A Santa Cruz man was arrested recently in Switzerland in connection with the death of his father, 90-year-old Robert Smallwood.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said that on May 18 relatives of Robert Smallwood reported him missing after they were not able to contact him for several days.
On May 19 sheriff’s detectives, with the assistance of the SCSO Search and Rescue team, ran a search of Robert’s residence on Jarvis Road and found Smallwood dead on the property. Following an autopsy, they determined it was a homicide.
Sheriff’s detectives and the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office began an investigation and learned the person responsible was allegedly the decedent’s son, James Smallwood.
He had been living with the decedent and had fled to Switzerland prior to the discovery of his father’s body.
Investigators worked with the Swiss government, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to locate James Smallwood and take him into custody.
Smallwood is being held in Switzerland pending extradition proceedings. Upon his return to Santa Cruz County, he will be booked into the Main Jail on the following felony charges: murder, elder or dependent adult abuse, unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle, and identity theft.
