She Vanished Days After Filing for Divorce: Years Later, Her Body Was Found In A Wooden Box, And She Wasn’t The First Wife To Go Missing
Shortly after ending her marriage with John David Smith III, Janice Hartman vanished from Doylestown, Ohio, on November 17, 1974. It wasn’t until 1980 that her remains were found sealed in a wooden box in rural northwestern Indiana, and they were identified decades later in 2000.
John’s second wife, Betty Fran Smith, then disappeared without a trace from her West Windsor, New Jersey, home in October 1991. Her remains were never uncovered.
Janice Hartman
Janice and John were just 19 years old when they eloped, and after living in Detroit for a few years, the couple landed in rural Ohio. Janice worked as both a go-go dancer and a police informant for drug-related crimes.
Their marriage didn’t please Janice’s family, who viewed John as an “odd duck” who was a “foul-mouthed, hot-tempered person.” They reportedly worried about Janice’s safety as well after seeing bruises on her face and arms.
Janice decided to divorce John four years after tying the knot. She went missing only three days later, and it took John two days to file a missing person report.
When speaking with authorities, John claimed that Janice, who he still referred to as his wife, was last seen at a local tavern known as the Sun Valley Inn. Then, since her Mustang was parked outside of his trailer, John said that Janice must have gone back home on the morning of November 18 and headed out before he woke up.
However, his story was constantly shifting. John’s brother, Michael Smith, was supposedly told that Janice had gone into witness protection due to her role as an informant. At the same time, John told Janice’s family that she’d willingly left and gone to Florida.
Her case subsequently went cold despite a shocking discovery by John’s brother.
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Janice’s Remains Are Discovered
Michael went to a gas station owned by his grandfather, Chester Chaney, in late November of 1974 and discovered John in the station’s garage. He was in the process of building a plywood box and stated it was meant to store Janice’s belongings.
John was reportedly “visibly upset” by Michael’s presence, so the topic was dropped. The plywood box was nailed shut and left there, where it remained for the following five years.
Michael didn’t come upon the box again until the spring of 1979. It was producing a foul smell, and he removed it from the garage and brought it home. When he looked through one end of the box, he saw four circles that were hard to make out.
Eventually, Michael finally opened the box and realized Janice’s partially–dismembered body had been inside. As for the undiscernible circles he’d seen earlier, they were the ends of her kneecaps and leg bones.
Michael later claimed that he wanted to go to the police, yet his grandfather pressured him not to betray his family. So, he called John instead, who picked up the box.
John proceeded to come up with a story about how two officers had drugged him, kidnapped him, laughed about killing Janice, and planned to frame him for the murder.
It took another year for the plywood box to be found. Road workers in Indiana discovered it on the side of a ditch along a remote highway.
Janice’s body was so decomposed that the police couldn’t identify her or her killer. Her remains were regarded as Jane Doe for two decades.
John Gets Remarried
On the other hand, John relocated to Florida in 1990, began working at a software company, and met his second wife, Betty Fran Gladden. They dated for just two months before marrying.
While Betty’s family regarded him as a mild-mannered man, they realized he didn’t talk much about his past. By February 1991, it also seemed as if their marriage was going to end since John had divorce papers drawn up.
Nonetheless, he and Betty got back together and wound up moving to New Jersey in May 1991. It was only months later that she mysteriously vanished.
What made Betty’s disappearance so puzzling was the fact that she’d recently broken her right hip and was recovering from surgery. She couldn’t have traveled alone easily.
Despite that, on September 28, 1991, she went missing. Betty spoke to her daughter, Deanna Weiss, on the phone for the last time, and her whereabouts afterward are unknown. It’s believed that was the day Betty died.
John didn’t report his second wife missing until October 4, 1991, and told the police that she’d taken her red suitcase and left behind a note that said, “Going away for a few days. Don’t forget to feed the fish.”
Investigators didn’t believe the tale due to Betty’s hip surgery. Moreover, they later found the red suitcase John claimed she’d brought with her.
Betty’s body was never found, though, and without her remains or any evidence, it was tough to charge him. John also moved out of New Jersey.
Family Searches For Answers
Betty’s daughter and sister ultimately launched their own investigation into what happened. They had no clue that John was previously married and attempted to contact Janice, who had never gotten back to them.
They were able to speak with Janice’s brother, Gary Hartman, and together, the two families spent years looking for evidence.
Then, in 1999, John’s brother, Michael, finally revealed what he’d found in the plywood box to West Windsor police, as well as how John had removed the box. The development helped identify Janice’s remains.
There was enough evidence to charge John with the murder of Janice as well, and Michael agreed to set his brother up. John had learned that the FBI was getting close to where Janice’s body had been abandoned and started calling him regularly.
So, Michael let investigators record his phone calls with John as he asked his brother various questions. Police eventually uncovered that John was living in California and had gotten married for a third time.
John Is Arrested
He and his third wife, Diane Susan Bertalan, got married in September 1998, and police were concerned about Diane’s safety as their investigation into John unfolded. They put John under surveillance, and in May 1999, they approached Diane to inform her about John’s past.
He’d apparently told her lies about his previous two wives. John said that his divorce with Janice was amicable, and they’d simply fallen out of touch. As for Betty Fran, he made up a story about her dying of cancer.
Diane didn’t immediately believe everything the police were saying about her husband, but soon, things came crashing down.
After interviewing Diane, his coworkers, and his family, John’s confidence took a hit, and he went missing. This pushed Diane to connect the dots and attempt to distance herself from John.
She filed to have their marriage annulled and requested a restraining order. Plus, she began searching for evidence that could assist the FBI.
John turned up three days later and shared another made-up story about how he’d been abducted by FBI agents and held hostage at a hotel. After he left his house that day following an argument with Diane, authorities from Wayne County, Ohio, as well as other agencies, were outside to take him into custody for Janice’s murder.
John Is Convicted
Following John’s arrest in California, various pieces of evidence were found, including a suitcase with photos of Janice, Betty Fran, and two additional women, skull fragments, and teeth from an unidentified person. The two women were found alive.
As investigators interviewed him, John was reportedly emotional and kept repeating, “I’m tired of lying. My life is a nightmare. I’m tired of living a nightmare. I don’t want to lie anymore.”
John was ultimately convicted of Janice’s murder in 2001, receiving a prison sentence of 15 years to life.
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