Murder charge dismissed for Mobile man after hearing
SEMMES, Ala. (WKRG) — A Mobile man is no longer charged with murder after a judge ruled to dismiss a 2023 case where a man was shot and killed.
The judge issued an order noting that the case against Thomas Ernest Kimbler, who was originally charged with murder in the death of Matthew Ray Smith, was dismissed since he acted in self-defense.
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“It was uncontested that Matthew Smith was the initial aggressor who had beaten his wife
earlier in the day causing visible, physical injury to her; that he threatened physical harm
and death to Amy and Chris Wilson and to Defendant,” the order stated.
With this ruling in the hearing, Kimbler will not have to stand trial.
According to the order, self-defense was ruled due to “the facts, largely undisputed by the parties” presented in a Thursday hearing.
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The parties were identified as:
Matthew Smith, the man who was killed
Smith’s girlfriend, identified as “Shanna”
Neighbors: Amy and Chris Wilson
Thomas Ernest Kimbler, the defendant and brother-in-law of the Wilsons
The facts presented in the order:
Shanna had reported to Amy Wilson that Smith had “beaten her for over an hour,” and in response to hearing Shanna’s claims and seeing “visible injuries,” “Amy encouraged Shanna to leave Matthew.”
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Shanna then told Matthew Smith what Amy had advised.
After hearing the news from Shanna, the order noted that “Matthew appeared on the Wilsons’ property and threatened them with bodily injury and death: Matthew threatened the Wilsons for interfering and told Amy he put a ‘hit’ on them.”
Amy then contacted her husband, Chris, and Kimbler.
Kimbler ultimately left his job, retrieved a shotgun and sat on the front porch of the Wilsons’ home with the gun to wait for Chris, who could not get off work, to arrive home.
The order noted that Kimbler eventually went to sit in his car that was parked on the property. After sitting in the car for a while, Kimbler was reported to have manually rolled down his window.
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While Kimbler was sitting in his car, Matthew Smith and another individual, identified as “Drennan,” approached the car —which was parked in what was described as a “very dark” area of the property.
Smith then beat Kimbler in the face, according to the order. Smith had also reportedly threatened Kimbler, telling him that he had other people with him who were there to fight as well.
Kimbler, who testified that he had seen Matthew firing a shotgun previously and was aware of Matthew’s reputation for violence and being a drug dealer, fired one round into Matthew’s torso, causing him to retreat.
The man with Matthew, Drennan, then reportedly started to be aggressive towards Kimbler who told him to “stay back.”
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Kimbler then was reported to have ejected the shell casing from the gun, placed the gun against the trunk of the car and called 911.
The decision was further explained at the end of the order:
“After hearing and after due consideration of the facts and the law, the Court is convinced
by a preponderance of the evidence that Defendant acted in self-defense; that his conduct
was justified under the laws of the State of Alabama; and, is therefore immune from
prosecution. Accordingly, the case is DISMISSED.”
The full order is included below:
thomas-kimbler-murder-case-dismissedDownload
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