Justin Smith shot 21-year-old Dianna Brice 12 times, including 11 times in the head, then tried to cover up her killing before disappearing for nearly four years.
PHILADELPHIA – A Pennsylvania man who spent nearly four years on the run has been sentenced to life without parole for killing his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn child, bringing a case that began with Dianna Brice’s disappearance in 2021 to a courtroom conclusion.
Justin Smith, 28, was convicted Friday of first-degree murder in Brice’s death and third-degree murder in the death of her unborn child. The jury also found him guilty of arson, abuse of a corpse and related offenses, according to court reporting from The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Brice was 21 and 14 weeks pregnant with Smith’s child when she was killed on March 30, 2021. She was also the mother of a young son. Her disappearance and the discovery of her body days later were reported by Shore News Network as authorities searched for answers — and, eventually, for Smith.
Jury Rejects Smith’s Claim That Shooting Was an Accident
Smith did something at trial that put his own version of the killing directly before jurors: He took the witness stand.
He admitted he was there when Brice was shot, but told the jury he did not murder her intentionally. Smith said the couple had been arguing after Brice learned she had tested positive for herpes and accused him of transmitting the infection to her.
According to Smith’s testimony, Brice pointed a gun at him before turning it toward herself. He claimed he reached for the weapon and it suddenly fired repeatedly.
- Brice suffered 12 gunshot wounds, including 11 to her head and one to her shoulder.
- Smith was convicted of murdering both Brice and her unborn child and sentenced to life without parole.
- He avoided capture until March 2025, when an expired vehicle registration led Atlanta police to him.
Prosecutors argued that the physical evidence simply did not fit Smith’s story.
Assistant District Attorney Lauren Crump pointed to the extraordinary concentration of gunfire — 11 shots to Brice’s head — while challenging his contention that the weapon accidentally discharged during a struggle.
“That is not panic,” Crump told jurors while discussing what Smith did afterward. “That is premeditation.”
The jury agreed with the prosecution and rejected Smith’s accident defense.
How many times was Dianna Brice shot?
A medical examiner testified that Brice suffered 12 gunshot wounds. Eleven struck her in the head and another struck her right shoulder.
Brice’s Body Was Dumped in Southwest Philadelphia
Brice was last seen leaving a Delaware County laundromat with Smith on March 30, 2021. Prosecutors said the couple traveled into Philadelphia and argued in Smith’s Ford Fusion.
She was never seen alive again.
Her body was discovered April 5 in a wooded area near 58th Street and Eastwick Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia. Investigators found her inside black trash bags and wrapped in a blanket, according to The Inquirer’s account of the trial.
Smith’s Ford Fusion was found burned near Florence Avenue and Cobbs Creek Parkway, roughly a mile from where Brice’s body was recovered.
Smith admitted taking part in the cover-up after Brice died. He told jurors he disposed of her body, burned the car and later discarded his cellphone while traveling on Interstate 95.
Then he left Pennsylvania.
What happened to Dianna Brice after she was killed?
Her body was wrapped and placed in trash bags before being dumped in a wooded section of Southwest Philadelphia. Smith’s Ford Fusion was also set on fire as part of the cover-up, according to evidence presented at trial.
Accomplice Told Jury Smith Confessed
Tylydia Garnett, 27, became an important witness against Smith.
Garnett testified that Smith confessed to shooting Brice and that she helped him after the killing. Surveillance evidence also became part of the prosecution’s reconstruction of what happened after Brice died.
Garnett previously pleaded guilty to arson, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and related offenses for her role in disposing of Brice’s body and helping Smith flee.
Smith challenged parts of her story from the witness stand. His defense attorney, Samuel Stretton, also suggested Garnett had embellished her account in hopes of receiving favorable treatment in her own criminal case.
The jury nevertheless returned guilty verdicts against Smith.
An Expired Registration Ended a Nearly Four-Year Manhunt
For years, Smith was gone.
Philadelphia authorities had been looking for him since 2021, but the break in the case ultimately came hundreds of miles away and began with an ordinary traffic stop.
On March 9, 2025, Atlanta police stopped a vehicle near Oak Street for an expired registration. Smith allegedly gave officers a false identity and then ran.
He didn’t get far.
Officers caught him after a foot pursuit, ending a manhunt that had stretched for nearly four years. His capture was reported by NBC10 Philadelphia.
The arrest brought Smith back to Pennsylvania and eventually into a Philadelphia courtroom, where jurors heard not only the prosecution’s case but Smith’s explanation in his own words.
What sentence did Justin Smith receive?
Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony Kyriakakis sentenced Smith to life in prison without the possibility of parole. NBC10 Philadelphia reported that Smith was also ordered to pay $10,244.19 in restitution.
Five Years After Brice Disappeared, the Case Ends With a Life Sentence
Smith’s conviction closes the central question that hung over the case since Brice disappeared: who was responsible for killing the 21-year-old mother and her unborn child.
Prosecutors are highlighting the conviction Monday, giving renewed attention to a case that began more than five years ago with a missing-person search and a burned Ford Fusion.
The evidence ultimately led jurors through the killing, the disposal of Brice’s body, the burned vehicle, Smith’s flight from Pennsylvania and his years as a fugitive.
Smith asked jurors to believe the shooting was a terrible accident followed by panic.
They instead convicted him of first-degree murder.
Sources: Philadelphia Inquirer trial and verdict reporting; NBC10 Philadelphia conviction and sentencing report; NBC10 Philadelphia report on Smith’s capture; FOX 29 Philadelphia Aug. 31 report; Shore News Network original coverage
