Death of Suspect in Custody Is Traced to Road Accident

The jailhouse death of Randall Lee Smith, arrested in May in the shooting of two fishermen on the Appalachian Trail, has been ruled accidental, according to an autopsy report released yesterday by Virginia State Police.

Smith, 54, had served 15 years in prison for killing two hikers on the Appalachian Trail in 1981. On May 6, he allegedly shot fishermen Scott Johnston and Sean Farmer after joining them at their campsite just 1 1/2 miles from site of the 1981 shooting. The fishermen, who were shot twice each, managed a harrowing nighttime escape down Brushy Mountain in Giles County.

Later that night, a law enforcement officer spotted Smith speeding in Johnston's pickup and gave chase, authorities said. During the pursuit, the truck went off the road and flipped over.

Smith was treated at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital and taken to New River Valley Regional Jail in Dublin, Va., on May 9. The next evening, at dinnertime, Smith was found unresponsive in his cell. He was taken to a Pulaski County hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

According to the state medical examiner's report, Smith died of a blood clot in the lung resulting from "complications associated with injuries suffered in the traffic crash."

The 1981 victims, Robert Mountford Jr. and Susan Ramsay, both 27, had been hiking to raise money on behalf of the mentally ill. As part of a plea bargain, Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. He was paroled in 1996.

Johnston and Farmer survived their encounter with Smith after spending several days in the hospital.