A shocking crime that woke up the sleepy southern end of the village of Ballston Spa around the Thanksgiving last year has come to a close.
On Aug. 10, Noelle C. Williams, 28, was convicted of manslaughter and weapons possession charges in the stabbing death of Steven J. Smith Jr., 36. Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III’s office did not accept a plea bargain in the case.
Williams admitted in open court that she caused the death of Steven Smith, said assistant district attorney Lyn Murphy, who prosecuted the case.
On Nov. 17 of last year, Schenectady resident Smith was stabbed to death in an apparent dispute with girlfriend Williams at an apartment in the Bridgewater complex on Brookline Road off Route 50, where the village meets the town of Burnt Hills.
The complex is a family setting where many students live who attend Ballston Spa Central schools. Although first thought to be William’s apartment, it was found that the apartment is rented by William’s sister and children.
The fight broke out in the early hours of the morning. Police said there was a struggle for a large kitchen knife between Williams and Smith that ended with Smith sustaining several large cuts to the chest. Paramedics rushed Smith to the Saratoga Hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Smith’s family rallied around one another, and drew support from their church community. Although Smith and Williams were said to be romantically involved, none of his family had met the woman, and their relationship was said to be new. Smith’s family said he was a hard-working father of two children who live out of the local area.
`I didn’t even know her; I don’t know who she was,` said Tyrone Smith, one of Steven Smith’s brothers, at the time of his death.
Williams was charged with second-degree murder, and was later indicted on second-degree manslaughter and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a class C felony in Saratoga County. She was held without bail at the Saratoga County jail following her arraignment.
On April 11, 2007, Smith’s father Steven J. Smith, Sr., and his wife, Nancy Turner, sat at the Saratoga County Courthouse and watched as Williams pled not guilty to the charges. A slight woman, Williams appeared a decade older than her actual age, and kept her eyes fixed on the floor while being advised of the proceedings by Saratoga Supreme Court Justice Jerry Scarano.
At the conviction, defense attorney John Ciulla asked the court to impose two to six years in prison. William’s sentencing will take place on Oct. 4 in Saratoga County Court. It is expected that William’s family members will speak at the sentencing hearing.
`We are pleased that justice has been served through the conviction of Williams, but unfortunately, nothing will bring Mr. Smith back to his family,` said Murphy.
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