Jurors found 44-year-old Rasheed Lagway guilty on all counts in the death of Kristina Smith, who prosecutors said died on Aug. 31, 2025, from a lacerated spleen after Lagway had beaten her in a domestic incident.
The panel of 12 Summit County residents found Lagway guilty on April 15 of murder and felonious assault, both felonies, and domestic violence, a misdemeanor. They had deliberated since late April 13.
Defense attorney David Lowry said he was “disappointed in the outcome” but accepted the verdict. He and attorney James Reed will file a post-verdict motion to toss the case, arguing there was insufficient evidence to reach a guilty verdict.
Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Tammy O’Brien told attorneys that jurors had found Smith’s wedding ring in the pocket of clothing they received as evidence. That ring had previously been missing and was discussed during the trial.
O’Brien will sentence Lagway at 1:30 p.m. on May 14.
Jurors heard from witnesses and Rasheed Lagway
Smith’s 13-year-old son testified first. He was in bed on Aug. 30 when the altercation took place, saying he heard Lagway repeatedly hit his mother as she kept saying “sorry” and “you can stop.”
Then, looking out from his bedroom, he said, he saw Lagway choke his mother. The teen testfied that Lagway let her go, continued to beat her and later raped her. Defense attorney James Reed noted that no rape kit was used in the case; Lagway faced no rape charges.
Lagway testified that the 13-year-old lied. He told the court the altercation began after Smith jumped on his neck, so he lifted her and dropped her. He testified that she scratched him and punched him, cutting him with her ring. It was Smith who choked him, Lagway said.
Lagway had at least two scratches on his face, but he said he had a black eye and other scratches that did not appear on a close-up photo of his face taken after Smith’s death. He accused prosecutors of digitally manipulating the image.
Prosecutors said Lagway’s testimony did not match what he told detectives in two previous interviews. He first said he “passed out,” and that’s when Smith scratched him. In a second interview, he told detectives that he “may have” punched Smith at least twice after holding her so she wouldn’t leave him.
Lagway also accused Smith’s Dollar General coworkers of “essentially” kidnapping Smith on Aug. 31 after she fled their home on Dalton Street in Akron.
Smith was in bad shape, the coworkers testified. Her side and head hurt. She was bruised and scared. The only person Smith said hurt her was Lagway, prosecutors explained.
Bryce Buyakie is an Akron-based reporter who covers the courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X @bryce_buyakie.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jurors find Akron man guilty of beating, killing Kristina Smith
Reporting by Bryce Buyakie, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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