‘Gifted’ chemist lived for her sons
May 6, 2003
By Peggy Matthews
The sign on her door said “Welcome.” So did the light in her eyes.
The sign remains, but the life of Bennie Smiley, a 45-year-old former nuclear chemist, ended behind that closed door to her home.
The city’s 17th homicide this year, Smiley died by blunt force trauma to the head. She was found by her son, TaMerral Mixon, 23, shortly after 1 p.m. April 28, when he returned from batting practice to their home at 4618 Nisqually Road. A second son, Ki’Eran Smiley-Mason, 8, was in school.
Her boys were her life, said Smiley’s brothers, J.B. and J.C. Smiley. “All she did in life, she did for her sons,” said J.C. Smiley of Hernando. She was making plans to celebrate her oldest son’s graduation from the University of Mississippi this Saturday and had just visited family in Memphis. “We had dinner about 6 p.m. and she headed back to Jackson. Less than 24 hours later I received a call that she had been found murdered,” said J.B. Smiley of Memphis. One of 12 children, Bennie Smiley had family scattered from Florida to California, many who came for her funeral last Saturday.
The two brothers described their sister as “gifted from heaven” with math and science acumen. An A student in high school, she went to Lemoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tenn., on a full scholarship. The school put her to work teaching at the age of 18 because she was so advanced, her family said. She earned a master’s degree at Jackson State University. After graduation, she went to work for the University of Mississippi Medical Center and then Grand Gulf Nuclear Station. Last year, she left Grand Gulf to spend more time with her youngest child and start a real estate business. “It was extremely successful,” J.B. Smiley said.
As a way to spend time with Ki’Eran, Bennie Smiley learned Tae Kwon Do and earned a brown belt.
No one has been arrested in the slaying. “We want to make sure the killer is caught. If he killed once, he’ll kill again,” J.B. Smiley said. Police questioned Mixon but did not name him as a suspect. When police arrived, they found Bennie Smiley wrapped in a sheet or spread near the front door. Mixon reportedly was trying to put his mother in his vehicle to take her to the hospital, police spokesman Robert Graham said last week. “When he found her, she was not dead. That’s how the blood got on his face. He was hugging his mother,” J.C. Smiley said. Kenneth Burt, who lives next door, described the family as “a happy one.” Bennie Smiley, whom he’s known for 12 years, was the last person he ever expected to get beaten to death, he said.
“She was a very, very wonderful person. Just sweet as can be, always a kind word for everybody,” Burt said. Nothing like this has ever happened in the neighborhood and people are worried. “It’s real scary … until they find out who did this,” Burt said.
The family is urging anyone with information to call the Police Department at 960-1234.