Richard Essex/Eyewitness News

Indianapolis, Dec. 15 - Steven Halcomb doesn't have much to say on his way to prison. He is now dressed in the clothes he will wear for many years, jailhouse orange.

But the family of his wife, Karen Jo Smith, has plenty to say. "Well, it's been four years coming," says her stepfather Ed Bishop. "The family, we all knew he was guilty, we've worked really hard to find, we've worked relentlessly to get justice."

Justice they have.

The jury got the case at 3:30 Wednesday afternoon and returned a guilty verdict at 5:05 p.m.

The prosecution tried the case without a crime scene, a body or witnesses.

Karen Jo Smith disappeared December 27, 2000 after leaving her house with only a purse and cigarette case.

Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi says the evidence against Halcomb was mostly circumstantial, "bragging about how he would cover up something like this if it were to occur. I think his own words hung him."

Recorded jailhouse conversations between Halcomb and his father, a few jailhouse informants and threatening letters to Smith provided the prosecution with what they call enough evidence to overcome any jury concerns.

Bishop adds, "If he wants to do anything for his daughter, then he ought to tell us where Karen's at. At least we can go get her and give her a proper resting place."

At least Bishop knows where his daughter's killer is behind bars.

Halcomb moved back into Karen Jo Smith's house in 2000 after serving six years in prison. His past record could qualify him as a habitual offender and add extra time to his sentence for murder. The judge will formally sentence Halcomb January 13.

(Indianapolis-December 16, 2004) - After only a few hours of deliberating, a Marion County jury reached a verdict in an unusual murder trial. The jurors found Steven Halcomb guilty of murdering his ex-wife Karen Jo Smith, even though police have not found her body or a murder weapon.

The jury came back with a verdict shortly after 5:00 pm Wednesday. Closing arguments were heard in the case on Wednesday afternoon.

Halcomb, 39, is accused of killing his ex-wife, Karen Jo Smith, in December, 2000. The couple had been married for three years.

The case is unique because the victim's body was never found. That means there was no autopsy, blood stains, DNA or murder weapon. Those factors usually play an important role in building a case with solid evidence.

On Daybreak Thursday morning, Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi acknowledged how difficult the case was. "It's happened before in the nation. But it's very difficult...to prove a murder case without a body, without a murder weapon, without any sort of physical evidence, DNA, serology, blood. It was a very compelling circumstantial case and we're gratified."

Earlier Wednesday, Steven Halcomb's lawyers asked Marion County Superior Court Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson for the mistrial, saying testimony from a witness in the case was false. The judge denied the mistrial and testimony continued. Halcomb's defense attorney argued that inmates who said Halcomb admitted to the killing were pressured by investigators.

Regardless, lead prosecutor Ellen Corcella said she could prove Halcomb was violent, abusive and had motive and intent. Prosecutors charge Halcomb controlled his ex-wife and threatened if she didn't live with him, she wouldn't live at all.

“There is no explanation for why Karen Jo Smith would leave her son and her beautiful daughter in the snowy night right after Christmas and there was no explanation for that other than the fact that the defendant threatened to kill her attempted to kill her and must have killed her,” said Corcella.

The prosecutor explained his decision to go ahead with the case. "The case sat for four years. I made the decision it wasn't gonna get any better. It was better to take the shot now while it was still relatively fresh. I think our strongest arguments were his statements to his father about how they were not gonna find her body and then his actions after her disappearance. He fled to California, violating his parole. Something you don't do lightly, and sort of disappeared during that time frame,” said Brizzi.

Defense attorney claim Smith disappeared and committed suicide. They said there was never any murder.

The trial took about nine days and it took the jury just a few hours to come back with a guilty verdict - almost four years to the day Smith disappeared. "She disappeared around the holidays four years ago; the case sat for that much time as we gathered evidence and put together the best case that we could but that was one of the most gratifying experiences about this trial was that the jury after nine days and 250 exhibits going through all of this testimony and reviewing his actions before and after the disappearance of [Smith], it took 90 minutes to convict him. I know I saw the tape and it was very emotional for the family," said Brizzi.

Emotional day for family
It was an emotional day for Smith's family, with many tears in the courtroom. Brandon Smith, Karen Jo’s 17-year-old son, was overwhelmed with raw emotion after the verdict. Smith’s family held hands and hugged outside the courtroom. Smith’s father, Ed Bishop, said he believed the verdict sets a precedent.

One issue that remains is the whereabouts of Karen Jo Smith’s body. “I want her back, at least her body,” said Brandon, her son. Brizzi said they approached Halcomb to convince him to tell where he left the body. “It's very important to the surviving family members to know what happened to [Smith]. This guy's a sociopath. He's kept a secret for as long as he has. I'm not optimistic but we're definitely gonna give it a shot,” said Brizzi.

When he’s sentenced in January, Halcomb can get 65 years in prison on the murder charge. "But he's also eligible for what's called the habitual because he has two prior drug offences. Three strikes and you're out. So our argument to the judge is gonna be, look, he took a life. He's wrecked this family. He's kept them on pins and needles now for four years. He ought to go in prison for the rest of his life,” said Brizzi.