Veronica Smith bio

Veronica Sherman was born in Grenada, Mississippi, on September 10, 1984. Her father, James, was a teacher, and her mother, Margaret, was an accountant at the local bank. She was welcomed home by an older sister, Elizabeth.

Though Veronica had many childhood friends, she didn't get along well with her sister. Veronica excelled in everything she attempted and was consistently at the top of her class. Elizabeth had always been envious of all the attention Veronica received. 

During their school years, their parents had parties for Veronica and her friends and took them on summer vacation trips. Even though Elizabeth took her friends too, she kept her group separate from Veronica's. This practice of the sisters keeping each other at arm's length has never changed.

After Veronica graduated from Grenada High School at the top of her class in 2002, she decided to go into medicine. Veronica earned her Bachelor's Degree in Science at the University of Mississippi in 2006. She went on to get her medical degree from the Ole Miss Medical School in Jackson, Mississippi.

While in medical school in Jackson, she began dating Wallace Smith. They married on August 8, 2012, and their daughter, Haley, was born on January 10, 2013. Veronica divorced him later that same year. 

Wallace barely eked through medical school with help from his wife, and when he began coming home intoxicated and wanting to fight with her, she'd had enough. She told friends he had given up on pursuing the profession he'd planned on. Wallace just didn't have what it took to succeed, and she had a child and a career to think about.

After she left Wallace, Veronica devoted all her energy to raising her daughter and studying. After taking some time off from her medical studies to care for her newborn, Veronica moved to Miami, Florida, for a fellowship in Gastroenterology at Jackson Memorial Hospital. 

In 2016, she began dating Michael O'Connor, who she met in Miami. After they'd been seeing each other for several months, Michael brought Veronica home to meet his family in Oxford, Mississippi. While there, Veronica met Michael's brother George and felt an immediate attraction.

Veronica dropped Michael and later married George on May 5, 2017, shortly after she finished her fellowship and relocated with Haley to Oxford. After seeing how devoted George and Haley had become to each other, Veronica filed a petition to terminate Wallace's parental rights so George could adopt Haley. However, Wallace was adamant about not ever allowing that to happen.

In Oxford, Veronica opened her own medical practice, Yoknapatawpha Gastroenterology Center, with two partners, Dr. Hilton Burns and Dr. James Mendoza. She was well-respected as a physician, but people sometimes found her brusque and demanding at work.

Last year, while performing a colonoscopy on patient Danielle Lemmons, the bowel was accidentally perforated, and within 24 hours, Mrs. Lemmons became septic and died. Mrs. Lemmons' husband, Kenneth, lodged complaints against Dr. Smith with the hospital and the medical boards and also filed a malpractice suit against Dr. Smith's medical practice, the hospital, and Dr. Smith personally.

On Friday night, Dr. Smith was found dead in her home. The cause of death has not been determined.