Timeline: Cherish Perrywinkle's life violently cut short 8 years ago today
Eight-year-old Cherish was reported missing by her mother from the Walmart on Lem Turner Road on June 21, 2013. The little girl was found dead 11 hours later.
Eight years ago today, Cherish Perrywinkle was abducted from a Jacksonville Walmart, raped and murdered by Donald James Smith.
Smith was a lifelong sexual offender with a history of horrendous crimes against children.
Eight-year-old Cherish was reported missing by her mother from the Walmart on Lem Turner Road on June 21, 2013. The little girl was found dead 11 hours later.
She would have turned 17 this Christmas Eve.
Here's a look back at the timeline of the major events in the case, Smith’s death penalty trial and his ultimate conviction.
Cherish Perrywinkle
June 21, 2013: Surveillance camera footage shows 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle at the Dollar General store where her family was befriended by suspect Donald Smith. [State Attorney’s Office]
June 21, 2013: Surveillance camera footage shows 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle with her mother, Rayne Perrywinkle, and suspect Donald Smith at a Jacksonville Walmart the night Smith abducted, raped and murdered the girl. [State Attorney’s Office]
June 21, 2013,11:18 p.m: A frantic Rayne Perrywinkle calls 911 to report her daughter Cherish was taken from the Walmart on Lem Turner Road. Rayne told officers a man she had met earlier that evening at Dollar General, Donald Smith had offered to buy her and her children clothes from Walmart.
While in Walmart, authorities say Smith offered to take Cherish to get something to eat at the in-store McDonalds, but the two disappeared.
June 21, 2013, 11:36 pm- Jacksonville Sheriff's Office broadcasts the first BOLO- be on the lookout- for Cherish Perrywinkle and Donald Smith's white van. Officers then watch the surveillance video showing Smith with Cherish inside the Walmart and verify they left in Smith's van.
June 22, 2013, 2:20 am- A Homicide sergeant notifies the homicide lieutenant of the need to initiate an Amber Alert.
June 22, 2013, 4:21 am -- The Amber Alert is issued
June 22, 2013, 4:39 am - An EARS notification is sent to local media advising of a news conference to take place at 5 am. The message advises that the case is in reference to the abduction of a juvenile by a known sex offender.
June 22, 2013, 5:27 am- JSO sends out photos of Cherish and Donald Smith and pictures of Smith's Van to local media.
June 22, 2013, 8:34 am - A citizen spots a suspicious vehicle matching one she saw on TV at Highlands Baptist Church on Rutgers Rd.
June 22, 2013, 8:57 am - An officer sees Smith's van on I-95 Southbound.
June 22, 2013, 9:05 am - Smith is stopped on I-95 downtown and taken into custody. Cherish is not in the van.
According to documents, he told officers he was smoking crack cocaine all night with prostitutes. When asked why he was all wet, he allegedly told police he sweats profusely when doing drugs.
June 22, 2013, 9:20 am - Cherish's body is found by the K9 team submerged in water in a grassy marsh area behind the church on Rutgers Road. A plastic Walmart bag found nearby.
In February of 2018 - A jury fins Donald Smith guilty and recommended death as the punishment for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Cherish Perrywinkle.
Smith was convicted after just 19 minutes of jury deliberation in the guilt phase of the trial, and 12 jurors unanimously recommended death in the penalty phase.
May 2018 - In May of that year, a judge made it official. "May God have mercy on your soul," Judge Cooper said to Smith.
April 22, 2021 - The Florida Supreme Court denied Donald Smith’s appeal of his 2018 conviction for the crime. In its order, the court discounted five reasons raised in Smith’s appeal, including a failure to move the case to a different jurisdiction due to pretrial publicity, the tearful testimony of the state Medical Examiner Valerie Rao, and the content of State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s opening argument, which Smith’s attorneys claimed were inappropriate.
Smith’s appellate team will next file appeals with the First District Court of Appeals. Legal experts say the process of exhausting appeals can easily take a decade.
*Some photos in this story were provided by our news partners at the Florida Times-Union.