Woman to jury: I’d ‘never forget’ attempted kidnapper’s face

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jurors returned to a Florida courtroom to begin the sentencing phase in the trial of a man accused of abducting, raping and murdering an 8-year-old girl.

On Tuesday morning, a woman told jurors Donald Smith tried to kidnap her as she walked to her friend’s house one Sunday morning in 1992. He was later tried and convicted of attempted kidnapping. The jury took less than 15 minutes last Wednesday to convict 62-year-old Smith of the 2013 death of Cherish Perrywinkle.

Jurors returned to court to decide whether Smith should be executed, or spend the rest of his life in prison.

Carrie Ann Buck of Syracuse, New York, told jurors she would “never forget his face.” She recounted hiding in a tubular slide at a playground after he chased her in his van.