Before she was arrested along with her father on first-degree murder charges in the stabbing death of her stepmother, a single mother from Baltimore cultivated an image online as a multitalented entrepreneur with a lot of big ideas.
But as it has now been revealed, 28-year-old Valeria Smith has apparently used her social media accounts to make self-aggrandizing statements and peddle half-truths and even outright lies, including one specific claim involving a former mayor of Baltimore.
Valeria and her father, Keith Smith, were charged on Monday in the December 1, 2018, killing of the man's wife, 54-year-old Jacqueline Smith.
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Valeria Smith (left), 28, who is facing a murder charge in the stabbing death of her stepmother, Jacqueline Smith (right), has a history of making false statements on social media
Valeria and her father, Keith Smith (left), are shown after Jacquelyn's funeral. Police have not yet suggested their alleged motive for killing her
Shortly after the woman's death, her husband and stepdaughter told police that a panhandler attacked her with a knife through a car window as she was about to hand him a $10 bill.
Police in Baltimore said they have come to question Keith and Valeria Smith's version of events, and that they now believe the pair killed Jacqueline Smith before fleeing to Texas, where the two are still awaiting extradition back to Maryland.
As Baltimore Sun first reported this week, Valeria Smith, who has a young son and daughter of her own, is no stranger to dissembling.
On her Instagram page, where she has amassed more than 1,700 followers, Valeria portrayed herself as a kind of a Renaissance woman: a hair stylist, a singer and a budding author with her own publishing company, Purple Press LLC.
In late August, Valeria shared a photo of herself posing with former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, whose name she misspelled as 'Dickson' in the caption while thanking her for hosting her company's first event.
In August, Valeria posted this selfie with former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon and thanked her for hosting an event for her, but Dixon says she never hosted any event for Smith
A week before the killing, Valeria shared this photo with author Troy Jones (far left) and investor Kahan Dhillon Jr (center), whom she called her 'business partner'
Keith, 52,and Valeria, 28, were arrested in Texas and charged with murder
Dixon told the Sun that she never hosted any event for Smith's company, and said she did not even know the woman.
‘I don’t know her at all,’ Dixon said. ‘I guess now I can’t take any more pictures with people because I take a lot when folks ask me.’
Then in late November, just a week before her stepmother's killing, Smith posted a photo featuring her and investor Kahan Dhillon Jr, whom the woman described in the caption as her 'new business partner.'
Dhillon also sought to set the record straight this week, telling the Baltimore paper that he did have two meetings with Smith but never invested any money in her business.
Dhillon said the woman was seeking financial backing for the publication of a memoir by former inmate Troy Jones, who was depicted on crutches in the photo with Smith and Dhillon.
Dhillon, Smith and Jones met together at a restaurant in Remington on November 25 because, as the investor explained, 'something wasn't adding up with her' and he was not comfortable meeting the woman in private.
Valeria (left and right) used social media to cultivate an image as an up-and-coming businesswoman, singer and author
Dhillon and Smith met a second time at the same eatery in January, a month after her stepmother's killing.
‘She never mentioned that her
