Hillsborough man gets 40 years in stabbing death

TAMPA -- Jealousy over a woman drove Michael Edmund Smith to stab a Gibsonton man to death last year. On Thursday, a judge sentenced Smith to 40 years in prison.

Smith, 30, initially was charged with first-degree murder and false imprisonment. But he avoided a life prison sentence by pleading guilty to second-degree murder with a weapon and false imprisonment.

On May 30, Smith took his two kids to a mobile home in Gibsonton, looking for James Peak. He was convinced that Peak, 32, was having an affair with Smith's on-again, off-again girlfriend.

Smith questioned Peak's sister-in-law about the allegations. He held her and six children captive as he waited for Peak to return.

When Peak arrived, Smith stabbed him. Peak ran out the door, but Smith chased him and stabbed him at least two more times.

Peak died at the scene as a result of his injuries.

Smith did not offer an apology or explanation at his sentencing Thursday. None of the victim's family attended.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge Gregory Holder also sentenced Smith to five years of probation and ordered him to complete an anger management course.

- Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writer