‘Sickened and disgusted.’ Eastern WA double murderer may get out halfway into 50-year term

A man who’s served 24 years of his 50-year sentence for fatally shooting an elderly couple in bed may get out of prison soon.

Adam Betancourt was 16 when he and three other teens killed the husband and wife inside their Quincy farmhouse in May 1997.

Betancourt was identified as one of two shooters. The second one was another 16-year-old, who was the apparent leader of the group.

Now 40, Betancourt qualifies for consideration of early release after changes in state law relating to offenders who were younger than 18 when they committed their crime and have served at least 20 years.

The Washington state Indeterminate Sentence Review Board unanimously agreed in May that there is no evidence showing Betancourt “is more likely than not to commit any new criminal law violations if released on conditions.”

“Consequently, the board finds Mr. Betancourt releasable,” according to a seven-page report.

Betancourt, who is engaged, has said he wants to be released to the Spokane area — initially into a transition-type house, instead of his fiancee’s home.

He would be on electronic home monitoring at least for the first 90 days of supervision, and would have other conditions like participation in sober support groups, the report said.

The state Department of Corrections currently has Betancourt’s earliest release date at Feb. 19, 2040, but that is because the release is still under review until his plan is firmed up.

Once finalized, the victims’ family and law enforcement will be notified of Betancourt’s future address, and an official release date will be set, according to a Department of Corrections spokeswoman.

Prosecutor, family oppose

That decision does not sit well with Grant County Prosecutor Garth Dano, who previously told the board that Betancourt needs to serve all 50 years for the slaying of Vada and Homer Smithson.

Dano said the Smithson family also “vehemently opposed” the shooter’s release, and now is left devastated by the board’s actions.

As it is, the victims’ loved ones have cruelly been forced to relive their tragedy every several years, each time one of the killer’s sentences has come up for review before the state board, he said.

In a May 26 letter to the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Dano wrote that he is “sickened and disgusted by this result and doubt I will ever be able to get the taste out of my mouth.”

He added that the case “eerily reminds” him of Truman Capote’s movie, In Cold Blood.

According to Tri-City Herald records and Dano, Vada Smithson, 88, and Homer Smithson, 89, were sleeping in bed when the group entered the couple’s home.

The Smithsons had just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary before they were killed.

Pleaded for life

The break-in was part of a scheme to steal guns from the Smithson’s rural home, then shoot up a different house where an unidentified police officer lived.

Betancourt and Donald Lambert opened fire on the couple, then went outside to reload their guns after running out of bullets.

“Mrs. Smithson, who was shot multiple times, somehow managed to get out of bed to make it to the kitchen to call her son for help,” wrote Dano. “Betancourt and Lambert re-entered the house and gunned down Mrs. Smithson as she was on the phone with her son, pleading for her life.”

Police arrested the four teens — Betancourt, Lambert, Melanie Hinkle and Marcus “David” Wawers — at Wawers’ home a few hours after the shootings.

The teens claimed they were motivated in part by a grudge Wawers held against Homer Smithson over a past job.

Wawers home was less than a half mile from the farmhouse. The Smithsons often fed him at their table and took food to his family during hard times, a grandson said at sentencing in December 1997.

While Betancourt and Wawers said they were sorry for the killings, the victims’ extended family refused to accept the apologies.

“When I see you ask this family for mercy, I ask how much mercy did my grandparents get,” said Dick Smithson, a grandson of the couple. “Lord, forgive me, but I will never forgive you. You all had a chance to stop it, and you didn’t. You tore apart an entire family. Anything less than the maximum penalty would not be justice at all.”

Betancourt was a Surenos gang member at the time of the killings.

He admitted that he had burglarized multiple properties around Quincy the night before, and was at the Smithson home to steal from their garage, according to Dano.

Betancourt pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, with prosecutors removing the aggravated circumstances and deadly weapon enhancements.

As part of his plea agreement, Betancourt had to testify against Lambert. He was sentenced to 25 years for each victim, and was ordered to serve the time back-to-back.

‘Afraid of getting caught’

Betancourt originally served his time in a state juvenile facility, then was moved to prison once he became an adult. Between 1997 and 2012, he had 56 serious violations while behind bars, Dano said.

At a 2018 juvenile board hearing, his request for early release was denied. The board said he could re-submit his petition for review in 2023, but it was moved up to April 2021 after receiving guidance from several “significant court rulings,” the board’s decision states.

The report on the board’s decision states that Betancourt “has demonstrated positive prison behavior for approximately the past 12 years, receiving one serious infraction ... for having sandpaper in his hobby box. He received 27 positive behavioral observations.”

The board noted that Betancourt has been employed while in prison and participates in available offender change programming and educational courses.

When asked about the slaying, Betancourt told the board he was scared when the couple awoke and admitted being the first to fire his gun.

“He had no explanation for why he didn’t just run away once they realized someone was home, nor why they didn’t just leave after they had run out of bullets the first time,” the report states. “He said that basically once they had started shooting he was afraid of getting caught and determined they would have to kill the victims.”

Betancourt further told the board members he “understands it was a heinous crime” and that he now tries to make morally sound decisions.

He said once released, he wants to “stand on his own two feet first and become financially secure” before moving in with his fiancee.

This story was originally published June 8, 2021 at 2:43 PM.