Stock image

BEND — A 40-year-old Bend man was arrested Wednesday evening, March 20, on suspicion of killing his mother in her apartment in northeast Bend, police said.

Joshua Lawrence Smith now faces a second-degree murder charge, according to Deschutes County Circuit Court documents. 

Bend police responded to a domestic disturbance call at the Legacy Landing apartments near Northeast 27th Street around 5:15 p.m. Wednesday. Officers arrived at the apartment of 59-year-old Janice Marie Smith and found her critically injured. Smith, her son, was the only other person in the apartment, said Sheila Miller, Bend Police Department spokesperson. 

Officers performed CPR on Janice Smith, but she was declared dead around 5:40 p.m. after medics arrived, Miller said. 

“From the crime scene it appears that she died as a result of blunt force trauma,” District Attorney Steve Gunnels told The Bulletin.  

Joshua Smith was immediately taken to police headquarters for an interview, then to the hospital for evaluation and then to the Deschutes County Jail, where he remained Thursday. 

Miller declined to give further details on the nature of Janice Smith’s injuries or who made the call to law enforcement.

Joshua Smith was convicted of second degree assault in 2018 for hitting his mother in the head with a rock, according to court records.

He has been charged in Deschutes County Circuit Court, and he was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon.