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Fatal arson case moves ahead
Testimony: Suspects were having affair
Delaney
Delaney
It appears a grand jury will determine the next step in a case involving a Forsyth County woman accused of killing her husband and setting fire to their house.Chief Magistrate Walker Bramblett bound Jill Smith's case over to Forsyth County Superior Court after hearing testimony Tuesday that Smith may have been motivated by an affair and financial gain.Smith, 34, was charged in December by the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office with one count each of felony murder and first degree arson.Also charged was Peter Delaney, 37, a Forsyth County resident whose case was bound over last month. Smith and Delaney are accused of killing Smith's husband, Michael Smith, in a blaze Oct. 22 at 5540 Kennemore Drive off Union Hill Road.Smith's attorney, Phil Pilgrim, argued during the probable cause hearing Tuesday that the evidence was circumstantial and that the prosecution failed to prove a crime had occurred.Pilgrim said there is nothing to incriminate his client other than her presence in the house."There is no evidence of anybody who set a fire," he said.James Dunn, assistant district attorney, held that the prosecution didn't have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt for Tuesday's hearing. He also said the state didn't have to prove Smith actually set the fire."Arson is a circumstantial case," Dunn said.