Barbara Ann Parker Smith, 38, was working as a convenience store clerk at the Best Stop in Prescott, Arkansas when she was shot and killed during a robbery on July 28, 1988. Witnesses saw a man fleeing the store immediately after the shot; one witness who knew him personally later identified that man as Kirt Douglas Wainwright.

Investigators developed a motive tied to events just days earlier. Wainwright had twice tried to cash a two-party check at the Best Stop; the store manager instructed Smith not to accept it, and Smith refused the second attempt. Prosecutors argued Smith could have identified Wainwright and that he killed her to avoid arrest for the robbery. The defense pointed to the absence of gunshot residue on Wainwright and to residue found on an alleged accomplice’s hand, but prosecutors relied on the circumstantial case.

Wainwright was convicted of capital murder for the robbery and shooting of Barbara Smith and sentenced to death.