Man Pleads Guilty to Fatal Stabbing of St. Paul Woman
A man under civil commitment for being mentally ill and dangerous has admitted to fatally stabbing a woman in her St. Paul apartment in 2022, after believing she was his mother. Maurice Angelo McClinton Smith, 42, of St. Paul, pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder in the killing of 47-year-old Tina M. McCombs.
Smith appeared by Zoom from St. Peter Regional Treatment Center and agreed to the facts of the case under questioning by his attorney, John Riemer. He stated that he had used methamphetamine and ecstasy and drank alcohol before going to McCombs’ apartment. According to the criminal complaint, Smith and McCombs were Facebook friends and had met about a month earlier.
Smith agreed that McCombs had previously cut his hair and had supported him through what his attorney described as “very traumatic mother issues.” Through McCombs’ support, Smith transferred his feelings towards his mother onto McCombs, leading him to believe she was his mother. He specifically killed McCombs to seek revenge for what his mother did to him.
Maurice Angelo McClinton Smith (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
Circumstances of the Crime
Officers were sent to the apartment at 180 W. Larpenteur Ave. on January 9, 2022, after a report of a man kicking in doors while holding a knife. As officers were on the way, they received updated information that a woman had been stabbed. Police found McCombs unresponsive on the bedroom floor, and parts of the door and lock to the apartment scattered in the entryway.
McCombs’ boyfriend told police he was dozing in the living room when a man broke in. He heard McCombs yell, “What … is wrong with you?” before the man stabbed her. He said he’d seen the man around and thought he was homeless. About 90 minutes after the killing, police received a report of a man lying on a back stoop of a residence three miles away and found Smith.
Smith was unable to respond to officers, had dried blood on him, and matched the stabbing suspect’s description. McCombs’ boyfriend identified him from a photo lineup as the man who killed her. An investigator asked Smith why he was at McCombs’ apartment, and he said “to get some tea and crumpets.” When asked why he went to see McCombs, Smith said, “To kill her.” Smith said he was a simple prophet.
Sentencing and Commitment
Smith is under a civil commitment that was originally put in place about seven months after the killing. In August 2023, he was found to be competent to face the charges against him. Under terms negotiated in his plea agreement, Smith faces a term in the low to middle range of state sentencing guidelines.
Ramsey County District Judge Joy Bartscher set Smith’s sentencing for February 13. Smith’s attorney said his custody placement will be determined by the Minnesota Department of Corrections and Department of Human Services. For more information, visit Here
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