With the lawyer representing Cardell Hayes trying to create the impression that Hayes killed former Saints defensive end Will Smith in self defense, the lawyer representing Smith’s family tells a much different story.
During a Wednesday press conference with key aspects summarized by Evan Woodbery of the New Orleans Times Picayune, attorney Peter Thomson (pictured) provided chilling details regarding the incident, in an effort to rebut the “lies and factual distortions of what occurred that night that have been perpetuated by the killer.”
Thomson said that the incident began when the Hummer driven by Hayes abruptly stopped in front of their Mercedes SUV. Will and Racquel Smith, concerned for their safety, saw no damage to the Hummer. Will Smith drove away.
Not long after that, the Hummer “violently rammed” into the back of the Mercedes, shattering the rear window of the vehicle. Will Smith emerged from the vehicle, and he saw Hayes approaching. Hayes was “enraged, yelling and cursing.”
The situation then seemed to calm down. Smith walked back to the SUV, but Hayes followed him. Hayes suddenly fired two shots, both of which hit Racquel in the legs. Then, Hayes fired six to eight shots into Will Smith’s back.
“At no time during this event did Will Smith ever brandish or carry on his person a firearm,” Thomson said, in reference to the fact that a loaded gun was found in the Mercedes SUV. “That firearm was in the vehicle; it was never taken out, never brandished, never fired.”
Thomson added that Smith was licensed to carry the weapon in Louisiana.
Racquel Smith was shot in each leg; one bullet fractured her right femur. Thomson said that Racquel Smith is expected to make a full recovery. Thomson also believes Racquel Smith was deliberately targeted, not accidentally shot.
The conflicting versions, which have included a lawyer for a passenger in the car driven by Hayes calling it a “justifiable homicide,” sets the stage for a messy, contentious trial with the two theories at direct odds and a judge and a jury charged with sorting it all out.
