Bride And Groom Arrested At Wedding

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BURKESVILLE NEWLYWEDS CHARGED IN BOMBING OF GROOM'S FATHER'S HOUSE

On the morning of Aug. 30, a bomb blew up in Jeffrey Lee Smith's face while he was in the crawl space of his father's Burkesville house, family members said.

Several weeks of investigation led Kentucky State Police to Jeffrey and Darlene Smith's wedding in Cumberland County two days ago.

There were vows and rings, then handcuffs and no reception, as state police arrested the couple after they said "I do."

Jeffrey Lee Smith, 31, was charged with four counts of attempted murder and his bride, Darlene Smith, 30, with four counts of facilitation to commit murder in connection with the bombing, Kentucky State Police said.

The two, both of Burkesville, are in the Adair County Jail as the investigation continues.

"He put a bomb under my house, trying to eliminate me, my wife, my daughter and my 6-year-old grandson," said Stanley Smith, Jeffrey Smith's father.

But Darlene Smith's mother, Vellas Arms, said the allegations aren't true.

"Jeff's daddy set him up," Arms said.

The family was not at home at the time of the explosion and the nearest neighbor was sleeping in a home several hundred feet away, separated by a line of trees, Stanley Smith said.

He said he left for work at 6:20 a.m. and returned home at 11 a.m. Grandson Myles Willis, 6, was at school, he said. Stanley Smith's wife, Susie, left for work at 8:30 a.m. and got a call from her husband about 11 a.m., who said there was a strong odor in the house and a 2-foot square hole in the bedroom floor.

The fire department found a five-gallon gasoline bomb with a battery and timer under the floor, Stanley Smith said.

Jeffrey Smith was not found at the house, his father and stepmother said.

Arms said Jeffrey Smith and his father had been on bad terms and that his father had called him over that morning to make amends.

Stanley Smith said his back was hurting and there was a box he needed under the house, Arms said. "He wanted Jeff to get the box. He reached in there and it blew up," she said.

Arms said Jeffrey Smith had to have his left eye removed, can barely see out of his other eye and suffered burns on his arms. Jeffrey Smith called the police and gave a statement several days after going to the hospital, she said.

Stanley Smith said he lent his son $50,000 in February that was never repaid.

Stanley and Jeffrey Smith share ownership of an 800-acre farm inherited from a family member, Arms and others said.