Trial delayed for Smith

For the City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – A south Wood County man who allegedly tried to kill his unborn child with a prescription drug has had his Marathon County trial delayed to next year.

Jeffery Smith, of Wisconsin Rapids, is facing felony charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child and manufacturing or delivering prescription drugs. His trial for those charges, initially scheduled for Nov. 12 has been rescheduled for Jan.14.

The charges stem from a January 2018 incident when police were called to a home on North Third Avenue in Wausau. When officers arrived, they talked with a pregnant woman who said that Smith, the father of her child, put something in her water bottle. She also said that Smith had previously tried to convince her to get an abortion. The woman said that Smith came to her home, and when she went to the bathroom, she returned and found a residue in the bottom of the water bottle.

Police sent the bottle to the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory for testing. Results indicated the presence of a drug used to terminate a pregnancy – Mifepristone. Empty packages of the drug were also found at Smith's home in Grand Rapids.

Smith is still being held on a $500,000 cash bond. He is due back in court on Jan. 7 for a review hearing before his jury trial begins on Jan. 14.