Prosecutors said Christian Smith took apart the gun after killing Dennis McKenzie Jr.
WOODBURY, N.J. — A 65-year prison sentence was handed down Friday in a Gloucester County murder case where prosecutors said the defendant recorded himself after killing his stepfather.
Christian Smith, 28, was convicted of first-degree murder and possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose in the shooting death of Dennis McKenzie Jr., 43. The case stood out for what prosecutors said happened after the shooting as well as before it. Smith disassembled the gun and recorded himself saying, “That’s what he gets,” according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office. Judge William Ziegler imposed the sentence May 29.
The recording gave prosecutors a stark piece of evidence in a case that began as an argument inside a Woolwich Township home. The state said Smith and McKenzie argued Oct. 9, 2021, after Smith made offensive comments about the sexuality of McKenzie’s daughter and her friend. Smith objected to the friend being in the home, according to courtroom accounts, and First Assistant Prosecutor Dana Anton said Smith described the house as “a house of God.” The argument drew in Smith’s mother and sister, who tried to defuse the situation before anyone was shot.
Prosecutors said the argument shifted from words to violence when McKenzie attempted to hit Smith. Smith then pulled a 9 mm handgun from his waistband, held it over his mother and fired at McKenzie, authorities said. McKenzie was shot once in the face and three times in the back. The prosecutor’s office said those wounds caused his death. Smith’s mother had placed herself between the men before the shooting, a detail prosecutors used to show the danger created inside the home. The state’s version placed Smith in control of the firearm when the fatal shots were fired.
Smith’s lawyers argued that the case should be seen differently. They said the shooting happened during a struggle over the gun and that several shots were fired accidentally before Smith gained control of the weapon. The defense also argued Smith acted in the heat of the moment and referred to abuse he had experienced in past relationships. Prosecutors said the defense account was inconsistent with the forensic evidence and the number of shots. Anton told the court that the explanation did not square with repeated gunfire. “You can’t accidentally shoot somebody three times,” she said during a pretrial hearing.
The jury returned guilty verdicts Jan. 20 after hearing the evidence in Gloucester County Superior Court. The conviction on first-degree murder exposed Smith to a long state prison term. Prosecutors said he faced at least 30 years and up to life before sentencing. Ziegler ordered 65 years in prison. Because Smith must serve 85% of the sentence before parole eligibility, the judgment effectively keeps him in custody for decades. The weapons conviction was based on the state’s allegation that Smith possessed the handgun for an unlawful purpose during the killing.
The case’s public record shows a prosecution built through a sequence of specific acts. First came the comments about McKenzie’s daughter and her friend. Then came the family attempt to calm the dispute. Then came the gunfire and McKenzie’s death. Finally, prosecutors said, came the disassembly of the firearm and Smith’s recorded statement. Each part of that sequence carried weight at trial. The state used it to argue that the shooting was intentional. The defense used the same tense scene to argue that the killing grew out of a struggle, not a plan.
The sentence also put an official end point on a case that had lasted more than four years. The shooting happened in 2021. The trial ended with a murder conviction in January 2026. The sentencing followed in May. Gloucester County Prosecutor Andrew B. Johns said after sentencing that the punishment reflected the seriousness of Smith’s actions. “This sentence reflects the seriousness of the defendant’s violent actions and ensures he will be held accountable for taking a life,” Johns said. He also commended the trial team for the work that led to the verdict.
For Woolwich Township, the case brought a domestic killing from a private home into the county courthouse. The victim was Smith’s stepfather. The witnesses included family members who had tried to intervene. The dispute began with comments about a daughter and her friend and ended with four gunshot wounds, according to prosecutors. The facts left jurors to decide intent from the path of the argument, the location of the gun, the wounds and the defendant’s conduct after the shooting. Their verdict gave the state the legal finding it needed for the 65-year sentence.
Smith remains sentenced to state prison for McKenzie’s killing. The next milestone is parole eligibility only after he serves the required 85% of the term.
Author note: Last updated June 29, 2026.