Mental health counselor appears in court on charges he strangled his Tri-Cities girlfriend
The Tri-Cities mental health counselor accused of killing his girlfriend appeared in court Tuesday, a day after refusing to come out of his jail cell.
Michael T. Smith pleaded innocent to a charge of second-degree murder.
Smith, a licensed mental health counselor, was booked into the jail Friday afternoon and is being held on $1 million bail after being charged with killing his longtime girlfriend Jenna L. Olafson, 38.
Olafson was also a counselor. She was remembered by friends and patients as kind and empathetic.
Smith refused to come out of his cell or respond to jailers on Monday when he was set to make an initial court appearance.
On Tuesday, Smith appeared in court virtually from the jail, not speaking except to answer Court Commissioner Megan Whitmire’s questions.
Smith requested a public defender, telling the judge he owns a company but is unable to do his counseling work if he was to be released from jail.
Investigators say he killed Olafson on July 9 at the house they shared with her mother in the El Rancho Reata neighborhood south of Richland.
After allegedly strangling her, Smith tried to use a knife to kill himself. When that didn’t work, he allegedly swallowed some pills. Olafson’s mother and a friend found Olafson’s body hours later on the back patio of the home.
Smith was still at the house and Tri-City Regional SWAT team members got him to come outside. He was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for nearly a week. Police and prosecutors have not said how badly he was injured or what he was treated for.
Smith and Olafson had been together for about seven years. They each started their private practice within the past year after getting their licenses from Washington state.
Deputies at Smith’s bedside after he was taken to the hospital said he admitted to strangling Olafson and described the violent confrontation, according to court documents.
This story was originally published July 18, 2023 at 4:30 PM.
