Ridgecrest Daily Independent
A jury trial date in June has been set for a 59-year-old Ridgecrest man accused of first-degree murder and arson.
George Richard Smith pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge, along with arson and reckless evasion of a police officer. He entered the plea on July 2, 2020.
Smith admitted to killing his wife to Ridgecrest Police Officer Joe Roque, who recorded the conversation according to the Ridgecrest Police Department charging statement.
“My wife of 36 years, I killed her,” George Smith said in a “spontaneous statement”, according to the documents. “I just wanna [expletive] die, I don’t wanna deal right now.”