Attorney: If He Dies Roll Him Into the Creek

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“If he lives, he lives. If he dies roll him into the creek.”

Those were the last words heard by Danny McGonigle before his death, Story County Attorney Tiffany Meredith told the jury in opening statements Thursday in the murder trial of Glenn Smith.

Smith, 50, is accused of stabbing McGonigle to death in May of 2008 after the pair of homeless drifters spent the day drinking and got into an argument.

After the fight, Smith told a third homeless man, Larry Fowler, “If he lives, he lives. If he dies roll him into the creek,” Meredith told the jury.

Meredith said Smith arrived in Ames just a few days before the murder and met Larry Fowler, another homeless man, and asked for McGonigle. Meredith told the jury that the men involved in the fight and Fowler, who was in a tent nearby, were all homeless drifters by choice. McGonigle and Fowler chose to live in a wooded area south of the Department of Transportation and Fowler had a job, Meredith said.

Smith and McGonigle came to Fowler's camp with a 30-pack of beer on the evening of May 18 and Smith asked Fowler to come out and drink, she said.

Fowler will testify that he thought he saw the men get into a fist fight later and saw some swings and saw them rolling on the ground, Meredith said.

Smith had a scrape to his knee and a cut to his thumb and he walked away, she said.

“McGonigle suffered not one stab wound, not two, but 32 stab wounds,” Meredith said.

After the fight was over Smith told Fowler, “You never saw me. If he lives, he lives. If he dies roll him in the creek,” Meredith told the jury.

Meredith said what Fowler saw next was a lot of blood and a seriously injured McGonigle.

Fowler called 911 and waited for help to arrive.

Meredith said there is no question that Smith stabbed McGonigle.

“He stabbed him repeatedly,” Meredith said.

But Meredith said there was no justification, it was not done in self-defense.

“It was murder,” Meredith said.

* This story originally ran Thursday, May 30, 2013.