Harrison County officials say a woman from Gulfport pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was given a life sentence plus 30 years in prison for the July 2022 armed robbery and shooting death of Cody Vanderra Smith.
Angel “Lexy” Pierce, 21, of Biloxi was sentenced by Special Judge Steven Simpson on Monday in Harrison County Circuit Court. Simpson asked Pierce to explain what made her “take part in something like this.”
Pierce said, “I was high and mad about a lot of things.”
Deputies in Harrison County found the body of the 24-year-old man from Hinds County about 10 months after he went missing over the Fourth of July weekend in 2022. When officers got a report of a missing person from the Byrom Police Department and Private Investigator Cory Seal, the investigation began.
In April 2023, Smith’s body was found in a wooded area off of Elmer Ladner Road in Pass Christian by Harrison County detectives, Harrison Fire Rescue, Gulf Coast Search and Rescue, and Long Beach crime scene detectives. It was covered in garbage.
The charging papers say that the defendants robbed Smith at gunpoint and stole his 2005 Hyundai Elantra. They then killed Smith and got rid of his body.
In the case against Pierce, Assistant District Attorney Chris Daniels led the prosecution.
Pierce told Smith’s family and friends she was sorry for what she had done before she was sentenced.
She said, “No one should lose and bury their son.” “Cody was always there for me, but I let him down.” I can’t get over Cody’s death. There was no reason for it to happen.
Cherie Smith, Cody Smith’s mom, also spoke out.
Smith said, “Cody changed more lives than I thought, and some of them are here today.” “Cody met his niece when she was little, but she will never know him.” I often thought about what he would look like when he got bigger. We couldn’t wait to meet the girl he thought was special enough to marry, and we couldn’t wait to hold and play with their baby, which will be our grandchild. All of that was taken away by Lexy. There is no way to make this better.
Crosby Parker, the district attorney for Harrison County, praised the work of the sheriff’s deputies in Harrison County.
Parker said in a release, “This could have easily turned into a cold case if they hadn’t been so careful and quick to act.” “Cody was a young man with a lot of life ahead of him. It made no sense to kill him.” Other people are still being charged for their parts, but the 30 years on top of a life term should help the family heal.
