In the statement, the family said it was "devastated" after learning that Smith's body was found in a suitcase Feb. 8. The 28-year-old was six months pregnant and expecting a baby boy, according to warrants.
"Our beautiful daughter, mother, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin, and friend was snatched away from our lives and the lives of her innocent children," the Smith family wrote Thursday. "She is no longer with us to laugh, cry, dance, change, and become a woman of her full potential. Her baby did not get the opportunity to grow, love, play, and get to know his brothers."
Smith's family had told authorities they last saw her alive on Feb. 4 in Wendell. The family said Thursday that it had to begin its own investigation because it felt its "concerns were not being heard" by authorities.
Two people were arrested Wednesday evening and charged with Smith's murder and that of her unborn child. The family did express gratitude for the sheriff office's work after the body was discovered that led to the arrests. "We want all parties involved in this crime to be found and prosecuted," the family wrote. "From accomplice to conspirator to murder, we want complete justice.
The two suspects, Thomas Johnson and Emmalei Trevathan, were formally charged in court Thursday. Authorities accused them of strangling Smith before stuffing her body in a purple suitcase and tossing it in the Neuse River. A judge ordered they be held in jail without bond. No plea has been entered.
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