FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WOAY) – Andres Torres, from Goshen, Indiana, was one of two people charged in the murder of Michelle Smith, a Fayette County woman killed in February of 2023.
The other defendant, Amanda Soultz, also from Indiana, will be tried separately.
It took the 12-person jury roughly an hour to reach its verdict of guilty on felony murder, kidnapping, robbery, and conspiracy charges.
All those charges came without the recommendation of mercy, paving the way for a possible life sentence without the possibility of parole.
The trial stems from an investigation that began in February of 2023 when Smith was taken to the hospital by her son after he found her handcuffed in her home, suffering from trauma to her face and a gunshot wound in her head.
Smith would spend 43 days in the hospital before passing away. Both Torres and Soultz were arrested and found with Smith’s guns and credit cards.
Torres took to the stand today to testify in his defense. He said that he and Soultz came to Fayette County after a stop in Kentucky, where Torres said he and Soultz were checking into the murder of Soultz’s brother.
Instead of immediately returning to Indiana, they came to stay at a property owned by Soultz’s family.
At the time, Torres was on parole and not supposed to leave Indiana. He was also driving a car belonging to a nurse in Indiana. When she found out where he was and who he was with, she reported the car stolen.
Police then came and towed the car, stranding Torres and Soultz in Fayette County. Torres and Soultz then moved back and forth between different places in the area and crossed paths with the victim, Michelle Smith, several times. Torres said that Soultz already knew Smith, and she loaned him $60.
According to Torres, the murder happened after a night of drinking together turned ugly, and ongoing tension between Soultz and Smith boiled over.
Torres testified that he took the gun used in the murder from Smith when she pointed it at him during an argument. He admitted to handcuffing Smith and ransacking her house in search of a watch, which he said he gave her as collateral for the loan.
He told the jury that he gave the gun to Soultz and told her to watch Smith while he searched for the watch. During that time, Torres claimed that Soultz shot Smith.
However, that differs from statements he made to law enforcement during the investigation, during which he took responsibility. He told the jury that he made those statements to take all the charges himself and give Soultz an opportunity to walk free.
The reason for his change of heart? He said he found out that he was the father of a baby born back in Indiana, and no longer wanted to take the fall for something he claimed he wasn’t responsible for.
The state painted a different picture, saying that Torres was the mastermind of the attack and pressing him on his supposed change of heart during the cross-examination.
Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jennifer Crane argued that the evidence showed that there was no evidence that Smith was drinking with the two defendants before the murder and said that Torres planned to hurt Smith after she put the watch up for sale.
Crane pressed Torres on his claim that it was Soultz who went and found the other guns that belonged to Smith, pointing out that Torres claimed Soultz was watching Smith the whole time he was searching for his watch.
She also asked the jury not to recommend mercy, saying that keeping Torres behind bars for the rest of his life would give the family closure.
In her closing arguments, Crane told the jury that Torres’s version of events left only two options: he was either a “gentleman” for planning to take the fall for a woman he had only been with for six weeks at the time of the killing, or a murderer confessing to his crimes.
Ultimately, the jury decided on the latter. It found Torres guilty on all counts.
Torres is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18. He’s facing life without the possibility of parole.
Soultz, his codefendant, is still awaiting trial.
Newswatch has been told that it could take place in a few weeks. We’ll continue to keep you updated.