SEYMOUR – On Monday, May 12, Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Richard Poynter sentenced a Jackson County man to 18 years at the Department of Corrections for the October 1982 killing of a Seymour man.
In December 1982, the body of Clifford Smith, 24, was located by trappers along the White River, north of Seymour. Investigators at the time determined that Smith died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Indiana State Police Detectives investigated the homicide in 1982, but no arrests were made at the time. Over the years, the case has been passed to new investigators to examine. Sgt. Kip Main, Indiana State Police-Versailles Post, has been actively investigating the case since September 2015. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Seymour Police Department additionally assisted throughout the investigation.
Sgt. Main’s investigation determined that Ronald J. Anderson, now 63, of Seymour, was at a residence on East 13th Street with Clifford Smith and other individuals in the late hours of October 30, 1982. The investigation further indicated that Anderson retrieved a shotgun from the house and loaded it. Anderson, while in possession of the shotgun, left the residence in a vehicle with Smith. Smith was not seen alive after they left the residence late that night.
Information gathered during the investigation indicated that Anderson was responsible for the death of Smith. Anderson also allegedly returned the shotgun to the home on 13th Street and returned to the crime scene soon after the killing to hide potential evidence.
On October 31, 2023, exactly 41 years to the date of the homicide, Anderson was arrested and incarcerated in the Jackson County Jail on the charge of murder.
On April 4, 2025, Ronald Anderson pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter, with the murder charge being dismissed. The crime of voluntary manslaughter is murder committed while under the influence of sudden heat. The investigation revealed that sudden heat existed at the time of the killing. The sentence range for the crime of voluntary manslaughter is 6-20 years. Anderson had remained incarcerated at the Jackson County Jail since his initial arrest.
Deputy Prosecutors Mark Hollingsworth and Daniel Carnes, who handled the prosecution for the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, stated they were satisfied with Judge Poynter’s sentence in this case.
Hollingsworth stated, “I want to commend the Indiana State Police Investigators for their dedication to this case over the last forty plus years in an effort to bring justice and some sort of closure to Clifford Smith’s family. We are pleased that in this case, justice delayed was not justice denied.”
