BASTROP COUNTY, Texas — It’s been a month since a Bastrop man was shot and killed in front of his house, and his family is still searching for more answers about his death.
“Steven was a good person, a good man, and for this to happen to him, it just – no words could describe the pain it gave our community, our town,” said Eric Meza, a long-time friend of Smith.
Bastrop County investigators say a 13-year-old is responsible for the death of 41-year-old Steven Allan Smith on Sept. 13.
“There’s a story being told from somebody’s perspective; it didn’t include all the facts,” said Nelson Linder, the president of the Austin NAACP.
On Monday afternoon, Smith’s family, along with the NAACP, shared more background information surrounding Smith’s death. Smith’s family believes the juvenile who’s accused of the shooting is the child of Smith’s ex-girlfriend. They say she previously lived in his house but moved out before his death.
For weeks, they’ve been asking investigators if she will be charged with negligence for the murder but haven’t been able to receive any answers. Smith’s family believes she may have a connection to the murder.
“The things that led up to the incident need to be also revealed. The conflicts, the confrontations all played a role in what happened that morning,” Linder said.
But with no one sitting in jail for Smith’s murder, his family’s frustration with the investigation is growing.
“It’s really disappointing when you’ve given so much to this community and they didn’t really give us anything back,” said Ommaney Smith, Steven Smith’s sister.
Ommaney Smith said their family grew up in Bastrop and that Steven Smith worked for Austin Energy. He is survived by two sons ages 17 and 13 from a previous marriage.
“I don’t think I can honestly think of enough words in the English language to explain how amazing he was, how giving he was. He helped every single one of us,” Ommaney Smith said. “That was taken away from us. His children, they don’t get to grow up with their dad anymore.”
But still without the full story of the death of Steven Smith, they will keep fighting for more answers.
“We’re going to make sure that this is not covered up, all the facts are looked at, and there’s a decision based on what is just, what is correct,” Linder said.
When KVUE reached out to the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office last month after Steven Smith’s death, it said it could not provide any additional information because the case involved a juvenile. KVUE reached out again to the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office and the Bastrop District Attorney’s Office for an update on the investigation on Monday, but we have not received an update yet.