Prior to the events of January 10, Smith had been arrested three times, twice for assaulting his father-in-law, whom he blamed for "alienating his wife's affections."
[1] At 1 p.m. local time on Friday, January 10, Smith allegedly slinked into the house of Robert Clapsaddle, his 68-year-old father-in-law and a respected farmer who lived in what the papers called "moderate circumstances."
Clapsaddle lived in a lonely cottage a mile south of the village of Ransomville with his wife, youngest daughter, and grandson (Smith's son).
Meanwhile, Smith walked cross-country in the direction of the DeClute house two miles away, prompting speculation that he intended to murder his ex-wife and her husband next.
The posse kept up the fusillade for several minutes before bursting into the house, where they found Smith bleeding and senseless on the floor, riddled with twenty bullets or buckshot charges.
The Buffalo News reported that he regained consciousness near the end and uttered the defiant last words: "You can't get me alive, damn you.
This verdict was convenient for the community, whose members sought to avoid the risk of prosecution for the vigilante killing as well as the taint of "lynching" associated with their town.