Two Exterminators - Two Murders

On January 21^st of this year, Jason Smith, an exterminator, strangled pediatrician, Melissa Ketunuti, and lit her body on fire in an attempt to hide the DNA evidence.  Smith was called to service due to a rodent problem at Ketunuti’s house.  Within an hour’s visit, they had an argument in the basement, and Ketunuti made a belittling comment.  He then struck her, strangled her, then bound her limbs with the same rope before igniting her lifeless body.

After reading about this murder in my local newspaper, my immediate thoughts took me back to my summer semester when I took Mental Health and the Law with Professor William Holt.

Before this Ketunuti’s tragic death, there was a similar case in the late 1980’s.  An exterminator, Joe, was working on a service call in the suburbs.  He needed to use the bathroom, but decided to relieve himself behind a tree.  The 70-year-old woman living there saw him, and came out yelling.  Joe snapped and killed the elderly woman with his bare hands.

Joe was a husband and father of three children.  He was responsible; always paid the bills and had no drug history.  Within the month prior to the murder, Joe’s temperament seemed to change.  He became short tempered and he was known to yell at his coworkers.

When filling a truck with pesticide, it is important to always wear a hazmat suit.  Joe did not always wear his hazmat suit.  As a result, he was exposed to a chemical that promoted aggressiveness.

The court did not buy the explanation that Joe was affected by the chemical.  He was charged with first degree murder, and sentenced to 20 years in prison.  In 10 years, he appealed, and the court ruled him: not guilty by reason of chemical exposure.

Recently I called Professor Holt regarding a reference.  This case was cited in a PBS program, “The Mind.”

My Question:  Is it possible that Jason Smith did not wear his hazmat regularly, exposing himself to chemicals that would influence aggressiveness?

Comparisons and Contrasts

Both men committed their violent crimes impulsively.  They both snapped.  Both crimes were motivated by personal conflict.  Both murderers had no history of violent crime.  Both murderers were exterminators from the suburbs.

Albeit suburban, the two men’s home lives were dramatically different.  Joe lived the clichéd American dream of having a nuclear family in a nice house.  He was respectable and loving with his family.  Jason, a Levittown resident, came from a clichéd broken home.  He had no relationship with his biological father, and his single mother would coerce her children to steal groceries because they did not have enough money.  He had one brother, and two half brothers. At one point, the family had 14 cats, and 8 dogs.

Neither Joe nor Jason had histories of violence.  Jason only had traffic violations on his record.  His former sister-in-law, Tracy Elliot, said Smith may have committed sexual assault on his juvenile record.  Elliot also mentioned that as an adult, he spent $1,000 for phone sex at his brother's expense, which Jason never paid.


Joe was consistently calm until the chemical exposure induced a change in temperament.  Jason had anger issues earlier, but he had no history of violent crime.

Jason Smith's Demeanor

This same man is described by his next door neighbor as being nice and helpful.  He received positive reviews on Angie's List for his extermination services.  Before committing the brutal murder, Jason lived with his girlfriend and had two children.  His cousin, George, defended Jason, telling NBC that he was a good person and a good father.

Growing up, there are mixed stories about Jason.  Elliot said Smith may have had to go to reform school due to the sexual assault as a juvenile.  He also liked lighting things on fire and had problems with anger, according to an anonymous family friend.  Kathleen McGrath, his mother's lesbian ex-girlfriend, said he was “getting his life together” as a teen.  If he committed sexual assault, then McGrath either did not know him very well, or Jason was clever at hiding his flaws.  

Smith's anger issues were apparent well before the murder.  One of his "minor" traffic violations involved road rage.  Elliot said Jason could be easily offended and that, "I could see him getting in someone's face, but not murdering someone."  Smith was irritable and tended to use people financially.  Elliot went on to say that money was not important to him because “there was always going to be someone else to take care of him.”  Smith’s girlfriend was probably the financially dominant one in the household.  It can also be inferred that the argument did not concern payment.  It is possible that he was being rude to Ketunuti and she objected, then the argument ensued.

