Girlfriend of accused wife killer commits suicide

The girlfriend of a man accused of killing his estranged wife in a highly publicized case has committed suicide. But prosecutors say while tragic, it will have little bearing on the trial.

Love Thai was found dead April 8, apparently from a hanging. She had told the Bothell Reporter last year she was pregnant with Alan Justin Smith’s child.

Smith is charged with killing his estranged wife, Susann, in February 2013 at their Bothell home. He is being held in the Snohomish County Jail on $1 million bail.

Thai and Smith drew media attention in July 2013 when she reported she was pregnant with Smith’s child, posting an ultrasound picture and conducting a number of television interviews. The Reporter says the Medical Examiner could not confirm if she was still pregnant at the time of her death.

The couple lived together in the Bothell home where Susann was murdered before he was arrested and charged. The pair had a rocky relationship, with police called to the home several times, including a report of the couple having sex in the front yard and domestic disturbance.

The prosecutor overseeing Smith’s murder trial says while the death is tragic, Thai was not a key witness for the prosecution.

“She really had nothing to do with the forensics or just the case the police ultimately put together,” says Craig Matheson, senior deputy prosecuting attorney for the Snohomish County Prosecutors Office. “The information that she would have had for us is some of the Facebook postings that she made of Alan, maybe some of the context of how some things occurred,” he says.

Smith pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. Thai had said in previous interviews she believed he was innocent.