They went on a journey, but ended up in hell! The Case of Smith Family. True Crime Documentary.

foreign [Applause] Smith was born in 1975 in San Diego California USA from a young age he was an adventurous Adventurer passionate about traveling and getting to know different cultures around the world this passion to discover the diversity of people through customs languages and tradition and prompted Ryan to immigrate from his country at the age of 27 this young man sought to get acquainted with the life of the countries of Eurasia especially those that belonged to the collapsed Soviet Union so in 2022 Ryan went with his backpack and dreams in tow to remote Azerbaijan one of

the countries of the former Soviet Union the country surrounded by the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains is located at what can be considered the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia so for a young traveler it was an ideal starting point for the world he intended to discover Ryan settled in Baku the capital of Azerbaijan where he studied the language and culture on his web portal he described how at that time he worked at a carpet Market surrounded by a walled City and this allowed him to get acquainted with one of the oldest and

most valuable craft practices in the region the methods of making carpets are passed down from generation to generation and it can be said that this is a tradition that has almost disappeared over time the young designer was impressed by the beauty of the products and thought about the business associated with the manufacture of handmade carpets in December 2005 Ryan mindful of his idea returned to the United States to lay the foundations of the project while on American soil he met a young and attractive teacher Laura Joy with whom he got engaged and then married her

Laura supported her husband's Hobbies of travel and foreign culture and in 2011 the couple visited the former Soviet Republic of Georgia which borders Azerbaijan in Georgia in the city of marnuli young people got married and both intended to establish the production of traditional carpets there the couple had a son in 2014 whom their young parents named Caleb and at the same time Ryan and Laura were promoting their long-awaited handmade carpet weaving project the project developed by an American using traditional azerbaijani methods everything made using this technology could be sold on the international market for more

than one thousand dollars while Laura worked as an English teacher at a local public school her husband toured The Villages of the region in search of Weavers willing to work with them to his surprise Ryan did not find many Masters using traditional methods some of those who first joined the plan refused to cooperate for various reasons some did not agree with the prices that Ryan offered While others were not familiar with the original designer and were not sure they could produce what the brand needed Ryan said in his blog that he spent four days in

kosolari and it was there that he found Artisans interested in his project Ryan's goal was not only to make a profit or to save the development of an ancient culture he was also interested in becoming something of a public benefactor attracting women in rural areas who know ancient weaving techniques to his project giving them the opportunity to revive the craft that would allow them to support their families soon Ryan and Laura Smith became one of the most respected and the visiting American considered a city with a population of no more than twenty thousand people to

be the most expensive place for himself his wife Laura became close to the city with its residents engaged in teaching made many friends while Ryan promoting the value of the ancient carpet weaving culture earned respect most residents considered the Smith couple kind and honest people to whom they could turn for help a couple of visiting Americans got so used to the local Society traditions and culture that in 2012 they applied for citizenship and soon became citizens of the United States and Georgia it was rumored that the couple planned to build a kindergarten with a playground

on their own money but it was at a time when the couple had already decided that they had finally found a home realized that the future of their family was promising a tragedy knocked on their doors and all their plans collapsed in the most unexpected and nightmarish way in July 2018 43 year old Ryan and 42 year old Laura planned to take a couple of days off to enjoy a vacation next to little Caleb and get away from the routine Sabina talibuba Laura's friend said that Laura called her on Wednesday July 4th shared her plans

to go to the mountains and warned them that they would be gone for two days the couple chose a small picturesque Place hidden from the eyes near the godori mountains as their destination this area is known for its Trails beautiful waterfalls and stunning Gorges ideal for relaxing walks and picnics in nature in this secluded Corner instead of being distracted and finding peace of mind the Smith family experienced their worst nightmare Ryan and Laura were looking for a local resident who would serve as their guide so that they could not get lost and calmly without fear

traveled in mountainous places and the parents were also concerned about the safety of little Caleb I would like the journey not to be exhausting and uncomfortable for the baby so they met with a local Shepherd malcus cabari who although he did not live in this area but despite the young age of 19 knew the neighborhood well because he traveled around them daily and grazed herds of sheep and goats melkus was distinguished by a calm character the locals considered him a good guy confident in the positive reviews about malkus who knew the area the Smith family

hired him as a guide it had not been long since their departure to the mountains when the couple found out about malkus's dark intentions and claims as it became known later the group went out on the mountain and having reached the clearing set up camp for dinner they chose a place near one of the many Springs in the area to have fresh water quenching their thirst in the summer heat obviously at some point Ryan paid attention to his guide because he felt that he was not careful enough with the gun which he always carried with

him there was a heated discussion between the two men and no one expected malcus to point a gun at Ryan and shoot him in the head then he fired another shot at the man in the back Laura's terrified screams and the baby's crying drowned Out The Echoes of gunfire rumbling in the mountains but the worst was yet to come despite the woman's pleas malkis put the muzzle of the gun to Caleb's head and fired at point-blank range frightened and unaware of what had just happened in front of her Laura turned to stone but when she

saw malcus's cold gaze she understood his true intentions her Instinct for self-preservation worked Laura ran as fast as she could to avoid the fate of her husband and son but when she reached the edge of the waterfall Cliff she realized that she had no way out and there was no way for her to escape the shepherd used a weapon to force the woman to violence and then allegedly pushed her off a cliff Laura's body fell on the bank of the waterfall according to the subsequent investigation malcus took Caleb's body and buried it in a secluded

