DeKalb man pleads guilty to killing deaf woman

By Megan Matteucci

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A DeKalb County judge sentenced a man to life in prison for stabbing his deaf neighbor to death.

Darrell Smith, 32, was scheduled to start his trial on Monday. Instead, he pled guilty to felony murder, said Orzy Theus, spokesman for the district attorney.

Smith was charged with killing college student Tekelia Blackshear, 21, at the Oak Creek apartments in Avondale Estates in October 2009.

Smith, who is also deaf, was charged with rape and false imprisonment. As part of a plea negotiated by prosecutor Shera Grant, those charges were reduced, Theus said.

"He will serve a minimum of 30 years before he is eligible for parole,” Theus said.