By David Fleet
Editor
Groveland Twp. — On Feb. 22, an Oakland County Circuit Court judge sentenced a 31-year-old Holly man for the torture and homicide of a 3-year-old girl. The daughter of his former girlfriend.
Circuit Judge Michael Warren sentenced Samual Lester Smart, 31, to serve 40 to 99 years in prison for the second-degree murder of Trinity Chandler, who died Dec. 19, 2020 from blunt force trauma to the chest. Smart was also sentenced to 225 months to 99 years for child abuse first-degree for beating Chandler. He was credited for 777 days of jail time already served.
During a pretrial Jan. 11, Smart pleaded no contest to the charges involving torture and homicide of Chandler. A no contest plea means that the conviction is accepted but avoids a factual admission of guilt.
Smart had been bound over to Oakland County Circuit Court for a jury trial and remained lodged at the Oakland County Jail since his arrest after bond was denied.
He had initially been charged Jan. 4, 2021 with torture and first-degree child abuse following the death of Chandler. On June 25, 2021, a charge of homicide (felony murder) was added during his preliminary exam.
The charges stem from a Michigan State Police Metro North Post investigation into the Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020 death of Trinity Chandler of Groveland Township. Smart was the live-in boyfriend of Justine Comstock, Trinity’s mother. They lived at Groveland Manor.