A Look at Margaret Smith, the Only Woman on Texas’ Top 10 Most Wanted List
Imagine, for the last decade and a half not being able to use your real name for any reason. No driver's license. No gainful employment. In constant fear of being caught on camera, a store's facial recognition software or simply an aware person noticing you, and noticing who you look like.
And you look like an alleged murderer. A murderer worth $12,500 to the person who tips off the law. It must be a furtive, fearful and soul-consuming experience.
Or maybe you're just living your best life in Mexico?
Margaret Lorrain Smith has been on the run for 14 years. She's wanted in connection to the beating death of her husband in a murder-for-hire plot:
Investigators say Margaret lured George to a Surfside Beach late one August night where a man she hired beat him to death with a metal object. He was unrecognizable, according to Brazoria County investigators.
Smith allegedly had her husband killed in order to receive a financial windfall for her and her boyfriend. Dylan Laughrey, the man Margaret supposedly paid to beat her husband, is serving a life sentence for his connection to the murder, although he maintains his innocence.
Smith drastically changed before the murder:
She moved out of the family home and found herself a younger boyfriend. Her children were shocked as she dyed her hair, began wearing provocative clothing, and hung out with a young crowd of alleged drug-dealing partyers.
Smith is a white woman, 62 years old and has a mole on her bottom right eyelid. She's also known as Lorrain Womble Smith. She was last seen picking up cash from a Western Union in San Antonio, according to Texas DPS:
SMITH was last seen on video at a Walmart in the San Antonio area getting into a maroon four-door sedan, possibly a Lincoln Continental.
This case was the subject of an episode of The Hunt With John Walsh titled "Deceived to Death," which aired in 2014. Smith was added to the Texas Top 10 in early 2021.
In addition to the $7,500 offered by Texas DPS, a reward of $5,000 is also being offered through Brazoria County Crime Stoppers for information leading to the arrest of Smith.