Fertamia Smith was found dead in the trunk of a car Wednesday night on the city’s South Side. Her family says the 35-year-old woman was last seen Sunday. Her ex-boyfriend – who is also the father of her children - is now in police custody and will soon be charged with her murder, say Bellwood police.
Smith lived in Bellwood with her four children. I spoke to one of her neighbors this morning who said he was shocked but not surprised Smith’s ex was in custody. Phillip Walker told me that the suspect was possessive of Smith, and that they were having a lot of problems. He said that Smith had recently joined his church and was trying to get her life together. Walker said that Smith was a hard-working single mother – who was trying to make ends meet. I asked him what – if anything - could have been done to possibly prevent this tragic outcome – and he said he really didn’t know. And neither do I. What I do know is that now four children have lost their mother and their father.
