NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A 32-year-old woman gets into a taxicab and is found dead hours later on her street in East Nashville.
Smith was killed on February 20, 2013. To this day, family and law enforcement are still questioning what happened on the ride home.
Livia’s brother, Ian Struthers, recently upped the reward to $20,000 for any information leading to an arrest. Nashville Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000. Struthers said he’s hoping this will encourage someone to come forward.
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On February 19, 2013, Smith was out on the town with friends and ended her night in the Five Points area in East Nashville.
“All of us had gone out and had one too many and did the responsible thing and got a cab ride home,” said Struthers.
At the end of the night, Smith’s friend helped her get into a yellow taxicab.
“And that’s the last time anybody saw her alive,” said Matthew Filter, Detective for MNPD.
Several hours later, she was found dead on her street, Barclay Drive. Both her phone and purse were still on her.
“It still feels like yesterday. Instead of sadness, we just feel anger. Why is this still open?” Struthers said.
Smith’s younger brother, Ian, is still searching for answers 12 years later. The biggest question remains, what happened to her during the cab ride home?
“I honestly believe my sister was trying to flee a cab trying to escape sexual assault,” Struthers said.
Filter said, at the time, detectives interviewed several cab drivers that often drove in the Five Points area.
“All of them have been interviewed and so far, the ones we were able to identify were eliminated as suspects,” Filter said.
Despite numerous witnesses that saw her leave the bar, there is no record at any Nashville taxi company of her ever getting into the cab. Filter described what Smith’s friend recalled about that night. “She believed the cab was a yellow van with a man with Middle Eastern descent as the driver.”
And now, Struthers is upping the reward money, hoping someone will come forward over a decade later. “I wish I could make the reward more, I mean you can’t put a price on the relationship I had with my sister and the impact she had on everyone’s lives.”
There is a $25,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. If you have any information on Smith’s case, please call Nashville Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463.
You can also email [email protected].
Nashville Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 of that reward money. You can remain anonymous.
