John Smith: Inside the twisted world of man who killed his first wife and went on to murder second spouse as well

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY: John David Smith II is a murderer with a sinister and evil mind. He was found guilty in 2001 of killing his first wife in 1974. He also admitted to the cold-blooded murder of his second wife in 1991.

The episode 'Chameleon' of 'NBC Dateline' covering Smith's murder cases premiered on Friday, April 26, and was streamed on Peacock and Hulu the following day.

John Smith's first wife's corpse found in 1980 after she went missing in 1974

Smith was born on April 2, 1951. There's less information about his childhood and upbringing.

Smith, an engineer, first married go-go dancer Janice Hartman from Ohio on June 30, 1970. With Hartman's family, including her brother, alleging that Smith was physically, mentally and emotionally abusive, their marriage turned tumultuous and rocky.

Hartman went back to her hometown in Ohio in 1974 with the intention of divorcing Smith.

The court approved the divorce decree on November 14, 1974. After telling her family she needed to "get away for a while," Hartman reportedly vanished from sight overnight.

Her family last saw her on November 17, 1974. They grew suspicious because she had left her car, clothes, and personal belongings behind.

Smith filed her missing report two days later. Smith's brother, Michael recalled that soon after Hartman vanished, Smith constructed a small box. When Smith's grandfather found the same box years later in 1979, he called Michael to look into it.

Michael discovered a mutilated corpse inside the box. Smith reportedly took the box away from him. Michael, Smith's grandfather and Smith himself never reported the discovery—or the subsequent cover-up—to the authorities.

Hartman's body was then found in 1980, a mere year after the box was taken away by Smith. The highway workers discovered the makeshift coffin on the side of an Indiana field. The remains, dubbed 'Lady in the Box', were not linked to Hartman until 2000, as reported by The Sun.

John Smith indicted for second wife's murder

In the meantime, Smith relocated to Florida, where he married Betty Fran Gladden-Smith, his second wife, in March 1990. She vanished from the couple's West Windsor, New Jersey, home on October 4, 1991.

When Smith told her family and friends that she had taken a trip, they didn't believe her since she was still healing from a broken hip.

Sherrie Davis, Gladden-Smith's sister, and Deanna Weiss, her daughter, started looking into her disappearance independently.

They were taken aback to learn that Smith had previously been married and even though they were unable to find his first spouse, they managed to get in touch with Hartman's brother, Garry.

In the mid-1990s, police discovered a box containing Hartman's belongings, and they started focusing on a select group of possible suspects in her unsolved case.

Michael, Smith's brother, is said to have admitted that he saw a mummified body at Smith's house decades before. Smith disclosed a significant secret to the FBI in 1999 while residing in Escondido, California, with his third wife.

He informed the police about the makeshift casket that held Hartman's corpse. The remains of "Jane Doe" were buried by Indiana officials decades ago, and they moved fast to have them dug up.

Meanwhile, Smith's third wife filed for divorce and gave evidence during his trial. Smith was found guilty of Hartman's murder in July 2001 and given a prison term ranging from 15 years to life.

Hartman's family, however, could not recover civil damages from Smith's grandfather and brother for their roles in the crime's cover-up.

Although Gladden-Smith's body and remains had never been located, on November 28, 2019, Smith discovered while he was in prison that he had also been charged with Gladden-Smith's murder.

Smith admitted to the murder and told authorities what had happened to Gladden-Smith's body as part of a plea agreement to have the case dropped.

According to reports, Smith killed his second wife, covered her body with a blanket, and threw her body away in an industrial dumpster two days later at the Carborundum facility in Keasbey, Woodbridge Township, where he was employed at the time of her death.

Gladden-Davis, Gladden-Smith's sister, stated, "I still do not believe him," according to NJ.com. “He would lie when then truth would serve him better,” she added.

Exploring John Smith's current status

Initially, John Smith was serving his term at Marion Correctional Institution in Marion, Ohio. He had attempted, without success, to challenge his conviction in 2002, and in 2011 he was not given parole even though he qualified for it.

Following his indictment for the murder of his second wife in 2021, Smith was placed under temporary custody at the Mercer County Correction Center in New Jersey.

John Smith is still behind bars for the murder of Hartman, his first wife, even though he was only indicted and never charged with Gladden-Smith's murder. Though he had admitted to killing his second wife, the murder case was ultimately dropped by the court.

The jury not being informed that Smith had murdered his first wife was a significant obstacle in this case.

According to an AP News report, Judge Peter Warshaw declared, "Simply stated, that the defendant killed his first wife in 1974 does not prove he killed his second in 1991."

Smith was returned to the Ohio prison system in 2023 to complete his sentence for Hartman's murder, his first wife. When he turns 78 years old in 2029, he will  qualify for parole.