In a chilling case that spanned several decades, justice was finally served for Janice Hartman, who disappeared in 1974, only to be found dead in 1980. Her husband, John Smith, was convicted of her murder in 2001, after years of suspicion and investigation.
Janice Hartman, a go-go dancer from Ohio, was married to John Smith in 1970. The marriage was plagued with abuse, both physical and emotional, leading Hartman to leave Smith in 1974. Just days after their divorce was finalized, Hartman vanished, leaving her family desperate for answers.
It wasn’t until 1980 that her remains were discovered in a makeshift coffin off the side of a highway in Indiana. The unidentified body was known as the “Lady in the Box” until DNA testing in 2000 confirmed it was Hartman. The investigation revealed that Smith had stored her body in their former home before moving it to a gas station owned by his grandfather.
Smith was arrested in California in 2000 and eventually convicted of Hartman’s murder in 2001, receiving a 15 years to life sentence. Despite serving time in prison, Smith was later indicted for the murder of his second wife, Betty Fran Gladden-Smith, whose body was never found. The case was ultimately dismissed in 2022.
Currently serving time at the Marion Correctional Institution in Ohio, Smith will be eligible for parole in 2029 at the age of 78.
The case of Janice Hartman’s murder serves as a chilling reminder of the lengths some individuals will go to conceal their crimes, and the importance of seeking justice for those who have been wronged.
