Police search for brother of woman accused in killing

Kim Smith

Tuesday, June 12, 2001 | 10:11 a.m.

Two Metro Police homicide detectives spent three days in California last week, trying in vain to find the missing brother of a Las Vegas woman suspected of killing her mother and former husband.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Frank Coumou said authorities are worried about Travis Smith Jr.'s whereabouts because of comments made about him by his sister, Brookey West.

West, 46, is awaiting trial on charges pertaining to the death of her mother, Christine Smith, 68. She is also considered a suspect in the June 1994 death of her former husband, Howard Simon St. John.

"My main concern is that (West) made statements after people realized her mom was gone that her mom had 'gone to be with her brother,' " Coumou said. "She would make comments like, 'They both ought to be happy now, they're both alike.' "

Considering the fact that Christine Smith's partially liquefied remains were found in a 56-gallon plastic trash can in a storage unit Feb. 5, Coumou said he is worried what West meant by those comments.

Authorities believe West killed her mother in February 1998, sealed her remains in the container and placed her in storage for three years. The remains were found with a plastic trash bag tied tightly around Smith's nose, mouth and chin.

Coumou believes that although West has an interest in the occult, her real motivation was her mother's Social Security checks.

St. John was found shot to death in Tulare County, Calif., in June 1994 and his body too, had plastic wrapped around it. Two weeks earlier, court documents show, West had been charged with assault with a deadly weapon for shooting St. John in the neck. The charge was later dropped.

West was never charged in connection with St. John's death, but after her mother's remains were found, California officials said they considered West a suspect in her former husband's death.

Coumou said the Metro detectives spent three days speaking with California police officials and others about Travis Smith, 44. They checked welfare rolls, hospital records, financial records and coroners' offices.

From what they have been able to piece together from the Social Security Administration and other records, Travis Smith was a transient who had both mental health and physical problems, Coumou said.

At some point he began to receive disability checks, but those checks stopped in the fall of 1999 when Social Security administrators were unable to contact him, Coumou said. His driver's license has been expired for years, too.

The last time Travis Smith was seen it was 1993, Coumou said.

His last mailing address was at the home West shared with St. John in Los Banos, Calif.

"The best we can say now is that the man has disappeared without a trace," Coumou said. "I have my suspicions about what happened to him, but without having firm, concrete evidence, all we can continue to do is look for him."

Ironically, Coumou said, police are also having a hard time locating the last of West's four or five husbands.

"Anytime we start looking for someone to add to the case or who can offer some insight, we can't find them, but the brother is the most troubling or puzzling because of the things she's said," Coumou said.

Coumou said the detectives have begun distributing fliers about Travis Smith to law enforcement agencies throughout the West.