Dateline NBC investigates the disappearance and murder of Hollywood executive Gavin Smith. He was known as a golden boy — “even in Los Angeles, a city filled with them, he stood out.” The 6’6” former UCLA basketball player (1975 NCAA champ, John Wooden’s last) turned heads when he walked into a room. After college, he became an actor and stuntman, got married and had three sons. At the age of 57, he was a Vice President of Distribution at 20th Century Fox when he disappeared on May 1, 2012. Two years later, Smith’s body was found in a grave in Angeles National Forest.
In July 2017, convicted drug dealer John Creech was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Smith was having an affair with Creech’s estranged wife Chandrika Cade. Creech tracked Smith down, confronted him, and murdered him although he insists he didn’t intend to kill Smith but did acknowledge “full responsibility” for not seeking medical attention for Smith. Smith’s cause of death was blunt force trauma. At Creech’s trial, prosecutors revealed that in 2010, two of Smith’s sons “visited Creech to apologize for their father’s affair.” According to testimony, Creech told them, “You saved your father’s life by coming here.” Creech will be sentenced on Tuesday, September 19. Dateline airs Fridays at 10pm.
Gavin wasn’t one to get lost in the crowd… #Dateline pic.twitter.com/MHUtoaAJtu
— Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) September 13, 2017
