`sweetheart' Of A Show In Williamsport

By BILL PEACE; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Monday, January 23, 1995 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





SHICKSHINNY -- In his confession to police, Howard Cordell Smith said he
placed a limp, lifeless Barbara Ann Ortell in a bedroom closet for four days
-- never checking to see if she was breathing -- while he played video games,
cooked and slept in the Berwick apartment they shared. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The details of Ortell's last moments unfolded during an interview Saturday
night between Smith, 27, and Luzerne County Detective John Hlivia and state
police Cpl. Raymond Whittaker and Trooper Jeffrey Betts. Police arrested Smith
at 1:35 a.m. Sunday in his hometown of Washington, D.C., and charged him with
criminal homicide. Smith had been a boarder at Ortell's apartment. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; According to a police affidavit, Smith said he and Ortell, a Nanticoke
native, argued in the apartment the night of Dec. 15, 1994, about Smith
seeking employment. The two fell to the floor after hitting each other. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 They fought for a while, with his arm around her neck. Then Ortell stopped
fighting, the affidavit said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Around 3 a.m. Dec. 19, Smith took the body out of a closet and dumped it,
the affidavit said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Smith talked about Ortell's death at a New Year's Eve party, telling one
party-goer that he did "something really bad," according to the affidavit.
Smith's brother, Joseph T. Smith III, told police he bought his brother a $41
one-way bus ticket from Pennsylvania to Washington, the affidavit said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Neighbors discovered Ortell's body on Jan. 19 in woods off of Stone Church
Road in neighboring Salem Township. According to a police affidavit, Smith
strangled Ortell, 49, of East Third Street, on Dec. 15 and waited four days
before dumping her body, wrapped with electrical cord in a pink blanket. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 An autopsy at Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton confirmed Ortell had been
strangled. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Smith was also charged with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering
another person, abuse of a corpse and theft of a motor vehicle. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He is being held without bail in a Washington jail while he awaits
extradition to Luzerne County. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 District Attorney Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. said Sunday he's not sure yet if
he'll seek the death penalty in Smith's case. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If Smith waives his extradition hearing, which officials anticipate, he
could be in the Luzerne County Correctional Facility by the end of the week.
If Smith contests his extradition, the county must obtain a governor's
warrant. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I don't think we'll have any problems getting him back here," Olszewski
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This case was difficult for many reasons. The homicide occurred 30 some
days ago. There was no smoking gun -- the trail was cold. And the suspect
wasn't even in the area," said Olszewski, who attended a news conference
Sunday at the Shickshinny state police barracks. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Since the body was found Thursday, more than 80 interviews were conducted
as investigators "worked around the clock with about five hours of sleep on
the average," said state police Lt. Carmen Altavilla. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Gene Gill, Ortell's brother, said Sunday he was glad an arrest was made. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "When I called looking for her, after she was reported missing, he (Smith)
acted as though he was still waiting for her to come home," Gill said Sunday.
"I'm not totally convinced he acted alone ... time will tell." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At the time of her death, Ortell faced charges of harassment for allegedly
making frequent false calls for ambulances and using foul and abusive language
with police. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Court records indicate that Ortell accused the police of harassing her. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Barbara Ann Ortell &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Accused Killer Says He Left Body In Closet For 4 Days 
Howard Cordell Smith Confessed To The Murder Of 
Barbara Ann Ortell After Being Arrested Early 
Sunday Morning In 
Washington, D.c

Accused Killer Says He Left Body In Closet For 4 Days Howard Cordell Smith Confessed To The Murder Of Barbara Ann Ortell After Being Arrested Early Sunday Morning In Washington, D.c