Tyler Smith, 35, also known as Tyley Smith, was sentenced on Sept. 30 to 30 years in prison for the June 2021 homicide of 58-year-old Nancy Nieves, V.I. Attorney General Designee Gordon C. Rhea announced Tuesday.
V.I. Superior Court Judge Alphonso G. Andrews Jr. sentenced Smith, whose attorney had
requested a sentence of just 10 years. Smith had previously entered a plea to murder in the second degree on July 22 on the eve of trial, according to the release.
In the early morning hours of June 2, 2021, the body of an unknown woman was found by
the side of the road in Estate St. John, St. Croix. Her injuries were so severe that she had to be identified through the use of DNA. Detectives from the Virgin Islands Police Department began the process of gathering evidence. Smith, however, left the territory shortly after a search warrant was executed at his residence. A warrant was issued for Smith’s arrest in February 2022. Law enforcement tracked Smith to Ankeny, Iowa and then to California, where he was captured in April 2022. Evidence against Smith included video of him following Nieves as she walked along the road, as well as Smith’s DNA under the fingernails of Nieves, the press release stated.
