Gayla Smith

A Jefferson County Circuit judge found Gavin Smith-Brown guilty of second-degree murder in the 2018 killing of his mother.

The Oct. 7 ruling came after Smith-Brown, 34, waived his constitutional right to a jury trial.

A state health official conducted a psychological evaluation on Smith-Brown, diagnosing him with schizophrenia. Jefferson County Circuit Judge Annette C. Hillman ruled Smith-Brown “guilty except for insanity,” and gave him a life sentence in the Oregon State Hospital.

The ruling ends a long case that saw Smith-Brown shipped back and forth between the state hospital and the Jefferson County jail as authorities waited for officials to decide if he could assist in his own defense.

In June 2018, Smith-Brown killed his mother, Gayla Smith, a 65-year-old retired former California police officer. Neighbors found Smith wrapped in bloody blankets on June 3, and authorities believe she was killed with a crowbar.

Smith was found in the garage in her home in Crooked River Ranch, where her son, Smith-Brown, had lived with her for years. She had told neighbors that she had been fearful of her son.

Smith-Brown left Crooked River Ranch in his mother’s Subaru Outback and was arrested outside a Tualatin McDonald’s.

Smith-Brown is now under the lifetime supervision of the state’s psychiatric security review board. The court has ruled that Smith-Brown “presents a substantial danger to others and is not a proper subject for conditional release at this time,” according to court documents.

Jefferson County District Attorney Steve Leriche said Tuesday that if the state deems Smith-Brown to be safe at a later date, it’s possible he could be considered for conditional release while remaining under the supervision of the psychiatric security review board.

Leriche said he hopes the public remembers Smith, who he described as beloved in her Crooked River Ranch community. During the case, Leriche spoke with neighbors who trusted Smith, building a gate between their yards so their child could pass through and see her, the district attorney said.

Leriche also said he hopes the case will serve as a reminder for the public in supporting their loved ones in seeking mental health care, pointing to Smith-Brown’s condition.

“It starts at home,” he said, adding that he was unaware of other instances where Smith-Brown has acted violently. “We gotta help the people who are close to us.”