Smith's body has now been found in Los Angeles National Forest. Hopefully this now leads to a conviction.
P.S. Sorry as these were essentially updates on a story from when the site just started, which is why there's not lengthy explanation and/or analysis in this thread.
Creech was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He acknowledged killing Smith, but claimed it was during a fight over an affair and that he didn't mean to kill him, but also did not provide medical aid and helped to try to hide his body. The jury seemed to somewhat believe his story based on the verdict.