MELBOURNE, FL – A shocking homicide case has unfolded in Melbourne, where a 26-year-old homeless man has been charged with the brutal killing of a fellow city resident. ChaseMichael Willson Smith was arrested last Thursday, facing charges of first-degree murder and grand theft relating to the death of 32-year-old Kenneth Johnson.
Johnson’s body was discovered at his McDermott Avenue home on February 24. The results of an autopsy pointed to multiple blunt-force injuries. Investigators allege that Smith killed Johnson using a hammer. Both men had known each other since high school, and police say Smith had been staying with Johnson.
In the days leading up to Johnson’s death, law enforcement encountered Smith multiple times. He had been arrested for trespassing and walking in a Sebastian roadway. Surveillance footage and evidence, such as bloody shoe impressions, linked Smith to Johnson’s residence around the time of the murder.
Furthermore, investigators found Johnson’s vehicle abandoned in a nearby county. Smith is accused of taking it after the killing. Several red-stained items bearing Smith’s name were found within the vehicle.
On the day Johnson’s body was found, Smith allegedly knocked on several doors on Ebony Street. He was later penalized for a pedestrian violation. After his interaction with investigators, a DNA search warrant was executed on him, procuring samples from his hair and mouth.
With the accumulation of evidence, authorities found sufficient cause to apprehend Smith on suspicion of murder and grand theft.