On Sunday afternoon, March 15, 2020, 59-year-old Denny Lawless Smith was found dead inside his home on Virgil Goode Highway in Rocky Mount, Virginia. Deputies from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police and Franklin County Public Safety responded to a 911 call and discovered Smith’s body; the cause of death was a gunshot wound.

A 55-year-old Rocky Mount resident, Gregory Kendrick, was identified as a person of interest at the scene, taken into custody and later charged with second-degree murder. Kendrick was held without bond at the Franklin County Jail following the arrest. The investigation into what happened inside the house that afternoon was ongoing.

If anyone in Rocky Mount knew Denny Smith or saw activity on Virgil Goode Highway on March 15, 2020, please come forward with information.