Angela Pitz Smith

Case Details

Angela was last seen on November 13, 1989 in her home on Shady Lake Parkway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Her husband, George “Joey” Smith, reported her missing three days later and told police she left home in her 1981 Mercedes on the morning of November 14, after an argument with him the night before. He said she took two black and gray canvas suitcases with her. A week after Angela disappeared, George had all the carpeting in their home professionally cleaned. The carpet was less than four months old and the cleaner found only one stain, which was near the foot of the bed in the master bedroom. It was about six inches in diameter. George told the carpet cleaner that it was a coffee stain, but the cleaner said it came out more easily than coffee stains usually do. On November 17, George found Angela’s car in the long-term parking lot of the airport in New Orleans, Louisiana. There was a parking stub inside showing that the car had been parked there since November 13. Angela has never been heard from again. Members of Angela’s family suspected George in her disappearance from the beginning, claiming he had previously threatened to kill her and hide the body where no one would ever find it. They stated that Angela had told them that if anything happened to her, her husband was probably responsible. Angela was George’s third wife. In 1985, George’s second wife, Sheila L. Smith, was found murdered in her home in St. Landry Parrish, Louisiana. In 1995, George was later convicted of her murder-for-hire. The actual killer was Albert Lavalais, a teenager who had worked as a farmhand for George. In 1987 in Lafayette, Louisiana, a woman who had been living with George was found shot to death in her apartment. Her death appeared to be a suicide, but police found it suspicious. No charges were ever filed in the woman’s case. Angela was declared dead in 1993, and police seized the $500,000 life insurance police George had out on her. George died in prison in 2000; he was never charged in connection with Angela’s disappearance, which remains unsolved. Investigating Agency East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office 225-389-5000 Source Information The Doe Network Louisiana Repository for Unidentified & Missing People WAFB Channel 9 NamUs Updated 6 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated February 9, 2019; distinguishing characteristics updated.