Shepherd, 19, is jailed for life for raping and killing US mother after she’d seen him shoot dead her son, four, and husband in Tbilisi

• The bodies of an American couple and their son were found in Tbilisi last July 
• 19-year-old shepherd Malkhaz Kobauri has been convicted and jailed for life 
• He killed Ryan, 43, and Caleb, four, and raped Lora before forcing her off a cliff
• The teenager had been watching porn before staging attack, prosecutors said
• Smith family moved to Georgia 10 years ago to run Ryan’s carpet-weaving firm

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A shepherd has been found guilty of raping an American woman who saw him shoot dead her husband and four year old son.

He then killed Lora Smith, 42, forcing her at gunpoint over a cliff in ex-Soviet republic Georgia.

Malkhaz Kobauri, 19, was sentenced to life in prison by a court in the city of Gori after a jury took four hours to pronounce him guilty.

Prosecutors claimed that his motive for murder was his desire to rape the woman.

Malkhaz Kobauri was sentenced to life in prison by a court in the city of Gori for the rape and murder of Lora Smith, 42, and the murder of her husband and son 

The Smith family were murdered on July 4 2018 in Tbilisi, Georgia. Lora, 42, was raped by 19-year-old shepherd Malkhaz Kobauri after he shot dead Ryan, 43 and Caleb, four with a hunting rifle 

The killer had logged onto pornographic websites before staging his attack on the family last summer, according to evidence.

The FBI was involved in investigating the case against Kobauri who attacked Ryan and Lora Smith and their son Celeb when they visited a scenic waterfall in Georgia where the family lived.

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The shepherd shot the 43-year-old husband in the back and face. Next he gunned down the child.

Lora Smith’s body was discovered on July 6, 2018 by a Georgian emergency response group next to a waterfall in the Khada gorge. 

Malkhaz Kobauri listens to his sentence in court after a jury found him guilty in four hours 

Khada Gorge in the former Soviet state of Georgia, 52 miles from Tbilisi. The shepherd who was convicted of the Smith family’s murder had been showing them to a scenic waterfall on July 4 2018

Ryan and Caleb (pictured) were gunned down while visiting a scenic waterfall in Georgia where the family lived

The following day investigators recovered Ryan’s body, but Caleb was not found for three days. 

A psychiatric examination of the shepherd Kobauri found he was fit to stand trial and has no mental health problems, Georgia today reported citing Kobauri’s lawyer, Mr Kobaidze.  

The 19-year-old was found guilty of raping the wife despite his defence’s claims that he was incapable of having sex and was a virgin.

‘The investigation found that before the incident, Malkhaz Kobauri had been visiting pornographic websites, which underlines his interest in this regard,’ said prosecutor David Kazarashvili.

The Smiths were ‘well respected’ members of the local and expat community and had joint US and Georgian citizenship 

Mariam Martiashvili, the mother of killer Malkhaz Kobauri, shouted: ‘I don’t want to live anymore’ after the guilty verdict

Tests found the shepherd’s DNA was in the body of the victim and on her underwear, said reports citing law enforcement.

The convicted man’s mother Mariam Martiashvili claimed her son was forced to confess. A court video shows her furious at the guilty verdict against her son.

Helped out of the court, she shouted: ‘I don’t want to live anymore’.

Ryan, originally from California, and his wife Lora moved to Tbilisi 10 years ago to run a carpet weaving business called ReWoven

During the trial Kobauri withdrew an earlier confession and said: ‘I didn’t kill. Two strangers did it.

‘They killed these people, and they told me not to tell anyone, otherwise my mother and my father would be killed.’

Prosecutor Zaza Datukishvili told journalists: ‘A brutal crime was committed – three people were killed, including a child.

‘The crime motive is unforgivable – it was committed for the rape of a woman.

‘The only adequate punishment in this case is unlimited imprisonment. In this case it is the only fair decision.’

US Consul in Georgia Janet Reber said: ‘We were closely watching this case, we had communication with the victims’ family.

‘The evidence did not leave space for any doubts. The family members of the Smiths support the life sentence. It was a fair trial and a fair sentence.’

Ryan, originally from San Diego, California, and Lora Smith had been living in Georgia’s eastern Marneuli city for more than ten years.   

They ran a business called ReWoven founded by Ryan, which produces traditional Azerbaijani rugs. Each carpet costs more than $1,000 and they have been sold all over the world. 

The convicted man’s mother Mariam Martiashvili (centre) claimed her son was forced to confess

The company uses traditional methods of centuries past which have ‘all but vanished’. 

According to its website, it hopes to maximize the benefits for ‘weavers and their community today’ and ensure the tradition continues. 

Ryan left the US for Azerbaijan in 2002 because of his ‘passion for travel and a love for people of other cultures’. 

While living in the capital of Baku he started working in the rug market and was inspired to start his own weaving business.

Ryan left Azerbaijan in December 2005 and came back to the US where he met and married his wife. 

The Smith family ran a business founded by Ryan (pictured) called ReWoven, that creates traditional, handcrafted Azerbaijani woven carpets

Lora (right with son Caleb) was a teacher while Ryan (left with Lora) started a handcrafted Azerbaijani carpet business that sold rugs all over the world

They were ‘well respected’ members of the local and expat community, having lived in the Marneuli region of eastern Georgia for around seven years. They received Georgian citizenship in 2012.

Lora had been a teacher in Washington state and later worked as an English teacher through a Georgian government program.

Kobauri is originally from the Akhalgori district in the Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region, which is controlled by Russian forces and South Ossetian militia.

Since the 2008 Russia-Georgia war he has lived in the Mtskheta municipality of Georgia.

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