MEDINA, Ohio — June 13, 1978 is a day that Jaime Smith-Hernandez will never forget.
Although it was 44 years ago, she still lives with the pain of losing her mother, Carol Smith, in a horrific way.
“I have PTSD and depressive disorder, and my brother -- who was there with my mom when she was kidnapped -- has complex PTSD, a major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder all a result of what happened,” she said. “It’s just changed our life completely. Our life is not what it was supposed to be.”
And now with the possibility of her mom’s killer being released this week, Smith-Hernandez is fighting back.
“And all these years we’ve been fighting his parole, we had to fight work release and have had to fight because there was a change in Ohio law that he had the possibility of getting out.
Thomas Yanasak stalked, kidnapped and killed 23-year-old Smith, stabbing her 27 times and mutilating her body.
“The day before he abducted my mom, he tried to abduct another woman in the same way,” Smith-Hernandez said. “She had her 5-year-old daughter in the backseat. It was just like it was with my mom and brother, and the day he abducted my mom he had tried to kill another woman.”
This wasn’t the first time Yanasak had been arrested for crimes against women. In 1970, he was charged with rape in Michigan. In 1967, he was charged with multiple felonies.
Smith-Hernandez said she fears that he’d be coming for her family next if Yanasak is released.
“We fear that when he gets out, he will come after our family and especially my brother and his girls.”
Her message for the judge?
“There is no way he could be rehabilitated.”
There is a petition to block his release, which you can sign HERE.
UPDATE: According to the Ohio Parole Board, the hearing for Thomas Yanasak has been continued to March 2023.
Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in an unrelated article on July 13, 2022.