The Body of Gavin Smith Was Found Two Years After He Vanished — Here's What Happened

In October 2014, the body of 57-year-old Gavin Smith was discovered by hikers in the Angeles National Forest, just outside of Palmdale, Calif. Hikers discovered a skull as well as a few bones buried in a shallow grave.

Lt. Dave Dolson with the Sheriff’s Department told KTLA there was definitely trauma, but couldn't determine the cause of death. Three months later, a man by the name of John Creech was arrested and charged with his murder. Where is John Creech now?

Creech was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for the death of Smith and was sentenced to 11 years in prison, reported NBC Los Angeles. The jury deliberated for less than an hour before handing down the guilty verdict on July 3, 2017, a full five years after Smith vanished. In an emotional victim impact statement, Smith's widow said, "He wouldn't man up to what he did," referring to Creech's insistence that he was acting in self-defense.

Her eldest son Evan spoke about the effect his father's death had on him, saying his life has been turned upside down. "I suffer from PTSD now because of this man in this courtroom," he shared. Both Lisa and her son asked for the maximum sentence, with Evan explaining that Creech savagely ripped his father out of his life. Smith's other son Dylan commented on how kind his father was and said his memory "lives on with me and the rest of my family."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Smith was last seen May 1, 2012, after leaving a friend's house in Oak Park, an upscale Ventura County community. He was driving his black Mercedes-Benz E420 sedan and departed between 9 and 10 p.m. The family immediately built a website, took to social media, and spoke with local Los Angeles news outlets, asking for information about the missing former UCLA basketball player.

A month after he disappeared, E News reported that Smith had been having an on-again-off-again affair with a woman named Chandrika Creech, whom he met in 2008 at a rehab facility where Smith was trying to kick a drug habit that developed after he hurt his back. Chandrika and her husband John Creech were separated but still living together. Sources told the outlet they dated outside their marriage, which was in bad shape. Authorities had searched the Creech house in early June.

On June 21, 2012, Creech was "remanded into custody in a case stemming from an arrest in 2010, after which he was charged with one count of sale or transportation of a controlled substance." He would later be sentenced to eight years in prison. In February 2013, police were tipped off about a car matching Smith's description was found in a Simi Valley storage locker that was linked to Creech, per the Los Angeles Times. Smith's blood was still inside the car.

Smith's remains were found in October 2014, and Creech was charged with his murder in January 2015. He was still serving time. It was soon revealed that the night Smith disappeared, he was murdered after Creech tracked his estranged wife's phone to a West Hills business park. Chandrika and Smith were caught having sex in his car, when Creech beat Smith to death. When asked during her ex-husband's trial why she didn't tell anyone, Chandrika said she was scared of Creech.