In 1998, the police did not initially consider Christine Smith’s vanishing to be unusual due to her history of alcohol and substance abuse. Her daughter, Brookey Lee West, had informed detectives that Christine had moved to California to live with her brother, a story the authorities initially accepted. However, three years later in February 2001, a foul odor led them to a storage shed in Las Vegas where they found Christine’s decomposed remains hidden from view. The discovery was accompanied by books on witchcraft and satanism at the scene, adding a disturbing element to the investigation.
During subsequent questioning, West changed her story, claiming her mother had died naturally and that she had panicked, leading her to hide the decaying remains in a bin. However, a crucial breakthrough in the case came from forensic entomology. An expert noted the absence of blowflies, indicating that the body had been concealed immediately after death or while Christine was still alive, as coffin flies were present instead.
West was arrested on September 5, 2001, with prosecutors alleging that she had murdered her mother to continue receiving her Social Security checks. Despite West’s defense team arguing that Christine died of natural causes and West had acted out of panic, the unique evidence and state of the remains were compelling.
In 2003, West was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. The case was described by Clark County prosecutor Frank Coumou as extremely heinous and bizarre. West, now 72 and incarcerated at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Oregon, has been linked to multiple other suspicious incidents, including the disappearance of her brother and the deaths of her husband and father. Throughout the years, she has engaged in various questionable activities, including attempting an escape from prison in 2012. West’s criminal exploits have also been featured in popular true-crime television shows.