June 24, 2025 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Husband Accused of Beating Wife’s Lover to Death Claims Self-Defense

A spurned husband tracked down his wife and a 20th Century Fox distribution executive during a late-night romantic rendezvous and beat the man to death in his Mercedes-Benz in 2012, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday, but the defendant’s attorney called the man’s killing “a case of self- defense.”

In his opening statement, Deputy District Attorney Bobby Grace told jurors that John Creech had made a threat against the victim, Gavin Smith, nearly two years earlier during a conversation with Smith’s two sons at Creech’s West Hills home.

“That threat that he made to the two sons was … a downpayment to murder,” the prosecutor told the eight-woman, four-man panel. “… This particular defendant had murder on the brain. He wanted to kill Gavin Smith.”

Defense attorney Irene Nunez countered that Creech had used a GPS app on the family’s cellphones to try to find his wife on May 1, 2012, because he was worried about her in light of her previous drug and alcohol usage.

“He’s just trying to find his wife to bring her back home to the children,” Creech’s attorney told jurors, noting that he left home without a weapon, wearing a bright red Ohio State University sweatshirt and driving a mini-van with a “loud engine” as he tried to locate her.

Nunez dismissed the prosecution’s description of a “romantic tryst” between Smith and Creech’s wife, saying they were there to “commit infidelity” and were “cheating on their spouses.” Smith’s wife had kicked him out of their house after learning he had been unfaithful with another woman, Creech’s attorney told jurors.

The defense lawyer said Creech knocked on the hood of Smith’s black Mercedes-Benz to alert his own wife and Smith, then got involved in a verbal dispute with his wife before Smith intervened and the dispute between the two men got physical.

Nunez said her client thought the fight was over but he had to “defend himself” and do a “leg sweep” when Smith came at him wielding a weapon.

“What we have here is a case of self-defense,” she told jurors, noting that Smith was 6-foot-6 and 212 pounds, while Creech was smaller at 6-foot-1, 195 pounds with “a little bit of a beer gut.”

She acknowledged that her client had made “errors in judgment” by trying to conceal the body of the 57-year-old former UCLA basketball player, who was on the 1975 NCAA-winning basketball team under Coach John Wooden and had worked for 20th Century Fox for 18 years. Smith’s remains were discovered after hikers came upon a shallow grave in the Antelope Valley about 2 1/2 years later.

As for the alleged threat involving Smith, the defense attorney said her client had told Smith’s sons, “No one is going to hurt your dad. Just have him not contact my wife any more.”

Creech, a 44-year-old convicted drug dealer, is charged with murder, along with the special circumstance allegation of murder while lying in wait. He could face a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. The District Attorney’s Office had opted earlier not to seek the death penalty against him.

Grace, the prosecutor, told jurors that Creech was angered over his wife’s repeated dalliances with Smith, and said the evidence would show he used the GPS phone app to surprise the two during a “romantic tryst” not far from the Creech home.

He said Creech began beating Smith and continued pounding him even after Smith appeared to be unconscious and Creech’s wife yelled at him to stop.

The prosecutor told jurors Smith was killed inside his car “in an act of almost stunning brutality.” He showed jurors a picture of Smith’s damaged skull and said, “This particular defendant literally exploded Gavin Smith’s face.”

Grace outlined for jurors the on-again, off-again romance between Smith and Creech’s wife, Chandrika Cade, with the two meeting initially at a rehabilitation facility for prescription drug abuse. He said Smith became addicted after years of medication for a back injury suffered when he worked as a movie stuntman earlier in life.

Their affair — which began in 2008 — broke off the following year after Smith was confronted by his own wife. But Smith and Cade began exchanging e-mail messages again in 2010, Grace said. When Smith’s wife found out, she drove with two of her sons to Creech’s house, where Creech told Smith’s two sons, “You saved your father’s life by coming here today,” according to the prosecutor.

Two years later, however, when the romance rekindled again, Creech made good on his threat to kill Smith, Grace said.

Smith was last seen between 9 and 10 p.m. May 1, 2012, leaving a female friend’s home off Kanan Road in eastern Ventura County in his 2000 Mercedes- Benz 420 E. Prosecutors allege he was killed either on May 1, 2012, or early the next day.

He was reported missing after he failed to pick up his teenage son to drive him to school, according to the prosecutor.

His car, which bore the “aftermath of the murderous assault,” was recovered in February 2013 at a storage facility in Simi Valley that had been rented at Creech’s behest, Grace told jurors.

