A woman died in a Fort Wayne motel room last week, but police weren’t sure how it happened.
Now they know.
Terry Smith Jr. was arrested at a Dollar General in Muncie Thursday night. He was wanted for the death of Tiffany Ferris, who was found dead in a motel room in Fort Wayne.
Several witnesses spoke with police, but there was one witness who claims they were forced to participate in Ferris’ murder.
The witness tells police that they saw Smith beat Ferris in the motel room. Then, the witness claims that Smith forced them to help tape up Ferris’ arms and legs, and hold her head underwater.
The witness tells police that Smith planned to stage the crime as a drug overdose. Smith removed the tape from Ferris’ arms and legs, removed her clothes, dropped drug paraphernalia around the floor, and cut out some of the pieces of bloodstained carpet.
Fort Wayne police say the crime scene was similar to the witness’ description.
This isn’t Smith’s first incident in a motel or hotel room of some kind. Smith was also preliminarily charged Friday with armed robbery and criminal confinement for a completely different case.
In that case, Smith is accused of robbing a man at gunpoint in another Fort Wayne hotel. Police say the victim felt his life was in danger and decided to jump out of a second-floor window. The victim survived but suffered a broken hip.
Smith faces several charges from many different crimes, including murder, armed robbery, and criminal confinement.
