BIXBY — The Bixby Police Department has concluded that a “domestic argument” led to Martin E. Smith to shoot and kill his wife, Tulsa business leader Sherry Gamble Smith, before he fatally shot himself inside their home on July 6.
Police said they have has closed their investigation and ruled the killings as a “murder-suicide.”
“Evidence at the scene, as well as digital evidence, and home security video show that Martin Everett Smith shot and killed Sherry Gamble Smith during a domestic argument at their Bixby home,” Officer Bryan Toney, public information officer for the department, said in a news release.
Gamble Smith, 55, was the founding president and CEO of the Black Wall Street Chamber of Commerce. Martin Smith, 54, who was originally from Roxboro, North Carolina, worked for the U.S. postal service. The couple had been married since 2004.
Gamble Smith had just returned from home from Indianapolis after taking the couple’s oldest daughter, Sidney, to participate with her club volleyball team in a national tournament.
Bixby police said the officers responded to a 911 call from inside a home near East 111th Street and South Mingo Road. At about 8:10 a.m., officers found Gamble Smith dead, and her husband gravely injured inside.
The police provided this timeline for the tragic killings:
“Evidence and interviews confirm that the couple had been involved in an on-going domestic problem that began several days before the incident.
“Security video at the home and digital evidence showed Martin Everett Smith spending most of the night before the murder sitting alone in his garage at the couple’s home.
“Shortly before the murder on the morning of July 6, the security video shows Smith removing a pistol from the garage, placing it in his waistband and entering the home.
“Shortly thereafter, Smith placed a phone call to an out-of-state family member prior to killing Sherry Gamble Smith before turning the gun on himself.
“The case will be closed as a murder-suicide resulting from a domestic argument.”
Gamble Smith was involved in many important community projects with the Black Wall Street Chamber, which she founded after separating from the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce. She was the catalyst who helped resurrect the Tulsa Juneteenth Festival.
The Smiths had a blended family of five children. Besides Sidney, the couple have a teenage son Kobe. Gamble Smith had two adult daughters, Lindsey and Lauren Corbitt, from a previous relationship.
Martin Smith is survived by a son, Martin Smith Jr.
“Our hearts go out to all of the victims of domestic violence, including those family members who are affected by domestic violence,” Toney said.
FOR HELP
Victims are encouraged to reach out to the National Domestic Violence hotline at (800)799-7233, the Oklahoma Mental Health Crisis hotline by dialing “988,” and the Mental Health Association Of Oklahoma at 918-585-1213.
