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Prossecutors Ask for Gag Order in Vet Murder Case

dwight smith, delaware police

Delaware prosecutors are asking for a gag order in the case of combat veteran Dwight Smith who is accused of kidnapping, rape and murder of 65 year-old Marsha Lee last year.

On Sunday New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristofpublished part of a letter Smith wrote to his father that said the soldier had become addicted to killing.

In addition, it said he was hearing voices and having hallucinations.

Deputy Attorney General Steven Wood told the court that most of the claim of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder came from Smith’s family.

The Wilmington News Journalreports that Wood called statements in the newspaper were “self-serving and factually erroneous.”

The prosecutor hinted there were incidents in Smtih’s past that did not square with the idea   

that violent behavior began only after his military service. 

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.