Pinkney Carter was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for three murders
According to court documents Pinkney Carter would go to the home of his ex girlfriend Liz Reed and murder her and her 16-year-old daughter, Courtney Smith, and Glen Pafford
Pinkney Carter was arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Pinkney Carter Photos
Pinkney Carter FAQ
Where Is Pinkney Carter Now
Pinkney Carter is incarcerated at Union Correctional Institution
Pinkney Carter Case
Carter and Elizabeth Reed dated on and off for approximately four years, during which time Carter periodically lived with Reed and her four children. During the course of their relationship, Carter helped Reed purchase a house on Barkwood Drive in Jacksonville and assisted her financially when she fell behind on her mortgage payments. At one point in early 2002, Carter proposed marriage, and Reed accepted. However, the engagement was soon called off and Carter moved out. Yet, according to Carter, he and Reed continued to date and were intimate.
By the summer of 2002, Carter learned that Reed had been seeing Glenn Pafford, who managed the Publix Supermarket where she worked. Around this time, neighbors spotted Carter lurking suspiciously near Reed’s home and noticed his red Dodge pickup truck in the neighborhood.
On Sunday, July 21, 2002, Reed visited Carter’s apartment, where he was staying with his mother and his brother. Carter testified that Reed gave him some of her prescription pills for depression, and the two made plans to meet on Tuesday night. When Reed did not show up, Carter drove by her house and saw Pafford’s truck in her driveway. From there, Carter drove home and spent several hours thinking about his relationship with Reed. He took three of the antidepressant pills Reed had given him and drank four to five glasses of whiskey. Around 11:30 p.m., Carter telephoned Reed. Her fourteen-year-old son Richard answered and told Carter that Reed was not home.
In the predawn hours of the following day, Carter returned to Reed’s home. He parked in her front yard, retrieved his loaded .22 caliber rifle from the back seat of his truck, and began walking toward the house. As Carter approached Reed’s home, Pafford walked out and Reed stood in the doorway. Concealing his rifle at his side, Carter confronted the couple and asked why Reed was still seeing him if she was seeing Pafford. Pafford asked Reed if she was still seeing Carter, and Reed responded that she was not. Pafford then asked Reed if she wanted him to stay, but Reed said that she wanted both men to leave. Carter responded that he was not leaving until he got some answers. According to Carter, Reed opened the door wider, and the three entered and stood in Reed’s living room.
Once inside, Carter yelled at Reed, “I can’t believe you’re going to lie straight to the man’s face like that.” Then, according to Carter, Reed noticed the gun concealed at his side and grabbed for it. Reed began struggling with Carter in an attempt to take the gun away from him. Carter’s finger was on the trigger and Reed had both hands on the barrel. Hearing the commotion, Reed’s eldest daughter, Courtney Smith, ran into the living room, saw the gun, and then ran back toward her room. At that moment, according to Carter, the gun discharged, shooting Smith once in the head. Carter testified that Reed immediately let go of the gun and screamed, “Oh my God, dial 911!” As Reed ran toward her daughter, Carter aimed and shot Reed twice in the head. Immediately thereafter, Carter turned toward Pafford, aimed, and shot him three times in the head. Carter then fled the premises. The noise of the gunshots woke Richard, who came from his bedroom to find Pafford and Reed dead and Smith critically injured. Smith later died from her injuries. Reed’s two other children, Rebecca and Brian, ages eight and six respectively, were also home at the time of the shooting.
Following the murders, Pinkney Carter drove to his brother’s house where he wrote notes to his mother and his sister. He then drove to Valdosta, Georgia, stole a Georgia state license plate from his friend’s vehicle and placed it on his red Dodge pickup truck. From there, Carter drove to Starr County, Texas, where he abandoned his truck on the bank of the Rio Grande and swam across, entering Mexico illegally. While swimming, Carter abandoned his rifle, which was later recovered by the Mission County, Texas, Fire Rescue dive team. Upon entering Mexico, Carter was detained by the Mexican Military Police but was later released. Carter then traveled to Central America before returning to the United States to find work. He worked in both Illinois and Kentucky under the aliases Chris Cruse and Rodney Vonthun. Then, on January 6, 2004, while working in Kentucky as a roofer, Carter was identified by the Kentucky State Police and arrested for the murders of Pafford, Reed, and Smith.
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/fl-supreme-court/1706446.html
