Gwendolyn Faye Smith, 44, was found alive after first responders answered a reported overdose at a Southside Louisville home on the evening of Friday, June 30, 2023, but died at a hospital about an hour later. An autopsy the next day showed she had been shot in the chest.

Police say the fatal bullet was fired from inside the house. Investigators allege Charles Webster was in the basement holding a gun when it discharged; the bullet traveled upward through a ceiling and a light fixture before striking Smith in the room directly above. A witness said she heard the shot, went downstairs, and found Webster holding the gun; Webster reportedly told officers he did not mean for the gun to go off and admitted he had accidentally fired the weapon. He was arrested, charged with reckless homicide, pleaded not guilty, and had bond set at $20,000 with home incarceration ordered.

Smith was a mother of two, a daughter Raegan entering her junior year of college and a son Evan a high school freshman. Her family called the death senseless and tragic; a fundraiser was started to help with funeral costs and the children’s future education. Does anyone have information about the circumstances that night or saw activity around Cambridge Drive on June 30, 2023?