Joshua Smith, Smith’s 30-year-old son from a previous relationship, said in an email to The Washington Post that his mother was a “genuinely loving and caring person” who was devoted to her Christian faith.
Anderson, he said, seemed “a bit different” at first, but later revealed himself to be “paranoid and possessive.” The behavior led his mother to leave Anderson just months after the couple married in January.
“She loved life, her career, and especially her children,” said Joshua Smith, one of Karen Smith’s four children. “It seems surreal that she is gone, that I will no longer hear her voice and that she won’t see her granddaughter grow up. It hurts, but I know she is with God now.”
San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said Anderson had a criminal history that included domestic violence, weapons and drug charges. It’s not clear if any of those charges involved Smith.
Anderson’s recent Facebook posts centered on religion and his relationship with Smith. “Date Night!!!” he wrote above a photo of him smiling with Smith. In other posts, he called her “an angel” and “a pure spirit.”
In one post about “Greenleaf,” a drama about a corrupt black pastor and his scandal-plagued family on the Oprah Winfrey Network, he wrote about his disillusionment with the church.
“After watching Greenleaf with my wonderful little wife,” he wrote, “she finally understands me and why I feel the way I do about many Black Churches and so called Pastors, especially those to whom Church is their entitlement to the family business and community money pot.”
He concluded the post by saying he prays for such people “and keep my guns close!”