PHILADELPHIA, PA. – A Philadelphia man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for murdering his pregnant girlfriend, dumping her body in an abandoned lot and torching his car before fleeing the state, prosecutors announced Monday.
A jury convicted Justin Smith in the 2021 killing of 21-year-old Dianna Brice, who was 14 weeks pregnant with Smith’s child. Brice disappeared from Upper Darby on March 30, 2021, and was found six days later in Southwest Philadelphia with 11 gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
Smith was sentenced to mandatory life without parole for first-degree murder, plus a consecutive 40 to 80 years on additional charges. Prosecutors said Smith remained a fugitive for nearly four years before police caught him in Atlanta in March 2025.
Key Points
- Justin Smith was convicted of first-degree murder and third-degree murder of an unborn child in the 2021 killing of Dianna Brice.
- Brice, 21 and 14 weeks pregnant, was found wrapped in trash bags with 11 gunshot wounds to her head, prosecutors said.
- Smith received life without parole plus a consecutive 40-to-80-year prison sentence.
Pregnant Woman Vanished From Upper Darby
Brice was reported missing in Upper Darby on March 30, 2021. Investigators determined she was last seen crying and leaving a laundromat in a car with Smith, who was her boyfriend.
Prosecutors said Smith killed Brice inside his car somewhere between University City and Kensington. Cellphone records were used to trace their movements to a garage in Kensington.
Smith then enlisted his best friend, Tylydia Garnett, to help dispose of Brice’s body, according to the district attorney’s office.
Investigators determined Garnett went to a Sunoco station and purchased gasoline before returning to the garage. Surveillance video showed Smith and Garnett loading a heavy object into the back of Garnett’s vehicle, prosecutors said.
Brice’s blood was later found inside the trunk.
Body Dumped, Car Burned Before Flight to Florida
Prosecutors said Smith and Garnett drove to the 5800 block of Eastwick and dumped Brice’s body. Smith then traveled to Cobbs Creek and set his own vehicle on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence, according to the district attorney’s office.
Investigators recovered fired cartridge casings from Smith’s burned vehicle. Those casings were later linked to a casing recovered from Brice’s clothing, prosecutors said.
Smith and Garnett drove to Miami on March 30, 2021. Smith remained wanted until March 2025, when Atlanta police arrested him following a stop in Georgia.
Garnett had previously pleaded guilty to charges stemming from her role in the case, including conspiracy to commit arson, tampering with evidence, hindering apprehension and abuse of a corpse. She was sentenced separately and is currently on probation, according to prosecutors.
Mother Speaks After Five-Year Fight for Justice
Smith’s convictions included first-degree murder, third-degree murder of an unborn child, arson, conspiracy to commit arson, possession of a firearm while prohibited, carrying a firearm without a license, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.
Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony Kyriakakis imposed the mandatory life-without-parole sentence and an additional consecutive 40 to 80 years.
“I can’t believe that it has been five years since he took my daughter and my unborn grandchild and left my grandson, who was four at the time, without a mother,” Brice’s mother, Betty Cellini, said.
Cellini thanked prosecutors, police and investigators who continued working on the case after her daughter’s death.
“This was a heinous crime carried out by this defendant, taking the life of not only Ms. Brice but of her unborn child,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said. “Justin Smith may have thought he got away with it, but he will now spend the rest of his life thinking about his actions.”
What sentence did Justin Smith receive?
Smith was sentenced to mandatory life without parole for first-degree murder, plus a consecutive 40 to 80 years on the remaining charges.
What happened to Dianna Brice?
Prosecutors said the 21-year-old pregnant woman was murdered after disappearing from Upper Darby in March 2021. Her body was found six days later in an abandoned Southwest Philadelphia lot with 11 gunshot wounds to her head.
How was Justin Smith eventually caught?
Smith remained a fugitive until March 2025, when Atlanta police arrested him following a stop in Atlanta, according to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
Sources: Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office press release; prosecution evidence and case history detailed by the District Attorney’s Office.
