OVIEDO, Fla. – An Oviedo woman who was convicted in 2015 for killing her estranged husband while the two were in bed together has been resentenced to time served.
Anita Smithey, now 52, told the Oviedo Police Department on May 4, 2010 that her estranged husband, Robert Cline, was at her home that day even though they’d been separated for three months.
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Records show the two took a shot of tequila together, watched TV then went into the bedroom and engaged in consensual sex.
Smithey said she showered afterward and asked Cline to leave but he got angry and began questioning her about whether she was in a relationship with another man.
According to the report, Cline grabbed Smithey and pulled her into the bed, then got on top of her and held what she believed was a knife to her throat as he continued to ask whether she had been dating someone else.
Smithey said Cline got off her for a brief moment to grab lubricant and that’s when she grabbed a gun from the bedside table.
She said Cline started to rape her so she grabbed the gun and held it near his chest to get him to stop but he only laughed and leaned forward, which caused the gun to go off, according to the report.
Records show Smithey shot Cline for a second time because he didn’t get off of her the first time. He then fell to the floor so she grabbed the knife and stabbed herself in the abdomen “with the intentions of making (it) look as though she shot him in self-defense,” according to the affidavit.
A judge sentenced her to serve 40 years in prison after a trial in 2015 but in December 2020 a judge ordered a new trial after overturning a decision that denied Smithey’s claims that she didn’t receive a fair trial. That decision and others enacted by the court prevented prosecutors from using certain key evidence in the case.
As the state attorney’s office began preparing for the second trial, they began discussions with the Cline family and the Oviedo Police Department about a plea agreement.
On Tuesday, Smithey entered a plea of no contest to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 6.5 years of time served and 10 years of probation.
Prosecutors were able to waive the mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years but if Smithey violates the terms of her probation, that 25-year sentence could be imposed.
“The agreement provides accountability for Smithey, and delivers closure for the Cline family without the trauma and uncertainty of a new trial,” the state attorney’s office said in a news release.