He bought a car yesterday but 26-year-old Trevor Smith won't get to enjoy his new ride because he was ambushed and killed by gunmen in his old Yabra neighborhood last night. Police are tonight searching for two suspects as well as a motive while his family is demanding justice this time around. 7NEWS was on the scene last night and again this morning. Keith Swift has the story.
Keith Swift Reporting, Email - [keithkswift@gmail.com]
It is daylight now but last night it was the complete opposite. This backyard was pitch black and it's under that cover of darkness that Trevor Smith was executed.
Only 7NEWS was on the scene as in the middle of the night, and on what has got to be one of the darkest streets in the city, where residents were startled out of their beds by the sound of as many as 7 gunshots. By the time those shots were silenced - 26 year old Trevor Smith was dead. The body was transported in the back of the police mobile to the morgue. He was shot multiple times to the head and body.
Smith's killers made good their escape but not without leaving behind a piece of evidence: this pair of slippers. And as forensic investigators worked on the crime scene, residents in this yard worked on simply moving on by washing away the blood.
On the scene this morning no one would talk to 7NEWS on camera but this old metal reservoir with a bullet hole and the blood stained sand spoke volumes about last night's fatal gun attack. Witnesses say that shortly before
10 pm Trevor was in the area in this Chevy sedan which he had just bought yesterday. He purchased a fry chicken and went behind the yard to eat it and that is when he was attacked by as many as 3 men.
His sister Stacey Martinez was one of the first family members on the scene last night and she said her brother didn't have a chance.
Stacey Martinez, Victim's Sister
"While exiting his vehicle he met, I think, two or three guys who, I don't know exactly what transpired, but the end result is he was shot multiple times and he is now dead. We don't really know the motive. He didn't really have any money on him at the time. Well he had money but upon arrival his pockets were emptied.
When I got there all I could do was scream...scream...scream because the way they did it, the way he looked there on the floor with his face disfigured and all it was really hard. Screaming was all I could do."
The last time Stacey saw her brother alive was on July 4th, her birthday. Trevor was killed in the Yabra area where he was raised. And even though the family moved away, Trevor still frequented the area.
Stacey Martinez,
"That's where we started out. Our family lived there for a while when we were small and since then he has been going to recreate."
Keith Swift,
Was your brother involved in any drugs, gang, or anything of that sort?
Stacey Martinez,
"Stereotyping is something that generally happens. If you are hanging out, well not necessarily hanging out, but if you are seen in an area then people kind of generalizes you with that type. But my brother wasn't, like I said, he wasn't the type to attack or confront people or anything in that manner. He tried to make his and tried to live as best as he could."
But all that is over because Trevor is dead at 26 years old and Stacey says her brother just didn't deserve to die like this.
Stacey Martinez,
"Trevor was my loving brother. He was easy. Most people know him as quiet and shy. People close to him would know that because even to us sometimes he was shy. You would have to really hang around him and get to know him and stuff like that. But he is not the type of person who would go to somebody and attack them or try to rob them or anything like that. He is not that type of person."
Keith Swift,
What would the family say to his killer?
Stacey Martinez,
"Well I personally would like to say that so far I have speculation and I have been told exactly who they are and if justice isn't served then something else is going to happen because I won't appreciate my brother's life going just like that. He is my older brother. He is like my heart."
Trevor's death is déjà vu for his family. In March of 2000 Brian Smith, Trevor's uncle, was murdered in the same general area. No one went to trial for his murder and the police never even made a formal arrest. The family is demanding justice this time around.
Nissah Davis, Victim's Aunt
"This is the second person die from us, the second person. My brother died and it went just like that and now the same thing with my nephew. I don't think so."
Stacey Martinez,
"Like I told Mr. Chester Williams last night, I asked him if we could get some concrete conclusion in this case because there are other murders that have gone unsolved and that's totally ridiculous. I would just really appreciate if they could all out to find out who did this to my brother because what are we supposed to do. Everytime things like this happen and we are just left to settle with whatever is the result. I would really appreciate they find who did this before somebody else does."
A sober pronouncement from a family very much in mourning but also very much determined to ensure their brother's memory isn't washed away like his blood.
Police investigations continue and tonight they'll only say that they are seeking two suspects. As mentioned in the story Trevor's uncle Brian Smith was murdered on March 4th of 2000. That murder has not yet been solved.