A familiar presence in Malibu, Gay “Gail” Smith was shot to death on Saturday. A memorial will take place at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship. And a memorial fund has been set up for her funeral (yet to be scheduled).
By Cortney Litwin
Staff Writer
The Malibu community was shocked by the murder of a longtime and well-liked employee of Odgen’s Cleaners on Saturday night.
Gay “Gail” S. Smith, 52, was shot to death by her nephew at her apartment in Los Angeles, about 11:30 p.m. Also at the apartment were her daughter, 31-year-old Denise Clark, and granddaughter, Brianna, 5.
After seeing her mother shot, Clark threw her body on top of Brianna, probably saving her daughter from the gunman’s bullets, which struck her own torso and hip, according to her cousin, Dawn Smith.
“He tried to shoot the baby,” Smith said during a phone interview.
Clark was rushed to a hospital and is listed in stable condition following surgery.
After killing his aunt and shooting his cousin three times, Jamal Flowers, 22, then shot himself in the head. He died a short time later at a hospital.
Gay Smith, her daughter and her two grandchildren all lived together. Her other grandchild (Clark’s son), Brenden, 9, was spending the night at a classmate’s house at the time of the tragedy.
Flowers had moved from Salt Lake City six months ago and was also staying with his aunt, who “would open her doors to any family member,” said Dawn Smith. “If someone had a need, she took care of them.”
As of Tuesday, on the advice of her doctor, Clark hadn’t been told of her mother’s death for fear of damaging her health. Clark was her only child.
“She asks about her mom everyday,” Smith said, her voice breaking. “She’ll probably be told on Thursday.”
From her hospital bed, Clark told Smith that their cousin had been arguing with her, which brought her mother into the room. She didn’t know he had a gun. Then the shooting began.
Smith said she wasn’t told what the quarrel was about, but did say her aunt had warned her about Flowers. “My aunt told me he was bad news, just the week before,” she said. Her aunt didn’t give her a specific reason for the warning.
With the loss still fresh in her mind, Smith related how she was told the heartbreaking news, made harder by the lack of information given out by police detectives on the scene.
“I was just getting ready for bed,” she said. “My step mom called me and told me what had happened.” Smith and her twin sister immediately drove to their aunt’s house. Police detectives wouldn’t tell them what had happened to their aunt, but Smith said she knew.
“I had a feeling she was dead,” Smith said. She paused before she could continue. “She was my favorite aunt.”
Smith and her sister immediately went to the hospital to see their cousin, Clark, who was in surgery and in critical condition.
The reaction in the Malibu community was one of sadness for a woman who was described, over and over again, as “kind” and “helpful.”
Calls flooded into Odgen’s Cleaners, where Gay Smith worked for 10 years, from people trying to learn more about her death. One customer of the cleaners said she was “a positive presence that would stay with you, even after you had left.”
“She was incredibly well liked by an awful lot of people here in Malibu,” said local resident Richard Scott.
Gay Smith was born in Belize on Nov. 17, 1950, one of nine children who all survive her. Her mother, Glory Smith, lives in Los Angeles; her father is deceased.
She came to the United States in 1968, and was “married a long time ago,” said her niece, Dawn Smith. She had a fun-loving side and especially liked horse racing.
The Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Malibu has planned a memorial for Gay Smith at 6 p.m. on Saturday, at 23825 Stuart Ranch Rd. The public is invited.
In response to the outpouring of sympathy in the community, and a more practical need, Malibu residents Budge and Brenda Offer have set up a memorial fund to help with funeral costs. The fund is set up through Bank of America at the Malibu Colony Plaza. Donations may be sent to: Gay (Gail) Smith Memorial Fund, C/O Budge and Brenda Offer, 21910 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu, CA 90265.