Published: May 21, 2009 10:35 pm      

Police closer to charging man with homicide

Man in custody is prime suspect in alleged slaying

FRANKFORT -- Authorities are inching closer to charging a Frankfort man with homicide.

Police on April 29 found the body of Valerie Maidella Smith in the bedroom of a Frankfort mobile home where she lived with Robert Lester Cheek. It appears Smith, 52, died of blunt-force trauma to the head.

Cheek is in custody in Manistee County, charged with assault with intent to commit great bodily harm and assault with a dangerous weapon. Those charges are tied to an assault on a Bear Lake-area man that occurred days before police found Smith's body.

Police continue to investigate Smith's death and could seek charges in that case shortly.

"Right now we're continuing our investigation; I'm waiting on reports from the crime lab," Frankfort Police Chief Keith Redder said. "We'll be reviewing our complaint in the next day or so, and it's going to go to the prosecutor for charges."

Blood samples, potential weapons and other items are being analyzed, Redder said. Cheek, 54, is considered the prime suspect.

"Everything points to that," Redder said. "Unless I hear something different from the lab, this is our guy."

A motive for the alleged slaying isn't clear, Redder said.

"We don't know really what caused it," he said. "We don't know whether he just lost it, or what happened."

The Manistee charges are on hold after District Judge Brent Danielson on May 13 granted a request for a competency examination, a court spokeswoman said.

Manistee Prosecutor Ford Stone said such examinations, normally conducted at the state-run Center for Forensic Psychiatry near Detroit, can take up to three months to complete.

It's possible the potential Benzie charges could proceed first.

"We might have one trial and then another trial," Stone said. "It just depends on how the timing goes."

Police are mum on a link between the Bear Lake and Frankfort incidents. Redder said the Bear Lake victim was friendly with Cheek and Smith.

State police in Manistee are investigating the Bear Lake assault and won't detail a possible motive for that crime.

"We have some ideas, but nothing I'd be willing to comment on ... ," Sgt. Mark Miller said.

The victim in that incident was critically injured and spent time in the hospital, but was discharged and is improving, police said.