Frankfort Lawyer's Murder Solicitation Case Waiting on Tales of Tapes

The attorneys representing a Frankfort lawyer charged with trying to hire a hitman to take care of his estranged wife have yet to receive the audio recordings of his allegedly brokering the death deal.

The recordings are to be made available before 50-year-old Robert Gold-Smith next appears in court on Jan. 15.

Gold-Smith was brought from the county jail for a brief Tuesday morning hearing on both the murder solicitation case and for an earlier alleged attack on his wife.

Gold-Smith's other case dates back to November 2010. Gold-Smith and his wife, Victoria Smith, 45, were leaving a divorce hearing when he suddenly unleashed a vicious beating on her in a courthouse hallway, according to police and prosecutors.

Gold-Smith was released on $2,500 bail shortly after his 2010 arrest but was locked up again in March 2011 when he allegedly violated his bond by contacting his wife.

While he was back in jail, Gold-Smith discussed paying for the murder of his wife with at least four other inmates, according to court papers.

No less than three inmates met with detectives and offered to wear a wire while talking to Gold-Smith about murdering his wife. At least one of them did just that, according to police reports, and donned a recording device to catch Gold-Smith's statements.

The indictment against Gold-Smith identifies only one former fellow inmate, 49-year-old Brian McDaniel of Morris. McDaniel was most recently jailed on a charge of domestic battery and a warrant from the Department of Corrections.

Gold-Smith's attorneys have been trying to prove he is psychologically unfit to stand trial for the alleged 2010 attack on his wife. His murder solicitation case was handed over to the public defender's office after he told the judge he had no money to pay for a lawyer.

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