Anita Smithey called 911 after shooting her estranged husband Robert Cline in her home in 2010. When the police arrived at her Oviedo, Florida home, Smithey said repeatedly, “He (Cline) shouldn’t have been here.” She told police that Cline had violent sex with her. “I told him I have a gun, get off of me,” she told the police. Smithey shot Cline twice. She said it was self-defense; she didn’t mean for him to die.
Smithey claimed Cline raped and stabbed her but in a video submitted as evidence during her trial, Smithey admitted to stabbing herself. The prosecution argued that Smithey stabbed herself to make the shooting appear as an act of self-defense. In November 2014, Smithey was found guilty of second degree murder which meant a minimum of 25 years in jail. After the verdict was heard, Smithey’s boyfriend, Mike Grogan of Clermont, Florida, told the Orlando Sentinel that he has power of attorney over the 46-year-old murderer. And that “the thought (of marrying Smithey) has crossed my mind.” In January 2015, Smithey was sentenced to 40 years in prison. 48 Hours will air its interviews with Smithey and others on January 16, 10pom on CBS.
