Local News in Brief : Victim Was Backing Away, Witness Says
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Malik Smith, son of actress Beverly Todd and television director Kris Kaiser, was backing away from an argument at a Salt Lake City disco when accused assailant John Leota threw the punch that killed him, a prosecution witness testified Wednesday.
Smith, 18, who lived in Los Angeles and was on a ski vacation, died two days after the encounter. Preliminary hearings are being held to decide whether Leota, who is charged with second-degree murder, should stand trial.
Chris Foote said he was at Club 35, a West Valley disco, the night of March 18 and saw Leota, also 18, strike Smith.
Foote said that when Leota hit Smith, the punch “lifted him six inches off the floor.”
Before he was hit, it appeared Smith was stepping backward away from an argument with Leota, Foote added.
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