September 14, 2022
By News Director Jared Atha
A former Clinton teacher passed away recently after being the victim in a murder-suicide domestic incident at her home in Texas.
According to the Van Zandt, Texas County Sheriff’s Office, former longtime Clinton High School science teacher 66-year-old Sally Nan Smith of Canton, Texas, was shot and killed by her husband 72-year-old Paul Smith before he apparently took his own life earlier this month.
The press release stated that the sheriff’s office received a call of a welfare concern about a residence in the Whitton community on the afternoon of September 5. A male subject at the address had sent a text message to a friend that prompted the individual to notify the sheriff’s office.
When an officer arrived to the home, authorities said they located a deceased male and female on the back porch of the residence.
The officer determined the female victim, later identified as being Sally Smith, had suffered gunshot wounds and the male, Paul Smith, had suffered a single gunshot wound.
The press release states evidence indicated Paul Smith shot and killed his wife before he perished from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
As stated in her obituary, Smith had taught science at Clinton High School for 26 years before retiring in 2009 and went on to earn an associates degree to become a physical therapist assistant. She would later move near Albuquerque, N.M., before moving in 2019 to Canton, TX to be closer to family.
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