A Serial Killer’s Probable First Victim
The Murder of Dorothy Waterstreet
You may have heard about a serial killer named Lemuel Smith who terrorized upstate New York in the 1970’s, wreaking havoc in the Capital Region near Albany, and also bringing terror to the citizens of Baltimore, Maryland. But while in prison in 1981, Smith gained national attention for the murder of Donna Payant, the first female prison guard to be killed in the line of duty in United States history. And even if you are familiar with Smith’s crimes, you may not know the details of what is possibly his first murder: the death of Dorothy Waterstreet of Amsterdam, New York, in the 1950s.
On the evening of January 21, 1958, 46-year-old Dorothy Waterstreet, the treasurer of an adult Sunday school class, attended a church meeting a couple blocks from her home. Her friends offered her a ride, but it was a short distance. So, at 10:35 PM, Dorothy made the fateful decision to walk home from the church, cutting through the Acme parking lot. In a dark corner of that parking lot, just steps from her home, she was savagely attacked and beaten severely about her head with some type of metal weapon. The blows were so brutal that her husband would not be able to identify her body. A pastor living nearby saw something laying in the parking lot and called police. There, they found the deceased body of Dorothy Waterstreet. She still had cash in her pocket, and her purse was found across the street also containing cash. So, what was the motive? During the police investigation they noted a large shoe print near the victim’s body and also in the area of the discarded purse. Police interviewed several people. One of those was Lemuel Smith having been seen in the area by witnesses who lived nearby. Police collected his clothes and his size 13 shoes, and noticed what appeared to be blood stains. Lemuel explained that stains were from an injury he received while playing basketball.[1][2][3] Now you have to remember that this is 1958. The evidence they had was purely circumstantial. And at that time forensic blood testing was limited to ABO typing which could only identify the characteristics like blood type AB or type O positive – DNA technology was decades away. They needed a strong witness, or better yet, a confession. Reports from the time indicate that the prosecutor attempted to interview Smith, but that Smith refused to sign a waiver of immunity.[4][5] He was never charged and the case went cold.[6] His mother sent Lemuel to Baltimore to get away from the trouble in Amsterdam, NY, but did he bring trouble with him?
Let’s take a look at Smith’s known criminal activity:
· According to various published reports, Lemuel Smith was convicted in the brutal 1958 assault of a 25-year-old female in Baltimore, Maryland.[7][8][9] The young woman survived her attack, and Smith was sentenced to prison.
· Smith returned to upstate New York upon his release from the Maryland prison, and in May 1969, he kidnapped and sexually assaulted a woman. Later that same day he kidnapped and raped a friend of his mother’s. In that case, he was also sentenced to prison.
· In 1976, two persons were murdered at a religious store in Albany, New York.[10] [11]
· While Albany police were investigating that double homicide, a 24-year-old was raped and murdered in her car at Colonie Center Mall in a suburb of Albany.
· In the summer of 1977, a 30-year-old woman was found strangled along the railroad tracks in Schenectady.
· A month later, an 18-year-old female was kidnapped and raped by Smith.[12] This was the case which would lead a concerned citizen - Curtis Hakes - to go out and search for the missing girl, leading Colonie police officers to stop the car and take Smith into custody.
In March 1978, Smith was sentenced to prison for two of the murders in the greater Albany area – he was not prosecuted for two other murders as there was no opportunity for an additional penalty.[13]
Despite being locked up in state prison, his murderous crime spree did not end. In 1981, Smith killed state prison guard Donna Payant. At the time, the crime carried the death penalty.. But it was Lemual Smith’s case on appeal that overturned the state’s death penalty law, so he received another life sentence.
How did police finally apprehend Lemuel Smith?
Curtis Hakes played a pivotal role in the capture of a serial killer back in the 1970’s. Working for General Electric at the time, Hakes had an interest in Citizen’s Band (CB) radios.
Hakes recalled the events in 1977, “I was working third shift on a Friday night. That night I went out to get pizza for me and my wife. On the way back home there was a police car that was pulled into one of the local banks. I turned on my CB radio.”
Hakes heard a bulletin over the radio about a missing girl and they gave a description of her car, a yellow, Chevy Vega.
John Grebert, then a patrol officer with Colonie Police Department, remembered the incident. “Earlier in the day an individual by the name of Lemuel Smith had kidnapped at gunpoint a young woman from an office in Schenectady and had forced her to drive him up to an abandoned home in Saratoga County where he brutally assaulted her.” Grebert said that Lemuel Smith had his victim drive the two of them back toward Albany. He also said that when that young woman didn’t show up at home after work, her parents reported her missing to police.
