THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 24, 1995 TAG: 9508240496
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
The Florida Attorney General's Office on Tuesday asked a state appeals court to reconsider its ruling earlier this month overturning the murder conviction of Thomas Smolka, the former Virginia Beach lawyer and real estate developer convicted of killing his wife, Betty Anne.
On Aug. 9, a three-judge panel of the 5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona reversed Smolka's 1993 conviction in Ocala for first-degree murder. The jury ruled that the circumstantial evidence did not justify the conviction.
On Tuesday, the Attorney General's Office filed a motion asking the full District Court to either hear the case or send it to the state Supreme Court. Smolka's lawyers have 15 days to reply, said Assistant Attorney General Rebecca R. Wall.
The attorney general also could petition the state Supreme Court directly, if the motion is denied, Wall said.
Smolka, who is being held in a maximum-security prison in Raiford, Fla., will remain there at least until the appeals court decides whether to rehear the case, prosecutors and defense attorneys have said.
In March 1993, a jury found Smolka guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced him to life in prison.
No direct physical evidence was found linking him to the slaying of his wife in July 1991. Instead, prosecutors focused on Smolka's desperate financial situation and the fact that he had insured his wife's life for $500,000.
KEYWORDS: THOMAS SMOLKA APPEAL by CNB