Gavin Smith's wife: Family 'devastated,' worst suspicions confirmed

Gavin Smith's wife said she and her sons are "devastated" by news from homicide investigators that they believe the Fox executive was killed.

"My sons and I are devastated and this has been the hardest 10 and a half months of our life -- being without him," Lisa Smith said in a tearful telephone interview with The Times. "We love him dearly. He's the love of my life and the father of my children and he is gone. It's a tragedy."

On Thursday, authorities announced a major development in Smith's mysterious disappearance. The Sheriff's Department said it had found Smith's Mercedes-Benz last month at a Simi Valley storage facility linked to convicted drug dealer John Creech.

The condition of the car and other witness statements led authorities to conclude Smith had been killed. His body has not been found. He was first reported missing in May.

Lisa Smith said the discovery confirms her family's worst suspicions.

"Truly, truly this is what my sons and I thought happened all along," she said. "For the rest of the world to know that he didn't leave us is huge. He would have never done that. We knew from the get-go that something horrible had happened because he just wouldn't do this."

Rumors had circulated that Smith may have simply left his family. The couple had been having marital problems, according to a Twitter message published -- then later deleted -- by one of the Smith sons.

Lisa Smith said she's hopeful that detectives will find out "exactly what happened" to her husband and "bring it to justice."

"I can't believe they got this huge piece of evidence and I am so thrilled," she said. "We were just waiting and now we are so much closer to closure."

Investigators have identified a possible motive in the alleged killing, but declined to elaborate further because of the ongoing investigation. John Creech, whose wife had met Gavin Smith in rehab, has been identified as a "person of interest" in the investigation. The storage facility where the car was found has been linked to Creech, a convicted drug dealer.

Sheriff's Lt. Dave Dolson told The Times that Smith was not believed to be involved in any drug transactions.

Investigators believe Smith had already been killed by the time his Mercedes-Benz was moved from Porter Ranch to a Simi Valley storage facility on May 8 or 9, one week after his disappearance.

Sheriff's investigators asked the public for help in identifying anyone who moved the vehicle.

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-- Daniel Miller, Richard Winton and Andrew Blankstein