Absence of Sexual Violence

Curious to note, Smith did not rape or sexually abuse Ketunuti in this violent act, in spite of his hypersexual nature.  It is common knowledge that men rape out of anger.  Though he decided to release his rage through strangulation and skipped the sexual side to violence commonly found in serial killers.  He could have been too emotionally preoccupied to want anything sexual.  Sexual arousal is a parasympathetic function, whereas fight-flight responses are sympathetic, as I have learned in psychology class back at University of Pittsburgh.  Smith was in fight mode, and would rather destroy the woman than humiliate her through rape.  He would have to let her live slightly longer to experience that kind of pain.  It seems like he wanted to expedite the end of her life, rather than savor the murder like a serial killer would.  Then he desperately wanted to cover up the evidence.  This was a horrific murder by itself without sexual abuse, however it is important to observe other common factors in murder such as rape, and compare him to different types of killers.  Moreover, critically assessing his behaviors over time can give the notion that Smith deviated from his personal norms.  This leads to the question of whether or not he was exposed to pesticide chemicals that would influence his neurochemistry into heightened bouts of aggression resulting in him committing murder.

So far there is no evidence of Smith being examined for chemical exposure.

It is possible that Smith was not as hypersexual as the media portrays him.  That one account of sexual assault in his past could have been just a freak episode, and he may have learned and moved on.  Why should something so long ago haunt him when committing a mutually exclusive crime at age 36?  Answer: If you commit murder, expect to be analyzed.

©2013 Caroline Friehs
Originally posted: March 23, 2013
Last updated upon blog renovation completion.

References:

Associated Press (2013 Jan 25).  Friend:  Doctor Killing Suspect Was “Problem Child.”  ABC News.  Retrieved from:  http://6abc.com/archive/8965078/

Durante, D & DiSanto, L (2013 Jan 24).  ‘He’s Not a Monster:’  Cousin of Doc Murder Suspect.  NBC News – Philadelphia.  Retrieved from:  http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Hes-Not-a-Monster-Cousin-of-Dr-Murder-Suspect-188257601.html

Esposito, R; Marquardt, A; Boettcher, C (2013 Jan. 24).  Philadelphia Exterminator Jason Smith Charged in Doctor’s Killing.  ABCNews.com.  Retrieved from:  http://abcnews.go.com/US/philadelphia-exterminator-jason-smith-charged-pediatrician-killing/story?id=18299639#.UU4ZHjdNGSo

Farr, S (2013 Jan 28).  Exclusive:  Portrait of an accused killer.  Philly.com Archives.  Retrieved from:  http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_multi=PI|DN|&p_product=PHNP&p_theme=phnp&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_trackval=PHNP&s_dispstring=Exclusive%20Portrait%20of%20an%20accused%20killer%20AND%20date(all)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Exclusive%20Portrait%20of%20an%20accused%20killer)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=_rank_:D&xcal_ranksort=4&xcal_useweights=yes#nBasdiv625

PBS (1988).  “The Mind.”  [Series of videos].  Information retrieved from:  http://thinkerslink.wordpress.com/2008/03/17/the-mind-from-pbs-video-1988/

Also via personal communication with Professor William Holt from Saint Joseph’s University [March 2013].

Sofield, T (2013 Jan 26).  Levittown Man Charged With Murder Of Doctor.  Levittown Patch.  Retrieved from:  https://patch.com/pennsylvania/levittown/levittown-man-person-of-interest-in-murder-of-philaded9b73d209d

Sofield, T (2013 Jan 28).  Friends, Family Say Murder Suspect Was Troubled.  Levittown Patch.  Retrieved from:  https://patch.com/pennsylvania/levittown/friends-family-say-murder-suspect-was-troubled

Extra resource:

Henry, D (2013 Apr 10).  Read Confession in Center City Doctor Murder.  ABC News.  Retrieved from:  http://6abc.com/archive/9060131/