2023 arrest, fatal double shooting in Peoria

PEORIA, AZ – A man has been arrested in connection with a double fatal shooting last year in Peoria.

Peoria police and U.S. Marshals announced Monday that they have arrested 21-year-old Alexander Lee Smith in Gilbert.

Smith was transported to the Peoria Police Department and later taken to the Maricopa County Jail, where he was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Last year, on November 11, 2023, Peoria police responded to a home, near 75th and Peoria Avenue, after a woman called saying she and her husband had been shot.

When officers arrived, they found a man and a woman suffering from gunshot wounds.

The man, identified as 51-year-old Walter Mitchell, was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman, identified as 42-year-old Susie Ephrem, was taken to a hospital where she died.

Police believe someone forced entry into the home and that the incident was not a random act.

Officials announced Smith’s arrest a year later. Details about his arrest and the shooting have not yet been released.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Peoria Police Department tip line at (623) 773-7045 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish speakers.

The shooting remains under investigation.