The Shocking True Story of Eight-Year-Old Cherish Perrywinkle's Abduction and Murder by a Convicted Predator

In Jacksonville, Florida, on June 21, 2013, eight-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle was abducted from a Walmart while shopping with her mother and a stranger who had offered to buy them clothes.

The man, Donald James Smith, was a 56-year-old career predator who had first approached Perrywinkle and her mother in a dollar store. He convinced them to join him at the nearby Walmart, where he promised to treat the struggling family to McDonald's and new outfits. However, Smith's true intentions were far more sinister.

The Story

On June 21, 2013, Perrywinkle, her mother, and her two sisters went to a Dollar General store in their neighborhood. There, they encountered Donald James Smith, a convicted predator who had been listed on the public sex offender registry since 1993.

Smith had been released from prison just 21 days prior to that day, after serving time for a child abuse charge.

Smith noticed that Rayne Perrywinkle was having trouble paying for her children's clothes, and he took advantage of the situation. He offered to buy them clothes at a nearby Walmart using a gift card that he and his wife never used.

He assured Rayne Perrywinkle that his wife would meet them at the store with the card. This was all part of his plan to gain the family's trust and ultimately kidnap Cherish Perrywinkle.

By 10:00 p.m. on the night of Cherish Perrywinkle's abduction, Smith's supposed wife had not yet arrived, and Rayne Perrywinkle's children were all hungry for dinner. In response, Smith offered to buy them all a meal at the nearby McDonald's while Perrywinkle waited behind with the other children. Tragically, Smith took Cherish with him, and it was the last time anyone saw her alive.

Rayne Perrywinkle realized that both Donald James Smith and Cherish Perrywinkle were missing around 11:00 p.m. She borrowed a Walmart employee's cell phone and contacted the police to report that Cherish had been kidnapped.

Six hours after Rayne Perrywinkle made the distressing 911 call, the police issued an Amber Alert for Cherish Perrywinkle. The Amber Alert eventually reached Smith's roommate, a man known only as "Charlie," who contacted the police to provide any information that might help them locate Smith and, more importantly, the missing girl.

The Arrest and Finding the Body

The following morning, at approximately 9:00 a.m., an officer noticed Smith's van near Interstate 95.

Shortly thereafter, officers were able to apprehend Smith near Interstate 10, leading to his prompt arrest. At the same time, an anonymous tipster called 911 to report seeing Smith's van near the Highland Baptist Church in the neighborhood.

It was behind that church in the creek where police discovered the traumatizing truth. Cherish Perrywinkle's body was found wearing the same dress she had on the previous night. Her body was mutilated, with contusions and ant bites, hemorrhaging, and broken blood vessels around her neck, where she had been strangled to death.

According to the autopsy report, Cherish Perrywinkle had been raped before she was killed. She had also suffered blunt force trauma to the back of her head and was strangled with what appeared to be a T-shirt. The force of the strangulation was so intense that she started bleeding from her gums, nose, and eyes.

Donald Smith was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and rape of Cherish Perrywinkle.

The trial for Donald Smith did not take place until 2018, and it was a traumatic experience for all those involved. The presentation of evidence was particularly difficult, with the Chief Medical Examiner having to take a break and the jury breaking down in tears.

The doctor who performed the autopsy provided a graphic description of how Smith had raped Perrywinkle with such force that it distorted her anatomy. She also testified that it would have taken the eight-year-old five minutes to die while being strangled. After her testimony, she too requested to be excused from the courtroom for a moment.

The state attorney emphasized the brutality of Perrywinkle's death, stating that "Cherish did not die quickly, and she did not die easily. In fact, hers was a brutal and tortured death."

Donald Smith had planned to use an insanity defense during his trial, but it was later revealed that he was attempting to manipulate the legal system. In a recorded phone conversation with his mother, Smith asked for a copy of the "DSM IV," which is a guide to mental disorders. His intention was to practice acting mentally ill in court, indicating that he was trying to avoid responsibility for his heinous actions.

He was sentenced to death.