Judge finds Long Beach man was legally insane when he killed fiancee

A justice determined Wednesday that a Long Beach antheral was legally insane erstwhile helium killed his 27-year-old fiancee past year.

During a packed tribunal hearing, Colin Wolters, 37, was recovered not blameworthy by crushed of insanity by Judge James Otto for the sidesplitting of Chelsea Smith. Otto made the determination aft Wolters pleaded nary contention Wednesday to second-degree execution and waived his close to a assemblage trial.

Wolters was charged with murder aft helium bushed Smith to decease astatine their Lakewood Village location connected the evening of March 16, according to prosecutors. Wolters surrendered to police aft they arrived astatine the location and recovered Smith dead, wrong of a backhouse, astatine a residence successful the 4600 artifact of Whitewood Avenue.

The justice said helium made his determination based connected the grounds successful reports submitted by 2 doctors. Otto said that Wolters was presently connected medicine for his condition, but the information itself was not disclosed successful court.

“(Wolters) whitethorn person understood what helium was doing, but helium didn’t recognize what was close oregon wrong,” Otto said.

Otto made his ruling aft experts were appointed to analyse Wolters, portion of the process for the not blameworthy by crushed of insanity determination.

Wolters was expected to beryllium sentenced connected Jan. 14. Then, a justice volition condemnation him to either a State Department of State Hospitals facility, different attraction facility, oregon – a highly improbable enactment – he’d beryllium placed connected outpatient status.

Nearly 30 household members and friends of Smith attended the tribunal hearing, successful summation to respective of Wolters’ relatives.

Susan Tate, Smith’s aunt, told the tribunal her “family’s lives stopped” the time her niece was murdered.

“We don’t merit this nightmare,” Tate said to Wolters. “We were bully to you, we would’ve fto you successful … you knew our family.”

Multiple relatives of Smith said she had been staying with her parents for a fewer nights earlier she was killed. Smith went backmost to her location connected March 16 to assistance Wolters done immoderate intelligence issues, which household members said they weren’t alert of until aft the murder.

Wolters said helium “bears the weight” of his fiancee’s death.

“My beingness has been rendered to thing owed to this illness,” helium said. “No Chelsea, nary wedding.”

Wolters said Smith knew astir his unwellness and that helium thought he’d beaten it without medication.

“Chelsea wanted to beryllium adjacent to maine to assistance me,” helium said.

Smith’s relatives described her arsenic gentle, benignant and the smartest idiosyncratic successful their family. She was the archetypal grandchild successful her ample extended family; the babe to respective aunts and uncles, and played the large sister relation to much than a twelve of her adjacent cousins.

She helped her grandma determination into her caller home. She helped her younger sister and cousins with assemblage essays. She baked Christmas cookies and helped with decorations for household events.

She grew up successful Lakewood and graduated from the California Academy of Mathematics and Science School successful Dominguez Hills successful 2010. Then successful 2017, she graduated with a Mathematics grade from UC Irvine and was a originative penning postgraduate pupil astatine Cal State Long Beach.

She was moving arsenic a tutor with the extremity to go a professor, said Smith’s sister, Amy Smith. Smith was conscionable a mates of months distant from graduating erstwhile she was killed and the assemblage awarded her with an honorary master’s grade successful May 2020, the sister said.

The brace enjoyed traveling together, with 2 trips to Europe together.

Smith was with Wolters for astir 4 years and the sister said she was amazed erstwhile she learned of the engagement. Their wedding day was acceptable for August 2020.

But the household began seeing little of Smith and, astatine each household gathering, Wolters would clasp her manus for the full duration, adjacent portion eating meals, said Sarah Negron, Smith’s cousin. Relatives thought due to the fact that Smith was introverted, their narration was too, but successful retrospect they wonderment if determination were signs of home violence, she said.

At 1 point, 1 of Smith’s adjacent friends told Smith that determination were concerns astir the relationship, but the relationship was chopped disconnected soon after, said Amy Smith, 27.

“I didn’t privation to suffer a narration with my sister, truthful I didn’t privation to accidental anything,” she said.

For Negron, 23, and her 19-year-old sister, she said their cousin’s execution has traumatized them, successful summation to devastating their family.

“Every azygous clip I look astatine a man, I deliberation astir however they could termination me,” Negron said.

Going forward, relatives said they privation to support the representation of Smith alive.

She was successful the midst of penning 3 novels – with her latest 1 inactive connected her laptop – and Amy Smith said she hopes to people it for her someday.