Jury takes 1 hour to convict killer who shot woman in the back at Portland late-night drum circle

A lightning-fast jury needed only one hour of deliberation, and one word — guilty — to convict Wyatt Storm Belcher of a

senseless slaying

on the Eastbank Esplanade on May 8, 2022.

The Multnomah County Circuit Court jury convicted Belcher of second-degree murder in the shooting of Ash Smith, a

31-year-old mother of five

who had been living unsheltered in Portland.

The shooting happened as organizers were packing up after a drum circle, which was held each Sunday beneath Interstate 5 ramps and featured cups of hot soup for those who attended.

“Ash Smith was just existing — just sitting there, looking the other way, not bothering anybody,” prosecutor Devin Franklin told the jury Thursday morning during closing arguments. “She didn’t even see the person who did this to her.”

Ashley Marie Smith is shown here in an undated family photo.

But as Smith lay dying from a single gunshot wound to the back of the neck, bystanders took photos and videos of her killer. Surveillance footage also captured the man as he walked away.

All of the evidence showed a man wearing a blue baseball cap, patterned jacket and striped sweater, and police testified that Belcher was wearing the same clothes when he was arrested outside the RiverEast Center rowing club on Southeast Water Avenue just minutes after the killing.

A Glock 23

handgun

was found inside Belcher’s pocket. An Oregon Crime Lab technician described test-fired shells from the gun as “consistent” with the marks on the .40-caliber shell casing found at the scene.

Other witnesses testified Wednesday that Belcher walked away from the parking lot drum circle, then doubled back and appeared callous and indifferent to what he’d just done.

James Stevens, better known on the streets as “Jester,” said he asked Belcher if he had shot someone, and Belcher replied, “Why, is she dead yet?”

Another witness, Turrall Charles, said Belcher claimed to be “just tidying up.”

A photograph of Wyatt Belcher taken shortly after his arrest was displayed in court on Wed., June 4, 2025.

Zane Sparling/The Oregonian

Belcher

spent about a year

in the Oregon State Hospital following his arrest but was eventually found fit to stand trial.

Defense attorneys argued he was merely a bystander, and that police

never considered other suspects

once they found him nearby with a gun.

“When he returned, he knew a deceased person was there. He was just checking on the noise and got profiled by police,” said defender Isabelle J. Askanas.

The jury needed little time to reach the opposite conclusion, however.

Circuit Judge Christopher Ramras scheduled a sentencing hearing for Monday. Belcher faces a mandatory minimum of life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years.

—Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083,


zsparling@oregonian.com


or


@pdxzane


.

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