The ex-wife of an accountant accused of running over and fatally stabbing a California doctor reportedly feared for her own safety in the weeks leading up to the incident.
Vanroy Evan Smith, 39, is accused of striking and then stabbing 58-year-old Michael Mammone to death with his car while the emergency room doctor was out for a bike ride in the coastal city of Dana Point.
Police were called to perform a wellness check on Smith’s ex-wife days before the alleged murder because of “something to do with Mr. Smith,” according to the New York Post.
Smith’s former father-in-law, Stanley Hart, told the outlet that his daughter “was worried about her own safety before this” and that Smith had “issues.”
SUSPECT ACCUSED OF CALIFORNIA DOCTOR’S STAB TO DEATH SPOKE OF ‘WHITE PRIVILEGE’ DURING ATTACK, WITNESS SAYS
Vanroy Smith, 39, is accused of killing Dr. Michael Mammone last week. (Orange County District Attorney’s Office)
“It wasn’t like I didn’t believe it, but I could never have imagined this,” Hart said. “It has some issues, that’s all I can say. If the authorities do their due diligence, they’ll probably figure out pretty quickly what those issues are.”
Hart went on to say that Smith and his daughter were involved in a custody battle over their twin daughters.
Smith’s friend, Jo A. Gilliam, told the Post that she believed Smith hadn’t been seeing her children lately.
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Dr. Michael Mammone, 58, was killed last week by a motorist who struck his bike and then attacked him, authorities said. (Providencia Laguna Beach Mission Hospital)
“This is ridiculous. I’m devastated. I just spoke to him on the 23rd and he said he was fine but he was going through some things,” she said, adding that Smith had gone out of business and gone out of business. bookkeeping business in the weeks leading up to the alleged murder.
Gilliam speculated that “something had to trigger him because this isn’t him.”
Smith’s former client, Alice Smith, who is not related to the alleged killer, said he spent most of his time alone and never mentioned his twin girls.
Michael Mammone was struck by a car and then stabbed last week in Dana Point, California. (Heather Paul via Getty Images)
“I don’t know his personal life, I only know his business side,” he said. “I’m very surprised by all this. The Evan I know is not this Evan…he was a sweet, respectable guy. Nothing negative. He’s a person who took his shirt off.”
An anonymous witness who spoke to a local ABC affiliate said Smith muttered something about “white privilege” during the incident.
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The neighbor, who declined to be interviewed on camera, said she and her family heard what sounded like a gunshot before the attack on Mammone, and then heard the suspect utter the racial slur. according to ABC7. Police have yet to announce a motive.
