Sometime yesterday, (Feb 20, 2018) the first responding officer to Maura Murray's accident died by suicide.
Cecil Smith was the former chief of police for the little town of Haverhill, New Hampshire, where Maura went missing in 2004. I had the opportunity to meet him several years ago. We spoke at his house and he showed me the green energy generator he was building. I found him to be extremely nice, caring, and truthful, one of the most sincere individuals I've met during the course of my research.
I've kept his secret for years - that he was suffering from a form of neurodegenerative disease that was stealing his memory.
Over the years, I've watched the toxic, conspiratorial side of the Maura Murray fandom turn Cecil into a suspect or co-conspirator to Maura's alleged murder. This has to do with the outlandish theory of some police SUV seen nose-to-nose with Maura's car that some believe brought harm to the young woman. These people are the anti-vaxxers of this case, grown ups playing some kind of Dungeons and Dragons role play with real people's lives.
After Smith appeared on the Oxygen special, these trolls pointed out how his answers seemed to be evasive. At the time, I could not publicly explain this and neither could the producers of the program but we all knew it was dementia. That, too, explains one of the reasons why the AG was there to watch the interview.
The most vocal proponent to this theory, the person who made Cecil Smith synonymous with suspicion was an elections campaign compliance officer at Aristotle International named Erinn Larkin. She just never let up and suggested time and again on her podcast and blog that he knew more than he was saying, that he had to be lying. Her behavior at times is alarming. Earlier this year, Erinn Larkin posted a map to my house online. Erinn Larkin is the same person who committed defamation by having a guest on her podcast who literally said Rick Forcier killed Maura Murray
And now Cecil Smith has taken his life. Did he do so because she made him the center of so much speculation and suspicion? Or was it one of a hundred factors behind his decision? We are not entitled to know. What we do know is that he got to spend the last months of his life reading about how people suspected he helped murder a girl or cover it up. He got to see her chip away at his legacy and credibility. And that is an awful thing to have in your head when you're already dealing with so much.
I explained to Erinn Larkin on the phone that Cecil Smith was suffering from dementia and that that was why he seemed to stumble on his answers. She chose not to believe me and continued her attacks. Out of compassion, she should take down the speculative posts about him, now.
The worst part about all this is that this tragedy is only fuel for people like Erinn Larkin. They will say he didn't commit suicide because of the harassment. Or his disease. He did it because he was hiding the truth - in fact it's already starting.
Yuck.
Cecil Smith was a good man. He helped me when he didn't need to and probably shouldn't have by granting me a long interview. All he did was answer a call one day about an abandoned car. He didn't deserve any of this.
Cecil Smith’s family is asking any donations in his memory be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, MA/NH Chapter, 309 Waverly Oaks Road, Waltham, MA 02452
LINK TO MEMORIAL PAGE and info about services.
***UPDATE***
For those unfamiliar with the case and Cecil Smith, here are some examples of what he could read from Erinn Larkin before his suicide.
It began by picking apart his statements and reports on her blog, over and over again.
Then this interview.
And then her fans responded in kind and Erinn Larkin made no attempt to calm down the mob she incited or correct their misinterpretations.
Now, imagine you're Cecil Smith.
**2nd UPDATE**
And just in case there's any question as to what Erinn was insinuating by constantly casting suspicion on Cecil, here is the cohost of her podcast, Ethan Marsh, explaining how what they did wasn't that bad and even if it contributed to his suicide, maybe that's ok because he still might be found guilty of murdering her.
