ORANGE — The two suspects in the murder of a 95-year-old man in an Orange home invasion last week have reportedly waived rendition in Virginia and are expected to be arraigned in Orange District Court on Friday.
Joshua A. Hart, 23, and Brittany E. Smith, 27, both of Athol, are expected to appear in court at 11:30 a.m., according to Mary Carey, spokeswoman for the Northwestern district attorney’s office.
Hart and Smith are suspects in the murder of Thomas A. Harty and the attempted murder of his wife, 77-year-old Joanna Fisher, during the home invasion at 581 East River St. on Oct. 5. It was discovered on Oct. 6. Fisher was transported to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester for treatment of throat wounds.
Warrants charging murder, attempted murder, home invasion, armed robbery, larceny and conspiracy have been issued for Hart and Smith.
The pair allegedly stole Harty’s car and fled to Virginia, where they were apprehended over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Hart and Smith were accused in district court two days earlier of stealing a relative’s car to buy heroin.
The pair were released on personal recognizance, but two days later, police allege, they stole Harty’s car after murdering him and seriously injuring his wife.
In the first stolen car case, Hart was charged with being an accessory after the fact for his connection to the car theft that police allege his girlfriend, Smith, committed on Oct. 2. Both were arrested Oct. 3 and Hart was held overnight on $7,500 cash bail. Judge David S. Ross of Orange District Court released both on personal recognizance following their arraignments on Oct. 4 when they pleaded innocent.
According to court documents, a man called 911 on Oct. 2 to report that his mother-in-law’s vehicle, a 2006 Chevrolet Aveo, had possibly been stolen from King James Court. The mother-in-law, who is Smith’s great-grandmother, told Orange Police Officer Christopher Bisceglia she did not let anyone borrow it and had not seen it since 4 p.m. A neighbor told Bisceglia she saw Smith approach the vehicle around 4 p.m. and drive through the parking lot a short time later.
According to Bisceglia’s report, he called Smith and was told she did not have her great-grandmother’s vehicle. She said Jarmoul Corbin picked her up in King James Court in a red SUV at 2 p.m. The neighbor did not mention seeing a red SUV.
Smith’s mother told police her daughter is a heroin addict, according to court records.
Officers visited Corbin’s apartment and he gave them permission to enter, after denying knowing where Hart and Smith were. Officers then found Hart and Smith in the apartment.
According to Bisceglia, Smith confessed to having tea with her great-grandmother at 3 p.m. and then taking the car keys without permission. She told police she picked up Hart and drove to Fitchburg to buy heroin, according to the police report. It was on their return home that Bisceglia called Smith. Hart and Smith decided to abandon the vehicle near an eatery in Gardner, Bisceglia reported. Gardner Police recovered the car.
Hart admitted to knowing Smith took the car without permission and to driving it at one point, according to police.
Corbin, 36, pleaded not guilty to misleading a police investigation and has a pretrial conference scheduled for Oct. 21. He was released on personal recognizance.