A Sarasota County jury convicted Delmer Smith III on Thursday of Murder and Sexual Battery in connection with the brutal death of a 34-year-old Sarasota woman in April 2009.

 

Through DNA evidence, detectives determined Delmer Smith killed the woman on or around April 6 inside her central Sarasota home. Investigation revealed the woman was bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat and sexually battered with foreign objects that were left inside her body. In November 2017, detectives received a report identifying Delmer Smith’s DNA profile on the clothing worn by the woman the day she was killed. Delmer Smith was initially arrested by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office in October 2009 after DNA evidence linked him to a string of home invasions that occurred throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties.

 

Smith was sentenced Friday to life in prison for Murder with an additional life sentence to be served concurrent to Sexual Battery. Today’s sentencing runs consecutive to the life sentence he is currently serving for a 2011 conviction related to another home invasion. Smith was also convicted in 2013 for the murder of Kathleen Briles and sentenced to death. The sheriff’s office recognizes the detectives and members of the State Attorney’s Office for this successful prosecution.