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A New Tazewell man has been sentenced to life in prison plus six years and his girlfriend to 20 years after they pleaded guilty to charges connected to the death of his three-year-old son in 2022.

According to a release from District Attorney General Jared Effler, Aaron Smith pled guilty to Especially Aggravated Kidnapping; Aggravated Assault; and First Degree Felony Murder on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Claiborne County Criminal Court. He received a sentence of Life Imprisonment plus six consecutive years to serve in the Tennessee Department of Corrections’ custody.

Co-defendant, Alexis Payne, Smith’s girlfriend, pled guilty to Aggravated Child Neglect and received a sentence of 20 years at 100% to serve in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Corrections.

Claiborne County Criminal Court Judge Zachary R. Walden presided over the plea hearing.

On Oct. 28, 2022, the New Tazewell Police Department responded to a report of a young boy choking on Heritage Road. The child was taken to the Claiborne County Hospital, where he was unresponsive and intubated because he was not breathing.

According to the police report, Smith told officers that the “child had fell while eating, and then he found the child unresponsive.”

At the time he said Payne had left for work before the incident occurred.

Officials said that the boy’s injuries, which included a large bruise to his face, a long bruise to his spine, bruises and scratches on both buttocks, a bruise on the top of his head and bruises to his legs and arms, were inconsistent with a single fall.

The child was transported to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, where a doctor reported that he had “subdural brain bleeding and that his injuries could not be caused from an accident,” court documents stated.

On Nov. 1, 2022, the child died due to his injuries, according to officials. An autopsy completed by the Knox County Regional Forensic Center concluded the manner of death to be a homicide.

Court documents stated that the boy was in the sole care of Smith and Payne the day police responded, and both of their statements were inconsistent and would not explain the events that they reported. Both were originally charged with Criminal Homicide.

The case was investigated by the New Tazewell Police Department, Lt. Gary Ruszkowski with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Agent Kris Sanders, and with the aid of the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Department and Tazewell City Police Department. Investigator April Shelton with the Department of Children’s Services also investigated the case.

Effler added that the plea agreements were reached only after extensive consultation and with the agreement of all involved law enforcement agencies, as well as the victim’s mother. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Carla N. Brewer with much assistance from Assistant District Attorneys Ashley Denton, Courtney Rickert, and Graham Wilson, as well as all of the Claiborne County District Attorney’s Office support staff during the pre-trial phase of the case.

“This case emphasizes the critical importance of reporting suspected child abuse,” Effler said. “If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, please report it to your local law enforcement agency or contact the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services hotline at 800-624-8945 or online at www.tn.gov.”

Tennessee law protects the identity of those who report and mandates that any person with knowledge of child abuse report it.