Pamela Slim, a former high school communications coordinator, was found guilty in 1991 of persuading her young lover to kill her husband. More than 30 years ago, in a sensational trial, the Derry, New Hampshire native was found guilty of many charges and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of release. Smart’s trial has subsequently become an incubator for fans of popular culture.
Smart, then 22, allegedly had an affair with 15-year-old college student Billy Flynn, who killed her husband, Greggory Smart, in May 1990 accompanied by three companions. All four youths pleaded guilty to minor offenses and have since been released. They also testified against Pamela at her global attention-grabbing trial. Let’s take a closer look at the highly publicized and controversial case against Pamela Smart.
Pamela Smart was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for arranging the murder of her husband Greggory.
1) Pamela Smart was arrested three months after her husband Greggory’s death.
Pamela Smart, the 22-year-old wife of Greggory Smart, was arrested in connection with the murder on 1 August 1990, three months after Greggory Smart’s death at his apartment in Derry. The arrest followed that of suspected gunman Billy Flynn and three of his buddies.
Cecelia Pierce, one of Pamela’s interns from the high school where she worked, also came forward with critical information around the same time. Pierce, according to reports, said she knew about the conspiracy to kill Greggory. In exchange for immunity, she agreed to record two phone calls and carry a telegram for two face-to-face meetings with Smart. Not only did Pam acknowledge knowing about the crime in advance during these wiretapped chats, but she also advised Cecilia on how to deal with the police.
2) Smart allegedly encouraged her teenage boyfriend to help her divorce her husband.
Pamela Smart was one of Billy Flynn’s professors in a self-awareness program at Winnacunnet High School when she began an affair with him. She reportedly convinced the youngster to kill her husband by telling him she didn’t want a divorce because she was afraid of losing everything. At Smart’s trial, Flynn testified that she threatened to leave him if he didn’t kill Greggory.
3) She is accused of leaving the apartment door open, allowing Billy and his friends to enter.
During the global trial of Pamela Smart, two different accounts of the murder surfaced. Pam allegedly influenced Billy Flynn and his three accomplice friends to kill Greggory Smart and his three accomplice buddies. They said she left the apartment door open, gave them money for guns, and instructed them to make Gregg’s murder look like a robbery.
According to sources, Pamela discovered her husband’s death after returning home from an out-of-town conference on May 1, 1990. The house had been ransacked and Greggory lay face down in a pool of blood. Not soon after the murder, she issued a public statement, suggesting it was a random attack carried out by “some jerk, some drug addict looking for a quick ten cents.”
4) Pamela Smart was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of release.
Pamela was found guilty by a jury on March 22, 1991 of witness tampering, conspiracy to commit murder, and complicity in first degree murder. She was subsequently sentenced to life in prison with no chance of release. Billy Flynn and Pete Randall were both sentenced to life in prison, but were released in 2015 with life parole. Raymond Fowler and Vance Lattime Jr. were released on parole in 2005.
5) Smart’s final plea to have her life sentence reduced was rejected.
Pamela Smart is currently serving a life sentence for convincing her teenage boyfriend to kill her husband. Her sentence was reduced by a 5-0 vote by the New Hampshire State Council on April 20, 2022.
Smart, now 54, has been fighting her conviction for decades. She has maintained her innocence the whole time. According to reports, she is still incarcerated at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in Westchester County, New York.
