Lou Smit
Encyclopedia
Andrew Louis "Lou" Smit was an American police detective
in Colorado Springs, Colorado
who worked on a number of notable cases before his retirement in 1996, and then was recalled to work on the murder of JonBenét Ramsey
. Smit was portrayed by Kris Kristofferson
in the television miniseries Perfect Murder, Perfect Town
.
Having tried various businesses and failing, Smit prayed for a solution and saw as an answer from God a call he received from a cousin who served on the Colorado Springs Department suggesting that he apply to serve. Smit fell just short of the department's minimum height of five feet and nine inches, but was able to join the force in 1966 after he had his cousin hit him over the skull with a nightstick, allowing him to meet the height minimum when he was remeasured the following day with the bump on his head. Working his way up to the rank of detective, Smit was involved in a number of notable cases including the conviction of spree killer
Freddie Glenn
for a series of murders, including the 1975 killing of Karen Grammer, younger sister of actor Kelsey Grammer
. In 1995, he arrested Robert Charles Browne
for the 1991 murder of Heather Dawn Church. Church's father had been one of the original suspects in his daughter's murder, but Browne ultimately confessed to a total of 48 murders and was sentenced to life imprisonment
. Smit retired in 1996 from the El Paso County, Colorado
Sheriff's department where he had served as captain of detectives.
In 1997, three months after the murder of JonBenét Ramsey
, Smit was asked by the district attorney's office to come out of retirement to assist with the investigation. While initial suspicions had been that Patsy Ramsey
was responsible for the murder and that John Ramsey
had been protecting his wife, Smit resigned from the case after 18 months having concluded that the Ramseys were not responsible for the murder and that the Boulder Police Department had been unjustifiably pursuing the Ramseys as suspects despite DNA and other evidence that showed that some other person was responsible for the killing. In his September 1998 resignation letter, Smit stated that "The Ramseys did not do it" and cited "substantial, credible evidence of an intruder and a lack of evidence that the parents are involved". Smit would later work for the Ramsey's in helping establish their innocence and would be portrayed by Kris Kristofferson in a CBS television miniseries based on the case.
After the Ramsey case, Smit continued to work on cold cases. As a detective, Smit boasted that he "never lost a homicide case" in a career in which he worked on more than 200 murder cases in which a suspect had been arrested and tried for their crime.
Smit had gone to a doctor in April 2010 after experiencing abdominal pain. After a CAT scan identified a tumor as the cause of the pain, surgeons discovered that the cancer had spread throughout his body and was untreatable. Smit died at age 75 on August 11, 2010, at the Pikes Peak Hospice in Colorado Springs due to colon cancer. John Ramsey came to pray at his bedside shortly before Smit's death. Smit was survived by three daughters, a son and nine grandchildren.
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
who worked on a number of notable cases before his retirement in 1996, and then was recalled to work on the murder of JonBenét Ramsey
JonBenét Ramsey
JonBenét Patricia Ramsey was an American child beauty pageant contestant who was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado, in 1996. The six-year-old's body was found in the basement of the family home nearly eight hours after she was reported missing. She had been struck on the head and strangled...
. Smit was portrayed by Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
in the television miniseries Perfect Murder, Perfect Town
Perfect Murder, Perfect Town
Perfect Murder, Perfect Town is a 2000 American television miniseries directed by Lawrence Schiller. The teleplay by Tom Topor is based on Schiller's book of the same title....
.
Having tried various businesses and failing, Smit prayed for a solution and saw as an answer from God a call he received from a cousin who served on the Colorado Springs Department suggesting that he apply to serve. Smit fell just short of the department's minimum height of five feet and nine inches, but was able to join the force in 1966 after he had his cousin hit him over the skull with a nightstick, allowing him to meet the height minimum when he was remeasured the following day with the bump on his head. Working his way up to the rank of detective, Smit was involved in a number of notable cases including the conviction of spree killer
Spree killer
A spree killer is someone who embarks on a murderous assault on two or more victims in a short time in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders."-Definition:According to the...
Freddie Glenn
Freddie Glenn
Freddie Lee Glenn is a spree killer and rapist. Along with accomplice Michael Corbett, Glenn was convicted of murdering three people in 1975; combined, the pair were responsible for a total of five deaths in and around Colorado Springs...
for a series of murders, including the 1975 killing of Karen Grammer, younger sister of actor Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier...
. In 1995, he arrested Robert Charles Browne
Robert Charles Browne
Robert Charles Browne is an American murderer serving a double-life sentence Minnesota Department of Corrections.Browne was born in Coushatta, Louisiana. According to a Red River Parrish Sheriff, Browne grew up as one of nine children in a hardscrabble family...
for the 1991 murder of Heather Dawn Church. Church's father had been one of the original suspects in his daughter's murder, but Browne ultimately confessed to a total of 48 murders and was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. Smit retired in 1996 from the El Paso County, Colorado
El Paso County, Colorado
El Paso County is the most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States, now more populous than Denver County. The United States Census Bureau concluded that the county population was 622,371 in 2010. In recent years, the population had come closer to that of Denver...
Sheriff's department where he had served as captain of detectives.
In 1997, three months after the murder of JonBenét Ramsey
JonBenét Ramsey
JonBenét Patricia Ramsey was an American child beauty pageant contestant who was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado, in 1996. The six-year-old's body was found in the basement of the family home nearly eight hours after she was reported missing. She had been struck on the head and strangled...
, Smit was asked by the district attorney's office to come out of retirement to assist with the investigation. While initial suspicions had been that Patsy Ramsey
Patsy Ramsey
Patricia Ann "Patsy" Ramsey was the mother of JonBenét Ramsey, a 6-year-old American beauty pageant contestant who was murdered on December 25, 1996.-Background:...
was responsible for the murder and that John Ramsey
John Bennett Ramsey
John Bennett Ramsey is the father of homicide victim JonBenét Ramsey. He was the first to discover JonBenét's body in the wine cellar of the Ramseys' 15-room home in Boulder, Colorado, on December 25, 1996, just hours after her murder....
had been protecting his wife, Smit resigned from the case after 18 months having concluded that the Ramseys were not responsible for the murder and that the Boulder Police Department had been unjustifiably pursuing the Ramseys as suspects despite DNA and other evidence that showed that some other person was responsible for the killing. In his September 1998 resignation letter, Smit stated that "The Ramseys did not do it" and cited "substantial, credible evidence of an intruder and a lack of evidence that the parents are involved". Smit would later work for the Ramsey's in helping establish their innocence and would be portrayed by Kris Kristofferson in a CBS television miniseries based on the case.
After the Ramsey case, Smit continued to work on cold cases. As a detective, Smit boasted that he "never lost a homicide case" in a career in which he worked on more than 200 murder cases in which a suspect had been arrested and tried for their crime.
Smit had gone to a doctor in April 2010 after experiencing abdominal pain. After a CAT scan identified a tumor as the cause of the pain, surgeons discovered that the cancer had spread throughout his body and was untreatable. Smit died at age 75 on August 11, 2010, at the Pikes Peak Hospice in Colorado Springs due to colon cancer. John Ramsey came to pray at his bedside shortly before Smit's death. Smit was survived by three daughters, a son and nine grandchildren.