Kriti Mehrotra
If there’s one thing absolutely nobody can deny, it’s that the September 2015 death of John Michael King-Smith left not just his loved ones but also the entire nation baffled to its very core. That’s because, as carefully explored in ID’s ‘Death By Fame: To Tell the Truth,’ it was people this music producer knew who ended up having a hand in his brutal, sudden, unexpected killing. But alas, it was the way several lies as well as half-truths subsequently came to light that made this tragedy go from bad to worse, that is, until officials ultimately brought matters to a close.
John Michael King-Smith Was Killed in a Condo
Although John was essentially leading his dream life as the CEO of Blacksmith Records in Los Angeles, California, at the relatively young age of 31, he was much, much more than a mere producer. He was actually a kind-hearted human who didn’t think twice before taking the shirt off his back to help someone in need; plus, he even went as far as to be actively involved with various non-profits. Whether it be the homeless, the previously incarcerated, or struggling women, he tried to assist them all, which is just one of the reasons why no one could initially believe he’d been murdered.
It turns out police were called to a Glendale apartment on the 200 block of West Windsor Road at roughly 2 am on September 10, 2015, where they found John in a state of severe medical distress. He’d reportedly been beaten and choked to near death before his wrists as well as feet were heinously bound by household items, so of course, he was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital. That’s where he was pronounced dead of asphyxia and compressed neck shortly thereafter, resulting in the start of a homicide investigation that thankfully didn’t take long to unravel owing to location.
John Michael King-Smith Was Killed by Aspiring Big-Names
According to court documents, the Glendale condo where John was slain belonged to 32-year-old Armenian cracker bread company Ak-Mak heiress plus Sparkles Angels owner Sparkle Soojian. She actually knew him through her former roommate as they’d dated and had purportedly even had a professional working relationship with him herself, that is, until some issues suddenly arose. However, she alone wasn’t involved — her 28-year-old ex-marine partner Jared Kasiewicz and 25-year-old aspiring popstar/Sparkles Angels’ employee Courtney Argue also had a hand in this murder.
On the fateful evening, per official records, Sparkle had sent a few urgent text messages to a man by the name of Ernest Johnson, expressing genuine fear for her life owing to a “stalker.” While one read, “My stalker broke into my house,” another said, “Please come over. I can’t talk on the phone. I’m begging you to come over now. I’m scared,” before she eventually wrote, “I want you to kill him… We need to get rid of the body.” Therefore, per Ernest’s own account, he got into a physical altercation with John after he rushed to her home and found him banging on her bedroom door.
That’s when the music producer attacked him with a tennis racquet, Ernest candidly said in court, only for more people to soon join in — this included Sparkles’ then-boyfriend Jared Kasiewicz. Though little did he know this would lead to a bigger mess as the ex-marine quickly placed John in a choke hold prior to aggressively expressing, “We need to handle this,” just for the former to walk away. Yet unfortunately, the fray didn’t end since Jared allegedly went on to ask others in the apartment to hand him strong cords or ropes so as to enable him to tie this so-called intruder’s limbs.
Once that was done is when Sparkles and Jared, along with her employee Courtney, ostensibly set the scene for their ensuing claims of John having broken into her West Windsor Road home. The former had apparently first texted her partner to come over despite him already being there and then dialed 911 to file her report 30 minutes later, declaring John had sliced a window screen to come in. She also stated she’d returned home to find this stalker (against whom she already had a valid restraining order) inside her bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel and giving himself a haircut.
Nevertheless, the truth is investigators didn’t entirely believe Sparkles because there was a chair with dusty beer bottles right underneath the window screen in question, seemingly undisturbed. Then came Ernest’s detailed statements to the police as well as other witnesses’ accounts of Jared going as far as to tell them, “I wasn’t here” after he was done choking/securing John. It then came to light he likely didn’t want it to be known he and Sparkles were still involved since she was supposed to stay away in accordance with a court order for an active domestic violence case between them.
All of this, combined with the evidence recovered from the scene, resulted in Sparkes as well as Jared being arrested for murder and Courtney being arrested for accessory to murder after the fact. They all initially pled not guilty, owing to which their bail amounts were set to $1 million and $50,000, respectively — the latter posted bond on September 14 itself, whereas the other two were left detained awaiting trial.
Sparkle Soojian, Jared Kasiewicz, and Courtney Argue Have All Moved On
In the end, in 2017, while Sparkes pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter in connection with John King-Smith’s 2015 demise, her then-partner Jared pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. On the other hand, it appears as if the accessory charge against Courtney was soon dropped — she hence received no jail time, whereas the former was handed down three years and the latter was given 2.
Coming to their current standings, it seems like Courtney is still pursuing her musical/popstar dreams to this day, all the while also making a name for herself as an influencer and as a real estate agent. As for Sparkle, having served her term, she’s now continuing her life in the limelight by serving as an actress, model, personal trainer, writer, plus talk show host. Last but not least, there’s Jared, who is likely back to leading a relatively quiet life in Glendale, California, as a free man.
Read More: Jeffrey Franklin Murder: Where Are Ernest and Heather Franklin Now?
