Whitfield County man charged with murder and arson has history of theft charges

photo Investigators gather evidence at Julius "Wayne" Smith's house on Honeybee Way in Rocky Face, Ga. Smith and a teenage girl were shot to death and his house set ablaze Saturday.
photo Daniel Densmore was arrested Sunday in Whitfield County ,Ga., and charged in the deaths Rocky Face resident Julius "Wayne" Smith and his guest, a 14-year-old girl from Murray County, Ga. They were shot and Smith's house was set afire. Police believe the motive was robbery.

DALTON, GA. -- A man charged with shooting his 61-year-old friend and a 14-year-old girl, then burning their bodies during a botched robbery has a history of stealing money, court records show.

Since 2000, Daniel Lloyd Densmore, 32, has been arrested at least five times on various theft charges in Floyd, Whitfield and Gordon counties, court records show.

Densmore will appear this morning in Whitfield County court to face his latest charges -- two counts of felony murder, arson, armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Conasauga Judicial Circuit District Attorney Kermit McManus said.

Julius Wayne Smith and Krista Denae Babb -- who were family friends -- were found dead about 11:30 a.m. Saturday in Smith's burned-down home off Honeybee Way in Whitfield County. Sheriff Scott Chitwood said Sunday that both had been shot before the house was set on fire.

Police said they found Smith's wallet with Densmore on Saturday night when they searched the Tunnel Hill home where he was living.

Densmore was released from Emanuel-Swainsboro Transitional Center in July 2010 after serving time for three forgery convictions in 2008 and violating probation on a 2002 burglary charge and a 2001 forgery charge, records show. He pleaded guilty to the charges in Whitfield County in August 2008.

The suspect, who was born in Florida, also served time on theft by deception and false statements charges in Gordon County in 2000, records show.

Densmore, who once lived in one of the three houses Smith owned on Honeybee Way, is suspected of trying to rob Smith on Saturday, but investigators believe he didn't realize Babb was at the house, Whitfield County sheriff's Capt. Rick Swiney said.

Autopsies were conducted on Smith and Babb on Monday, but the report wasn't finished, officials said.

Services for Smith will be handled by Ponders Funeral Home in Dalton, but arrangements are incomplete.

Babb, of Chatsworth, Ga., was a student at Murray County High School, and her funeral arrangements are incomplete.

Contact staff writer Joy Lukachick at jlukachick@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.

Upcoming Events