Smothers pleads guilty

Ortiz Deion Smothers, Jr., 23, of Cordele, Georgia, pleaded guilty Monday morning in the Houston Superior Court to one count of felony murder in connection with the June 2017 killing of Smothers’ four-month-old son, Omar Smothers. Ortiz Smothers was sentenced immediately thereafter to life in the state penitentiary with the possibility of parole, a jointly recommended sentence between the state and defense.  Smothers will be eligible for his first parole consideration after serving a minimum of 30 years of the sentence. Houston Superior Court Chief Judge Edward D. Lukemire took the plea and presided over sentencing.

On June 12, 2017, around 11 a.m., Ortiz Smothers, who was residing with a cousin’s family in Perry at the time, asked another household member to call 911 after Smothers’ four-month-old son, Omar, became unresponsive and was visibly swelling on the side of his head. Upon arrival at Navicent Health’s pediatric I.C.U., it was determined that the infant had suffered multiple bilateral fractures to his skull. The injuries were inconsistent with any sort of accidental cause, appearing rather to be the result of a deliberate impact or multiple impacts to the infant’s head. 

An investigation led by Houston County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Justin Heath Collins revealed that Smothers was the only person with his son during the time in which the injuries must have occurred, and several witnesses corroborated that there was nothing wrong with the child earlier that morning when they had last seen him, prior to Omar being left alone with Ortiz.  Sgt. Collins also found posts made by Smothers to his Facebook account, in which Smothers had complained that morning—just a couple of hours prior to the injury—about his child being a crybaby, and how he just wanted to get some sleep. Omar Smothers was pronounced dead as a result of his head injuries the following day in the I.C.U.

Houston D.A.’s Office Assistant D.A. Eric Z. Edwards prosecuted Smothers. Houston County Assistant Public Defender Doron Dvorak represented Smothers.

“Only Ortiz Smothers, Jr. will ever know exactly what he did that resulted in his son’s death on the morning of June 12, 2017, but it is our hope is that today’s guilty plea and sentence will serve as a measure of justice to the family of Omar Smothers, who was needlessly and incomprehensibly taken from the world before he ever had a chance to experience life,” Edwards said. ”We would like to thank Sgt. Justin Heath Collins for his exemplary work in this investigation.  Because of his hard work, a killer has been brought to justice.”

“The Houston County Sheriff’s Office did an outstanding job investigating the death of Omar Smothers,” said Houston County District Attorney George Hartwig. “The Houston D.A.’s Office will continue to proudly seek justice when the most innocent and vulnerable members of our society—children—are harmed by senseless acts of violence.”