A woman tried to protect her daughter from a boyfriend who beat her so badly that a shoe print marked her face. That man then set a fire that killed the teenage girl’s mother and grandmother along with eight pets at their Austell home, a Cobb County jury determined this month.
Robert Colt Smith, 32, was convicted of two counts of felony murder and one count of first-degree arson for setting the 2023 fire that killed Andrea Nall, 52, and her mother, Michelle Lacroix, 74, the Cobb District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday. He was also found guilty of aggravated battery and aggravated assault for brutally beating Nall’s daughter before the fire.
Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office
Smith was given two life sentences plus 20 years in prison.
“This case is a tragic reminder of how domestic violence can escalate to devastating consequences,” DA Sonya F. Allen said in a statement. “Thanks to the hard work of our prosecutors and law enforcement, justice has been served, and this defendant will never harm another person again.”
According to prosecutors, the violence started on Valentine’s Day 2022 when Smith brutally attacked his then-girlfriend, leaving the 19-year-old with two black eyes that were swollen shut and a shoe print on her face.
He was arrested and released on bond with the condition that he would not contact the victim, prosecutors said. But eventually, he convinced his girlfriend to continue their relationship.
A year later, the woman was hospitalized due to an assault, officials said. Two weeks after that, she was back in the hospital following another assault.
After the third attack, Nall tried to get Smith’s bond revoked, prosecutors said. But when Smith learned of the efforts to put him back in jail, he went to Nall’s house on March 12, 2023, and set fire to her SUV that was parked outside, the DA’s office said.
According to authorities, Smith used spray paint as an accelerant to burn the Honda CRV, which was in the home’s carport. The flames quickly spread to the house.
Nall and Lacroix were inside at the time and died of smoke inhalation. Several cats and at least one dog also died.
“This community was robbed of two amazing women who opened their home as a refuge,” Senior Assistant District Attorney Jared Horowitz said in a statement. “These two mothers did what any parent would — protect their children from an abuser. But this defendant used fire to seek revenge. Justice prevailed today, and his reign of terror is finally over.”
Smith was arrested soon after on several charges, including aggravated cruelty to animals. The jury found him not guilty on the animal cruelty charges, court records show.
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