Statesville police: Mother’s death ruled accidental after months of investigation

STATESVILLE, N.C. — Police investigators in Statesville released an update Friday after a woman was found dead in her own home back in June.

Channel 9 reported when Shelbie Smith was found by her four-year-old son in their home. Smith’s son then ventured out in the middle of the night to find help along Hickory Avenue.

The Statesville Police Department began investigating and said they didn’t believe there was a threat to the community. Smith’s mother believed she was attacked, saying her death was violent.

In the months following Smith’s death, police tested multiple items and potential pieces of evidence.

On Friday, the police department said a pathologist officially ruled Smith’s death as accidental. SPD didn’t provide any more details about how Smith died.

Smith’s mother told our partners at the Statesville Record and Landmark that Smith’s death was the result of a fall.

Her mom, Cassie Akers, said, “It was an absolute freak accident.”

Akers told the Record and Landmark that police reported Smith may have been standing on the headboard of her bed trying to hang curtains when she fell from the headboard and hit her head on a large rock that was being used as a doorstop.

Smith’s son was last reported to be living with her twin sister in South Carolina.

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