Hakes said he went out in his CB radio-equipped truck and started driving around, looking for the yellow Chevy Vega that had been broadcast in the news and over the CB radio during the evening. He paused at a four-way stop. He said, “There was no other traffic around me. But then down the road came the car and I said, ‘yellow Vega!’ I pulled behind them and got up close. I verified the license number and then called REACT Radio Emergency Associated Communications Team) on CB radio channel 9 and told them what I found.” Hakes said that the REACT operator called Colonie police while he was travelling down Albany Street. He said, “At that point I was backing away so I wouldn’t be suspicious. I followed the car all the way to Route 155 and took a left on 155, then followed the car to Route 5, and then to Central Avenue. We ended up going by Colonie Center Mall on Route 5, and past the underpass for I-90.
Hakes continued, “The CB REACT operator told me, ‘when you see a police car on your right side back off so they can slide in’. And it happened just about that time by the bridge.” The police car intercepted the car where they found Lemuel Smith and the young woman. “My legs were shaking – I was overcome”, said Mr. Hakes.
Hakes, the Samaritan who saved the life of a young woman that night, remembered hearing her and her family at the police station that night. He recalled, “The lady who was involved, her door was shut but I could tell that she was in that room, I heard her crying. Her parents had not come yet. The parents came in later and they were in there an hour or two. I stayed there; I didn’t know what to do. Pretty soon the three of them, the mother, father and daughter, came out and walked by me as they left the police station building. The mother came back in and gave me a great big hug and said, ‘thank you’. She said, ‘when my daughter went by she pointed you out and said you were the one who helped the police to stop the car.’
Colonie Police Officer John Grebert said this was the most serious case he was ever involved with, and remembers it vividly to this day. Grebert said, “It’s being in the right place at the right time, which, as anyone in law enforcement knows, that’s all that makes the difference between someone’s life being saved and someone losing their life.” Grebert said that while he and his partner felt good about the arrest that night, they did not immediately realize how serious of a criminal they had arrested. Grebert credits Curtis Hakes for saving the young woman’s life by getting involved. He said, “This woman was probably doomed to a terrible death...”
According to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Smith remains incarcerated at Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, New York. He is eligible for parole in 2029 when he will be 87 years old. When he was sentenced in 1976, everyone probably thought his multiple life sentences would take him to the end of his life. But as of this posting, that parole date is now just a few years away. And even though he has spent most of his life in prisons, some feel that if he was released on parole, he would still be a danger to society. Denis Foley is the author of a book about Lemuel Smith called Lemuel Smith and The Compulsion to Kill. Foley, and interviewed Smith in prison. When asked about Smith’s danger if he was released from custody said, “… I would still think that he could be a risk. I really believe he is a case study on evil. And I think one of the characteristics is, they accept no responsibility and they have no remorse, and whatever they did or do, it was alright. …. And he was definitely evil.”
Other credits and citation for background on this article: John Grebert (Colonie Police Dept., Retired), Dave McCall (Colonie Police Dept., Retired), Michael DiMarco (Albany Police Dept., Retired), Curtis Hakes, Dr. Denis Foley.
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE: LINK
UPDATE FROM: apbcoldcase.com
Lemuel Smith had a date in federal court in February 2024 over what he contended to be cruel and unusual punishment after decades in solitary confinement. It was reported in various news outlets that the matter was settled out of court on February 23, 2024. While no specifics were offered, it appeared that there was some agreement reached related to relaxing Smith’s solitary confinement.
© 2024 The Spawn Group, LLC; APB Cold Case; All rights reserved.
[1] Interview with Dr. Denis P. Foley; and his book, Lemuel Smith and the Compulsion to Kill, The Forensic Story of a Multiple Personality Serial Killer; New Litriem House publishing, LLC, Delmar, NY;
[2] Glens Falls Times; Jan. 23, 1958
[3] Glens Falls Times; Feb. 6, 1958
[4] Troy Times Record; Boy Refuses to Waive in Murder Probe; Mar. 1, 1958, p. 7
[5] Troy Times Record; Amsterdam Youth Held in Baltimore Bludgeoning; Aug. 1, 1958, p. 9
[6] The Journal; Ogdensburg, NY; Robbery-Kidnapping Trial Continues; Jul. 20, 1978
[7] The Baltimore Sun; Jan. 24, 1959, p. 6
[8] The Baltimore Sun; Oct. 2, 1958, p.24
[9] The Baltimore Sun; Apr. 14, 1959, p. 25
[10] People v. Smith, 59 N.Y. 2d,160
[11] Buffalo Courier Express; Suspect Convicted; Feb. 3, 1979
[12] People v. Smith, on appeal
[13] Grondahl, Paul; A Difficult Journey Into the Mind of a Killer; Times Union, Albany, NY; Oct. 26, 2000