A popular football player sent a final, desperate text to his girlfriend from his house before his stepfather gunned he and his mother down and shot himself in the head.
Last month, 15-year-old Daniel Smith was shot in the throat by his stepfather William Thomas, who also killed his wife, Sandy Smith.
Now, Daniel’s girlfriend Brittany Johnson is trying to collect donations to help pay for his funeral and burial costs.
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The smilling 14-year-old brunette, who lives in Easley, South Carolina, has been working on signs asking for donations for Daniel. She told FOX Caronia: ‘It’s just the least I can do for him now.’
She added that she hopes the act honours his memory.
Daniel was a member of the Junior-Varsity football team, as well as the JV wrestling team, according to the Easley Patch. He was described as friendly and hard-working by his teachers and coaches.
But he never let on to his friends at Easley that his home life was less than perfect.
The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office said that Thomas, 51, became violent because of an on-going domestic problem.
Daniel had been texting Brittany the night of August 30, with his last message reading: ‘Please come get me.’
Terrified, Brittany and her father rushed over to their home, also in Easley.
Meanwhile, Daniel had called 911 to report he and his mother had been shot. According to reports, authorities arrived within six minutes of the call, and found Daniel’s mother Sandy with a gunshot wound to the chest in the family’s dining room.
They discovered Daniel in a bedroom. He had been shot under his chin.
Assistant Sheriff Tim Morgan told Greenville Online that an officer followed a trail of blood and found Thomas, dead, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
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Both Daniel and his mother were pronounced dead at the scene. They were both buried on September 3 after a service at Marathon Church.
Daniel and Brittany had met at the same church in Powersville. Brittany’s father said that she helped lead him to Christianity.
Members of their youth group released balloons into the sky on Wednesday as a way of remembering the slain teenager.
Brittany told FOX Carolina that she will always remember Daniel fondly. ‘He loved to make people laugh and he loved to make people smile,’ she said.
Call for help: Daniel texted his girlfriend Brittany for help the night he was murdered; she and her father hurried over as quickly as they could
Call for help: Daniel texted his girlfriend Brittany for help the night he was murdered; she and her father hurried over as quickly as they could
The death has hit hard at the high school. Grief counsellors were made available for those needing assistance.
Big heart: Friends and classmates said Daniel always loved to make people laugh
One of Daniel’s friends, Josh Leisten, told Greenvilleonline.com a day after his murder that Daniel was always upbeat. ‘He just tried to make everybody laugh,’ Josh said.
Thomas had a history peppered with domestic violence charges. In 2008, he was charged with criminal domestic violence of a ‘high and aggravated nature,’ but his wife Sandy would not cooperate with the investigation. The charges were later dropped.
Authorities said the couple had been married for ten years. According to authorities, they were planning to go on holiday to Tennessee the last weekend in August.
Sandy’s siblings told Greenvilleonline.com that she had recently opened up a dog-grooming business. She had always been a lover of horses, and owned several of the creatures.
Clayton Smith said at his sister’s funeral earlier this week that Thomas had abused her repeatedly throughout their ten-year marriage.
He told FOX Carolina: ‘Your family is not the enemy, but when violence is part of your life and you add the fuel, drugs, alcohol, peer pressure – this is the end result.’
The mother and son were buried at a nearby cemetery after the funeral.
