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Background: A section of Furnace Alley in McKeesport, Pa. (Google Maps). Inset left: Karli Short (Robert A. Waters Funeral Home, Inc.). Inset right: Isaac Smith (Allegheny County Jail).
In a chilling case that gripped Pennsylvania, Isaac Smith has been handed a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the brutal murder of his pregnant partner, Karli Short. Smith, 30, was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of 26-year-old Short, as well as the murder of her unborn child, whom authorities confirmed was five months along at the time of her death.
The tragic events unfolded on September 13, 2021, in McKeesport, a city situated roughly 12 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Short was at her home on Furnace Alley with her uncle when the incident occurred. Although Smith and Short had been involved romantically, Smith claims their encounters were infrequent.
Despite Smith’s assertions, Short was convinced that Smith was the father of her unborn child. According to court records and local reports from ABC affiliate WTAE, she had contacted Smith, requesting financial assistance and discussing a gender-reveal party just two days prior to her death.
Complicating matters further, Smith was involved with a new girlfriend and appeared anxious about the potential fallout if she discovered he was expecting a child with another woman. On that fateful morning, Short’s uncle reportedly overheard her engaged in a phone conversation, unaware of the impending tragedy.
On the morning in question, Short”s uncle reportedly heard her talking to someone on the phone.
“Are you coming to the front or the back?” her uncle said he heard Short ask before his niece walked outside and he heard a gunshot. She had been shot in the head, and prosecutors asserted it was Smith who lured her to the yard and killed her.
Hours later, Smith showed up at the Allegheny County Police Department’s headquarters and gave them a three-hour interview, saying he wanted to clear his name. In addition to acknowledging that he had been intimate with Short, he said he was willing to be in the child’s life.
Detectives said they initially believed Smith, as Law&Crime previously reported. However, as the investigation continued, officers became skeptical. They learned Smith was dating a new woman, and she had met his parents just days before the shooting, according to Allegheny County Deputy District Attorney Ryan Kiray. The defendant thus had a “clear motive,” “the walls were closing in,” and he “did not want the double life he was living to be exposed.”
As it turned out, Smith was not the father of Short’s unborn child. Short’s own father noted this point as he scathingly condemned the defendant during the sentencing hearing.
“My grandchild was not murdered by her father,” Brandon Short said. “Her father did not kill her. A murdering coward did.”
Short’s aunt pointed out how excited her niece was to be having a child. “That was her joy; that was her moment,” she said, per WTAE, before turning her attention to Smith. “Having to sit in the same room with him is devastating. It’s unimaginable.”