ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 5, 1996 TAG: 9601050051
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WINCHESTER
SOURCE: Associated Press
A woman accused of standing by while her boyfriend fatally beat her 12-year-old daughter was indicted Thursday for the child's murder.
Wanda Smelser faces a first-degree murder charge in the death a year ago of her daughter, Valerie. The woman's live-in boyfriend, Norman Hoverter, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder last year and is serving a life prison term.
Smelser's case has been repeatedly delayed because of concern she was mentally incompetent for trial. She has spent most of the past year in state mental hospitals, where she has been treated for depression and a suicide attempt.
``We're making some progress, finally,'' Frederick County Commonwealth's Attorney Lawrence Ambrogi said Thursday.
Smelser's lawyer, William Crane, said he is considering a battered woman's defense.
Valerie Smelser's naked, emaciated body was dumped by a rural roadside Jan. 22. The child had been beaten severely and sexually assaulted, an autopsy showed.
The child had been kept chained in the basement of the family's ramshackle Middletown house and forced to use a tin can to urinate, police who investigated he death have testified.
Last week, Hoverter asked the Virginia Court of Appeals to review his case. Hoverter contends he was misled by prosecutors when he entered into a plea agreement that resulted in the life sentence. Hoverter argues his constitutional rights were violated when he was denied access to a clinical psychologist prior to his August sentencing.
After entering a plea, Hoverter attempted to back out of the deal. But Frederick County Circuit Judge James L. Berry denied his request.
Smelser, 43, did not appear in Frederick County Circuit Court, where a grand jury returned the indictment.
She will likely be brought to Winchester from Central State Hospital in Petersburg next week, when Berry will set a trial date.
Ambrogi said Smelser's trial must begin by May 7 to meet her right to a speedy trial. She will be tried for murder and abduction, which together carry a maximum penalty of life in prison plus 10 years. She was indicted last month for abduction and lying on welfare applications. She will have a separate trial on the welfare charge.
A hearing in the murder case is set for Feb. 5.
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