Naman Shrestha
The disappearance of the FOX executive Gavin Smith in 2012 caused quite a stir across the community while his loved ones got worried about his well-being and whereabouts. Unfortunately, a year later, their worst nightmares became reality when his remains were found. During that time, the detectives left no stone unturned in looking for the perpetrator responsible for the murder. The complicated case of Gavin’s murder is covered in detail in the episode titled ‘A Hollywood Affair’ of Netflix’s ‘Homicide: Los Angeles.’ It also includes in-depth interviews with the victim’s loved ones and the officials linked to the case, giving the viewers all the intricate information related to the case.
Gavin Smith Went Missing For a While Before Being Found Dead
Born on December 10, 1954, in San Fernando Valley, California, Gavin L. Smith was destined for great things in life. In his early days, he was an integral part of the UCLA basketball team that won the 1975 NCAA championship. Since he grew up in a family involved in the movie industry, including his sister Tara Smith Addeo, he entered the business soon after graduating from the University of California in Los Angeles. But before that, while working as a bartender at the Ports O’Call restaurant, he crossed paths with Lisa, and sparks flew almost instantly. In 1989, the two decided to get married, and over the course of their marriage, they became parents of three sons — Dylan, Evan, and Austin.
In the beginning, he got to work as a stuntman for a few TV episodes and bagged a role as a bartender in ‘Cobb,’ a biopic based on the baseball player Ty Cobb. He also went on to feature in ‘Gltiz’ and Greg Mottola’s debut short, ‘Swingin’ in the Painter’s Room.’ Then, he decided to work behind the scenes and handle the business side of the industry. For the next two decades, he served as a top-level executive with 20th Century Fox. In May 2012, Gavin failed to pick up one of his sons for school, and when his family could not get in touch with her, they reported him missing on May 2, 2012.
After several months of investigation, his car was finally found in a storage unit in the Porter Ranch in Simi Valley, California, in February 2013. Judging by the state of the vehicle, including the blood spatter and the amount of blood spilled in the car, the missing case was reclassified as homicide. Finally, on October 26, 2014, a group of hikers found the remains of Gavin in a remote part of the Angeles-National-Forest in Los Angeles, in the high desert. As for the shallow grave in which his body was discovered, it was situated at about 3/4 of a mile south of Mt.Emma Road and 47th Street East in rural Palmdale. When the detectives sent the body for autopsy, it showed that the cause of his death was blunt force trauma.
Lisa Smith Confronted Gavin About His Extramarital Affairs
When the murder case of Gavin Smith gained some traction, the authorities interviewed various family members and friends of the victim. Soon, they learned that the marriage between Gavin and Jana Smith was not as perfect as it appeared. Apart from marital issues, Gavin was also struggling financially. Since he used to take medication for a back injury he suffered when he worked as a stuntman in movies, he developed an addiction. It had gotten so bad that he had to go to a substance abuse facility called the Matrix in 2008 to get out of his drug addiction. While in rehab, he met a married woman named Chandrika Creech and thus began a torrid extramarital affair between them. However, it came to an end when Lisa found out about their affair.
A while later, Gavin and Chandrika began interacting via email messages once again in 2010. When it came to Lisa’s notice, she drove down to Creech’s house with two of her sons and told Chandrika’s husband, John Creech, about it all. At the time, John told Gavin’s sons, “You saved your father’s life by coming here today.” After that relationship ended, Gavin reportedly began another one with Melanie in 2011. When Lisa learned about his second affair, she got him out of the house, after which he went to stay with a co-worker. A year later, in 2012, the romance between Gavin and Chandrika reignited, which would prove to be fatal for the former. On the night of May 1, 2012, Gavin left his co-worker’s house in Oak Park, where he had been staying after getting kicked out of the house he shared with his wife.
Gavin Smith’s Affair With Chandrika Got Him Killed
Around 11:30 pm, he called Chandrika and picked her up in his Mercedes. Unfortunately, John had been tracking his wife’s movements via a GPS app on her phone. When he discovered that she was in Gavin’s car, he jumped inside the car and began punching him and did not stop until he became unconscious. Meanwhile, scared for her life, Chandrika managed to flee the scene. After bludgeoning him to death, John drove his body to California’s Angeles National Forest and buried him in a shallow grave. As for the Mercedes, he hid it in the Simi Valley storage facility. As John emerged as the primary suspect in the murder case of Gavin Smith, the police obtained a search warrant for the Creech residence on June 8, 2012.
About a year later, in 2013, Gavin’s Mercedes was spotted in the storage facility. When the detectives inspected the car, they found dried blood all over the car. Upon discovering the fact that one of the screws on the car had the DNA that matched John Creech’s, the investigators closed in on the suspect and took him into custody. In April 2014, he was officially indicted on capital murder charges with the special circumstance of lying in wait. That same year, in October, Gavin’s body was found in the mountains of Palmdale, California. During his trial, John claimed that he killed the former FOX executive in self-defense. Despite his claims, the jury found John guilty and convicted him of voluntary manslaughter on July 3, 2017. Thus, he received an 11-year imprisonment sentence for his crimes.
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