An Identical Twin Says He Put His Brother Behind Bars For A Murder He Committed In 2003, Finally Confesses To Crime


Thursday resulted in one shocking confession by Karl Smith, while he sat on the witness stand at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago. The Washington Post relays the man’s words to the court.

“I’m here to confess to a crime I committed that he was wrongly accused of.”

By “he” Smith meant his 38-year-old identical twin brother, Kevin Dugar, who has been in prison since 2003 for the crime that Smith confessed to Thursday. The publication notes that the twins have different last names ever since Karl Smith changed his to his mother’s maiden name.

The admission by Smith reportedly brought Dugar to tears and both brothers were equally filled with emotion, but according to the New York Post, officials are not yet convinced that it is the truth. Reason for this is due to Smith having nothing to lose by taking the wrap for the murder that Dugar was convicted of in 2003, seeing as he is already serving a 99-year prison sentence for an armed robbery that had the end result of a 6-year-old boy being shot, back in 2008. Smith has appealed the sentence but has been denied.

Assistant State’s Attorney Carole Rogala spoke with Judge Vincent Gaughan on the subject, with the opinion that Smith was perhaps covering for his brother.

“He’s got nothing to lose. [The confession did not] fit the independent eyewitness accounts of what happened.”

The publication goes on to share that when the twins were growing up, they behaved as though “one person.” They shared socks and shoes, as well as food. Even as adults, the brothers look so completely identical that they are only differentiated by their prison wear. Before they both found themselves behind bars, Smith and Dugar were active members of gangs, selling drugs and often impersonating one another.

Smith spoke about his strong bond with his twin brother.

“We was acting as one. Where I was, he was, acting like each other. He pretended to be me, and I pretended to be him.”

He went on to testify that he had never admitted to the killing of Antwan Carter in 2003 when his brother was accused and in preparation for trial. It was only three years ago that Smith finally wrote his brother a letter, admitting to the crime.

“I have to get it off my chest before it kills me. So I’ll just come clean and pray you can forgive me. … I’m the one who shot and killed those two Black Stones on Sheridan that night.”

A second letter informed Dugar as to why he couldn’t and wouldn’t confess at the time his brother was being tried. Karl Smith explained that he simply did not have the strength at the time.

“The reason I didn’t say [expletive] at the time was because I didn’t and couldn’t find the strength to do so at the time.”

Likely since being tried and convicted, Smith was ready to clear his conscience and see his brother set free. The twin then went on to sign a sworn confession in 2014, as the Post relays. If the judge makes the decision that Smith’s story is actually credible, Dugar will be granted a new trial for the killing which happened 13 years ago and took place on Chicago’s North Side.

The one person who is positive that Karl Smith and Kevin Dugar are telling the truth is their own mother, Judy Dugar, who spoke on the subject of the trial and case. Ms. Dugar spoke about Karl Smith’s confession and is assured that Karl has no reason to lie about his part in the crime.

“He wouldn’t lie about that,” she said.

The City of Chicago has always experienced its share of violent years, yet this year is one of the deadliest thus far.

[Featured Image by Joshua Gates Weisberg-Pool/Getty Images]

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