Santa Cruz man extradited from Switzerland in father’s homicide

(KRON) — A Santa Cruz man faces several charges in his father’s homicide after he took off to Switzerland this last May before the body was discovered by detectives, said the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.

SCCSO said relatives of 90-year-old Robert Smallwood reported him missing on May 18 after not hearing from him for several days. The next day, sheriff’s detectives, with help from their Search and Rescue team, found him deceased at his home. SCCSO said an autopsy revealed that Smallwood succumbed to “traumatic injuries.”

The victim’s son, James Smallwood, 54, was quickly determined as the person responsible, according to the sheriff’s office.

It is not clear what led to the incident.

“James had been living with the decedent and had fled to Switzerland prior to the discovery of his father’s body,” said the sheriff’s office in a news release Tuesday. “Investigators worked with the Swiss government, the US Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, and US Department of Homeland Security to locate James and take him into custody on May 29, 2005.”

Following extradition hearings, Smallwood was brought back to Santa Cruz by US Marshalls, a District Attorney’s Office inspector and Sheriff’s Office investigators.

Smallwood was booked into the Santa Cruz County Main Jail last Monday where he faces charges, including murder and identify theft. His bail has been set at $1 million.