Appalachian Trail killer’s death ruled accidental

State Police News Release
Published: August 7, 2008

Read the news release from State Police below

RICHMOND – Virginia State Police have ruled out foul play in the death of an inmate at the New River Valley Regional Jail in Pulaski County, Va. Randall Lee Smith, 54, was being held at the correctional facility on charges of shooting two men along the Appalachian Trail in Giles County on May 6, 2008.

As Smith was fleeing the scene in a stolen vehicle, he lost control which caused it to overturn and crash. Smith was injured in the crash and transported to Carilion Hospital in Roanoke, Va.

Smith was treated and released May 9, 2008, into the custody of the New River Valley Regional Jail. On May 10, 2008, at approximately 4:55 p.m., a corrections officer brought Smith his dinner tray and found him lying on the bunk in his cell and unresponsive. CPR was immediately administered and Smith was transported to Pulaski County Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Smith’s body was transported to the Office of the State Medical Examiner in Roanoke for autopsy. The Medical Examiner has determined the manner of death to be accidental and resulting from complications associated with the injuries suffered in the traffic crash.

Smith had been charged by the Giles County Sheriff’s Office in the May 6 incident with two counts of attempted capitol murder, two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, grand larceny and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

End of news release

Back in the 1980s, a jury convicted Smith of killing two hikers on the Appalachian Trail in Southwest Virginia.