Place sending the murder weapon there as well then the shepherd returned to the Village as if nothing had happened Laura's friend Sabine began to worry when after three days Laura did not return from a family trip Sabine tried to call Ryan or Laura but she never got an answer Ryan's Entourage was also confused as it was very unusual for him to be away for so long without contacting anyone on Friday July 6th the center for rapid response and emergency situations received a message about the possible disappearance of a Georgian family of American origin in the

mountains the caller was Sabine who said that the Smith family had been in the mountains for more than two days with their little son of four years old and they could not be contacted by phone a team of 15 Rescuers was sent to the gorge to search where presumably a family was missing upon arrival in the designated area Rescuers found Laura's belongings and car but moving further along the route of the small group The Searchers found a terrible find a lifeless body lay at the foot of the waterfall confused Rescuers stepped up rescue efforts and

expanded the search area a human corpse was found about 800 meters from the waterfall the humidity and heat inherent in the season accelerated the decomposition of the body so the initial report of the authorities was that the victims showed no signs of violence in accordance with the criminal code of Georgia an investigation was launched but nothing was known about the couple's child yet it took another three days when the fate of the defenseless baby became clear investigators managed to find out that malcus was the last person with whom the family communicated a 19 year old

Shepherd was detained and told during interrogation that he knew where Caleb was four days after the Smith family went to the mountains malcus LED investigators to the place where he buried Caleb as well as the weapon the next day the Georgian police released a statement saying that a young Shepherd malcus cabari had been taken into custody and he was accused of murdering the Smith family the news of the murder of a married couple and their son shocked Georgia especially marnoli and the community of Weavers the American Consulate also expressed its alarm over this crime in

fact the FBI team participated in the investigation together with the Georgian authorities and cooperated in the search and processing of evidence on July 11 the tobilisi Municipal Court decided to place malkus who pleaded not guilty to the charges under arrest the conductor claimed that the real killers of the family were two foreigners who arrived in a black car allegedly these people killed the Smith family threatened to kill him and his family if he reported to the police and Left malcus Alive so that suspicion of a triple murder fell on the shepherd violence against Laura was

rejected by malkus's lawyer because according to the guy he was not capable of such a thing since he was a virgin on July 12 family friends and activists of public organizations gathered in front of Ryan's house in marnoli with toys flowers and lit candles to express condolences and remember the victims the next day malkis's lawyer confirmed the innocence of the accused he continued to claim that the crime was committed by two foreigners and that the psychological pressure exerted on his client forced malcus to initially plead guilty but evidence against malkus began to appear one after

another the most convincing evidence of malkus's guilt was the autopsy report of the victims it was found that Ryan's body had two gunshot wounds one in the head and one in the back Caleb was shot in the head at point-blank range in Laura's case violence against her was proven and DNA tests confirmed that the biological material found in her body and on her underwear belonged to malcus the DNA of Ryan and the defendant were also found on the murder weapon in addition a technical examination conducted by the FBI on the phones of the victims and

their alleged killer showed that there were photos of Laura's lifeless body at the waterfall in the memory of malcus's phone the shepherd even showed them to several local acquaintances to whom he said that he had accidentally stumbled Upon A corpse while walking through these places experts found in the search history in the phone that a few days before this incident malcus had visited various sites of an intimate nature all this led investigators to the conclusion that the motive of the crime was the young man's interest in Laura and that his actions were deliberate from the

very moment when the Smith family contacted malcus to take them to the waterfall after the release of the autopsy results malcus's lawyer David resigned saying that for reasons of principle he could not defend the shepherd David was replaced by another lawyer who from that moment led the case he insisted on the client's innocence and filed a motion to withdraw malkus's previous confession the shepherd's mother Mariana supported her son and agreed with the lawyer that the police may have forced the guy to confess to the crime under threat of imprisonment relatives of the suspect claimed that

because of a high-profile crime the authorities accused malkis in order to close the case however on November 9 2018 malcus was charged with the murder of three members of the Smith family he was also charged with additional charges of violence against Laura the psychological examination conducted on the young Shepherd showed that he is sane healthy and ready for trial a term of pre-trial detention expired on April 9 2019 but the prosecutor said that they had strong evidence of malkus's guilt and that he would be punished for such a terrible crime a meeting of 12 members

of the court on March 25 2019 unanimously ruled that malcus was guilty of premeditated murder with extreme cruelty of more than two people he committed premeditated murder in order to conceal another crime namely intimate assault on March 27 2019 the judge of the district gory District announced the decision to sentence to life imprisonment while the relatives of the criminal protested against the life sentence which they considered unfair the sentence became a relief for friends and relatives of the Smith family and defense lawyers announced that they would appeal the verdict to the Appellate instances in connection

with alleged alleged procedural violations the U.S consul in Georgia said that the verdict provided Justice for the Smith family adding that the evidence left no doubt about malcus's guilt since the arrival of Ryan and Laura Smith in Georgia these people have won the love and respect of the residents of marnuli and their brutal murder has dealt a blow to the community that the couple chose as their home the community project developed by Ryan not only revived an ancient tradition but also provided many women with a source of income and stability the death of the spouses

plunged into sadness and uncertainty dozens of women who aspired to a successful business shortly after the terrible events that claimed the lives of the founders the project was revived by Foreign investors who support Ryan's ideas and offer opportunities for local Craftsmen Ryan and Laura Left Behind the world they knew in the west hoping to discover cultural treasures and while they were greeted by grateful members of the community their fate crossed with a Sinister creature who hid his Essence behind the guise of a Kind Shepherd thanks for watching guys I recommend watching other stories click right

now and also do not forget to activate the Bell see you soon