Man to be tried for third time in death of wife

HAMPTON, Va. (AP) A former minister will return to court in May to be tried a third time in the shooting death of his wife. <br> <br> Frederick Smallwood is being held in Hampton City Jail until the May 6 hearing on his counsel status. <br> <br> Smallwood is also suspected in the 1995 death of Rita Jones Craft, of Albany, Ga., who had dated Smallwood and named him a beneficiary in her will. In January, prosecutors in Georgia said they were renewing their investigation of the case. <br> <br> Smallwood was convicted twice of murdering Debra Mortimer Smallwood in 1996 and August 2000. Both convictions were thrown out by the Virginia Court of Appeals, the second because of the admission of several pieces of hearsay evidence. The court ordered a new trial. <br> <br> The state attorney general&#39;s office appealed the second court decision, but the state Supreme Court rejected the motion in February, setting the stage for a new trial. <br> <br> ``As far as trial strategy, I&#39;ve not had a chance to think about that. We&#39;ll go back to the drawing board,&#39;&#39; Hampton chief deputy commonwealth&#39;s attorney John Haugh said Tuesday. <br> <br> Smallwood and Mortimer were high school sweethearts who married in 1995 after losing touch for about 30 years. Mortimer died of a single gunshot to the head less than three months after the couple was married. She had a life insurance policy and retirement benefits worth $350,000.

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