Convicted Drug Dealer Charged With Murder in Death of Fox Executive Gavin Smith

John Creech is currently in prison, serving an eight-year sentence for selling a controlled substance

By Natalie Finn Jan 29, 2015 11:24 PMTags
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The fate of Gavin Smith no longer a mystery, L.A. prosecutors have made their move.

A convicted drug dealer who's currently behind bars has been charged with murder in the death of the former 20th Century Fox executive, whose body was discovered several months ago, more than two years after his family reported him missing.

According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, John Lenzie Creech, 42, is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 2 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

Creech, who was a person of interest early on in the investigation, when Smith was still missing, is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence after pleading no contest in September 2012 to one count of sale or transportation for sale of a controlled substance.

The then 57-year-old Smith disappeared after he was seen driving away from a friend's house in Ventura County in his black Mercedes-Benz 420E on May 1, 2012. The car was later found in a Simi Valley, Calif., storage facility that authorities said they had connected to Creech.

Sources told E! News that Smith, who was married with three children, had a relationship with Creech's wife Chandrika Creech, whose home was also searched during the course of the L.A. County Sheriff's investigation.

Hikers found Smith's remains buried in a shallow grave in a rural area of Palmdale.

Creech is facing a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted of murder.