What Happened To ‘Temptation Island’ Star Evan Smith’s Dad? Details On The Killing

The drama isn’t the only thing being talked about during Temptation Island premiere. After reality show star Evan Smith opened up on camera about his dad being killed during an affair, true crime fans couldn’t help but wonder exactly what happened. “My dad cheated on my mom,” Evan shared on the show. “It lead him down the road to actually be murdered by the woman that he was cheating with’s husband. It rocked me to my core.” The details, however, are even more terrifying than they seem.

Who is Evan Smith’s dad?

The reality star’s father was Gavin Smith, a 20th Century Fox executive who went missing on May 1, 2012. According to The Los Angeles Times, it took about a year for authorities to conclude that the Los Angeles resident was likely dead, killed by a man named John Lenzie Creech. Creech, married to a woman the Smith had been having an affair with, was charged with murder after the TV exec’s car was found stained with blood in Creech’s storage locker. At the time, the killer was serving an eight-year sentence for selling and transporting cocaine.

A year later, in October 2014, Smith’s remains were found by a hiker in the desert. According to prosecutors, they were able to determine that Creech had allegedly caught his wife, Chandrika Cade, with Smith in his car and beat him to death with his bare fists. That wasn’t the story that Creech was telling, however. On the stand, he claimed that he had “defended” himself after the other man had choked him and threatened him with a weapon. Because of his previous record, he decided against calling 911 and instead buried the body in the desert.

Though jurors didn’t believe there was enough evidence to convict him of murder, Creech was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter on July 3, 2017 and given the maximum sentence of 11 years in prison. At the sentencing hearing, Evan spoke against him. “Give this man the maximum today for savagely ripping my dad out of my life,” he said according to the L.A. Times. The judge agreed, calling the defendant “a cold and cruel person.” It’s clear that his brutal killing had a profound effect on Smith’s family, Evan included.

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