ISLE OF WIGHT
A suspect has been charged and arrested in connection with the death of Jean Marie Smith, whose body was discovered on April 17 near Hatcher’s Lane off Courthouse Highway in Isle of Wight County.

Eric Saub of Hampton was taken into custody by the city police on Tuesday. He was brought to Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office for processing, and later transported back to Hampton, where he’ll be held without bond.

IOW Sheriff Mark Marshall made the announcement at a press conference in the county courthouse on Tuesday afternoon.

“She was like a sister to me,” Saub said to reporters as he was brought to a vehicle for transportation back to the Peninsula.

Smith had resided on the Peninsula with her last listed address on Patriot Crescent in Hampton.

The results of her autopsy revealed that Smith died of a single gunshot to the head. The last known sighting of Smith was in the Courtland area on April 15. She was accompanied by Eric Saub.

He was a tenant of Smith’s grandmother in Hampton.

Smith had recently traveled to the Orlando, Florida, area with Saub. They both returned to the Hampton Roads area on the morning of the 15th. There is evidence to believe that she was killed later that afternoon in a wooded area off of Hatcher’s Lane.

Saub has been arrested and charged with the following: Murder of Jean Marie Smith; use of a firearm in the commission of murder; and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Further, he has previously been arrested and convicted for a number of financial/identity-type frauds in the state of Oregon. He is currently wanted by Oregon for additional warrants involving fraud.

While conducting a search of the residence in Hampton, it was discovered that Saub may have been involved in fraudulent activity linked to victims in the city of Hampton. Hampton Police Department became involved in this investigation and as a result they have charged Saub with numerous counts of fraud in their city.

Additionally, it is believed that Saub may be involved in numerous scams in the Hampton Roads area as well as in other states. Anyone who has had contact with either of these individuals is asked to contact our office via Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.

This investigation was conducted by several members of Isle of Wight county’s investigative team, led by Lt. Tommy Potter. This effort had extensive involvement by Commonwealth Attorney Georgette Phillips and her staff along with detectives from the Hampton Police Division.

Additionally, support was received from the Virginia State Police, NCIS, Southampton County Sheriff’s Office and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Florida. The level of cooperation with all of these agencies was instrumental in Saub’s arrest for the murder of Jean Marie Smith, sheriff Marshall said.

Potter said Saub has 12 previous convictions on felonies from 2012, and there are 17 charges pending; three are for failure to appear and a probation violation.