Creech had initially hidden the car — with the body wrapped inside in blankets — in a friend’s garage in Porter Ranch before the vehicle was moved to the storage unit, the deputy district attorney said.

Smith’s wife, Lisa, was called as the prosecution’s first witness.

She testified that she immediately grew concerned about her husband’s whereabouts after learning he had failed to pick up their teenage son. She said she first called her husband’s office and then a friend with whom he had been staying. She told jurors she drove to the local sheriff’s station to report her husband’s disappearance and provided them with photos of him.

Lisa Smith told jurors she also sent a text message to a phone number she thought might belong to Creech’s wife. She said she received a call back from someone she thought was “a man trying to sound like a woman” and who denied knowing her husband.

She testified she and two of her sons had driven to the Creech family home in December 2010 after her husband showed her a stack of e-mails detailing his renewed involvement with Creech’s wife, including one that she considered to be “threatening him.” She said her sons — who are also expected to testify — were “both crying” when they came out of their meeting with Creech.

Creech’s wife is also expected to be called to the stand during the trial.

Related Posts

Squatter-Plagued Beverly Grove Buildings Could Be Razed After Hazard Cleanup

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Demolition of Three Abandoned Apartments May Begin in Two Weeks Three abandoned apartment buildings in Beverly Grove may soon be...

From Westwood to DTLA, Angelenos March Against Military Escalation in Iran

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Protestors Rally at the Westwood Federal Building This Weekend Following President Donald Trump’s authorization of airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear-related...

Overnight Traffic Stops in Culver City Lead to Felony Arrests, DUI Bust

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Culver City Police Nab Suspects Wanted for Burglary and Identity Theft Culver City police officers arrested three individuals in separate...

LAPD Sergeant Killed Assisting Crash Victims on 405 Freeway in Brentwood

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Tragic Early-Morning Collision Claims Two Lives, Including Veteran Sergeant Two people, including an LAPD sergeant, were killed early Monday in...

Recent Homebuyer Down Payments Slip for First Time in Nearly Two Years

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

April’s Median Down Payment Fell as Buyers Lean Toward Lower-Cost Homes The median down payment made by U.S. homebuyers dropped...

Del Rey Affordable Housing Project to Rise on Former Charter School Site

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Community Corp., Local Faith Group Team Up to Build 122 New Apartments Plans are moving forward for a new residential...

Paris Hilton Buys Mark Wahlberg’s Beverly Park Mansion for $63.1M

June 22, 2025

June 22, 2025

The Heiress and Media Mogul Joins a Star-Studded Neighborhood Paris Hilton and husband Carter Reum have purchased a high-profile estate...

A.O.C. Brentwood to Close After 16 Years on San Vicente Boulevard

June 22, 2025

June 22, 2025

Chef Goin and Styne Cite Unsustainably High Rent in Decision to Close  A.O.C. Brentwood, the acclaimed Westside outpost from James...

LA City Councilwomen Yaroslavsky and Jurado Call for Legal Action Against Federal Immigration Raids

June 21, 2025

June 21, 2025

City Motion Targets Alleged Unconstitutional Tactics, End Qualified Immunity for Fed Officers  City Councilmembers Katy Yaroslavsky and Ysabel Jurado introduced...

Weekend Lane Closures on PCH in Malibu Could Snarl Summer Beach Traffic

June 21, 2025

June 21, 2025

Army Corps Work Triggers Weekend Closure on Pacific Coast Highway Motorists traveling along Pacific Coast Highway this weekend should prepare...

All Aboard to LAX: Metro Opens Game-Changing Transit Hub Ahead of Global Events

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

 New LAX/Metro Transit Center Comes Closer to Connecting Metro Directly to LAX The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)...

Princess Diana’s Largest Wardrobe Auction Set for Beverly Hills

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

Over 200 Royal Garments to Hit the Auction Block for Charity More than 200 garments and royal artifacts, including the...

Queer Beauty Through the Ages: Getty Hosts Lecture on Greek Art’s Influence on LGBTQ Aesthetics

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

Art Historian to Trace Homoerotic Imagery From Ancient Greece to Modern Queer Identity As part of its ongoing Pride Month...

Food Fight on the Venice Boardwalk: Chefs Stand Up for Immigrants with Food

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

Turk’s Pizza Party Rallies Top Local Eateries for an Immigrant Rights Fundraiser In a bold display of culinary activism, Turk’s...

Navy Vietnam Vet Finally Gets His UCLA Commencement Moment

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

John Fong, 80, Missed His Graduation in 1968 While in Vietnam  Nearly six decades after completing his studies, U.S. Navy...