Roy Smith

TYLER (KYTX) – A Tyler man has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2012 stabbing of Victoria Massey at the Moore Grocery Loft apartments.

Roy Edward Smith, 36, was handed a life sentence on Thursday, after 10 minutes of deliberation by the jury on a count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

“Mr. Smith is a dangerous individual who attacked and stabbed Victoria Massey for no reason,” Prosecutor Jacob Putman said. “He was found guilty thanks to the hard work of the Tyler Police Department and Detective Craig Shine.”

Massey was on her way to work when Smith attacked her in the stairwell of her apartment building. Police said he used a gray tube sock with a rock in it to beat her before he began to stab her. Smith was indicted in June 2014 after DNA evidence from the sock came back a match.