-close photo of a little girl with big brown eyes. Walmart announced they would soon be closing and at that stage none of them had eaten anything. The jury found him guilty on all charges. "That's right up my alley, right there, that's my target area." She died after she sustained tremendous force on her neck such that she could not breathe.. Jacksonville, FL Editor's note:The details of this testimony can be considered graphic and difficult for some readers. There was nosign of Don or Cherish. There was a creek behind a Church and along with the help of a police dog, police made a devastating discovery. February 04, 2022, "The criminal justice system will take a hard look at what happened to Matthew Eappen. @ActionNewsJax, Dr. Rao is being tendered as an expert witness. Any hope of finding Cherish alive was over. When she realised she couldn't afford it, she put it back. The next morning, Perrywinkles body was found half-naked and shoved under a fallen tree in a marshy area near Jacksonville. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/nfpLo3x45s. The van itself was empty. She spent around 20 minutessearching Walmart, McDonalds and the car park. Donald Smith, 61, has appeared in court charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and rape of the eight-year-old girl in June 2013. Example video title will go here for this video. Cherish was also raped prior to her death, and Rao says injuries resulting from that were severe. Her eyes, however, told the story of the moments just before her death. Cherish Perrywinkle: What You Need to Know As CrimeOnline previously reported , On June 21, 2013, a man approached a single, struggling mother, Reyne Perrywinkle, at the Dollar General store on Edgewood Avenue West in Jacksonville. I need just 5 minutes.". Rayne went into Walmart with the three girls and began shopping. Each attempt to look at where the virus started is swamped by misinformation. Don later joined them inside the store. A full profile could not be performed from the vaginal swab, however Smith was not excluded by the results, and Lee testified that- in all- there was still an almost non-existent chance it was anyone other than Smith. taking the girl from her family at a Northside Walmart, environmental factors like the presence of water where the remains were found, SPOTLIGHT: Gate River Run kicks off first weekend in March, Jury visits crime scene before closings at Murdaugh trial, Push to require clergy to report abuse stalls in Mormon Utah, DTE Energy, Consumers Energy face power-outage challenges, You Decide 2023 - The Race For Jacksonville Mayor - Omega Allen Spotlight, You Decide 2023 - The Race For Jacksonville Mayor - Donna Deegan Spotlight, You Decide 2023 - The Race For Jacksonville Mayor - Frank Keasler Spotlight. #DonaldSmith looking straight or down, emotionless, as the recorded conversation plays where he says "I'd like to run in to her at Walmart" when talking about 12-year-old girls that walked through the Jail #CherishPerrywinkle pic.twitter.com/Itlhe9RIud. video feed below for live video updates from court: please follow Bridgette Matter at @BridgetteANjax, Graphic testimony details moments before Cherish Perrywinkle's death, Florida Senator proposes bill to cancel Democratic Party in state, Georgia star Jalen Carter charged with racing in fatal wreck, Bartram Trail High School girls lacrosse player denied NIL opportunity, PCSO: No charges in case of mail carrier mauled by 5 dogs, Airport Authority discusses bringing new commercial flights to St. Johns County. Rao could not determine what exactly was used, but she determined the bruise pattern was wide, and generally consistent with an article of clothing, like a t-shirt. Don was 61 year old Donald Smith, aregistered sex offender with offencesdating as far back as the 70s. Swabs were also taken of her breasts, one of which had visible signs of a hickey, according to Rao. Smith, the man accused of the 2013 kidnapping, rape, and murder of 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle, decided to turn his back to the screen when autopsy pictures were shown Tuesday. @ActionNewsJax, Lee says in Cherish oral swabs it was positive for semen. Dr. Valerie Rao performed the autopsy of 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle back in 2013, and today, she walked jurors through photos and details of her findings regarding the child's death. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Cherish Perrywinkle was an 8-year-old girl from Jacksonville, Florida who was abducted from a Walmart on June 21, 2013. Cherish did not die quickly, and she did not die easily. Lee says semen was found in Cherishs mouth, vagina, and rectum, and other DNA was recovered from around her neck. Her intuition was warning her about Donald. Here we have two people who are in a struggle. @ActionNewsJax, We cannot show the public the jury, there is a white cloth blocking the cameras view, which explains the white you will at times see on our live stream. Smith was arrested 10 hours later after his vehicle was spotted by a police patrol officer. February 04, 2022, `` semen positive '' in vaginal swabs getting food at the McDonalds inside store. Is shown out the food she wanted system will take a hard look at what to... All get those warning signsand sometimes we act on them and sometimes even our homes cherish perrywinkle injuries lured 's! 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