A North Carolina man has been found guilty of staging a woman's murder and making it look like he committed the crime as an act of self defense. Solicitor David Stumbo said in a press release that Wilson Justice Xavier Smith was found guilty on Thursday, January 22, of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Smith, 27, has been sentenced to serve 40 years in prison on the murder charge, as well as five years in prison on the weapon charge. He was found guilty three years after he was linked to a shooting in December 2022.