If Donald James Smith’s trial begins April 4 as scheduled, it will come after nearly three years of painful waiting for those who loved Cherish Perrywinkle.
Three years of grieving over Cherish’s rape and murder. Three years of waiting for someone to be held responsible.
Smith, 59, is charged with murder, kidnapping and sexual battery in Cherish’s death. If convicted, he faces the death penalty.
Security cameras showed Cherish leaving a Wal-Mart on June 21, 2013, with a man who had befriended her family hours before. Together, the 8-year-old girl and the white-haired man walked into the darkness of night.
Less than 12 hours later, Cherish’s body was found in a creek behind a Northside church. Smith was arrested while driving on Interstate 95, his clothes wet and dirty.
Smith’s attorneys asked Circuit Judge Mallory Cooper to move the trial because of pre-trial publicity. Instead, she will try to seat a jury in April.
By then, Cooper will be retired but she will stay on the Smith case until it concludes.
Cooper was one of several judges in the 4th Judicial Circuit who retired during the past year, joining Charles Cofer, Lawrence Page Haddock Jr., E. McRae Mathis, Donald Moran, Brad Stetson, Richard Townsend and David Wiggins.
That means a slew of new faces on the bench, including Steven Fahlgren, John Guy, Kristina Mobley, Steven Whittingon and Gary Wilkinson.
Also in legal news, Sheriff Mike Williams, who took over the office July 1, is using task forces to help address issues he heard about while campaigning. The four committees are community engagement, resources, training and transparency.
Williams also has the continued high crime rate to tackle. That effort will be assisted by 33 new officers who took the oath this month. City Council approved hiring 40 new police and 40 community service officers.
And with election season next year comes races for state attorney and public defender.
State Attorney Angela Corey has said she will run, as has former prosecutor Wesley White.
Public Defender Matt Shirk hasn’t announced his intentions yet, but retired Duval County Judge Charles Cofer is in the race.