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Who Is Billy Flynn and Where Is He Now? 2026 Update & Profile

Ryan Gill

William “Billy” Flynn was 16 years old when he shot and killed 24-year-old Gregg Smart inside Smart’s Derry, New Hampshire, condominium on May 1, 1990. The murder became one of the most notorious crimes of the era after investigators uncovered Flynn’s sexual relationship with Gregg’s wife, Pamela Smart, an adult school employee who had met Flynn when he was 15.

Flynn admitted pulling the trigger and became a central prosecution witness against Pamela. He testified that Smart convinced him that Gregg had to die if the two were going to remain together. Pamela denied ordering the murder, but a jury convicted her of being an accomplice to first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and witness tampering.

Unlike Pamela, Flynn received a sentence that provided a path to parole. After spending about 25 years behind bars, he was released in 2015. As of 2026, he remains out of prison and is subject to lifetime parole.

Who Is William “Billy” Flynn?

William Flynn was a New Hampshire teenager whose life became connected with Pamela Smart while he was attending high school.

Flynn was 15 when he met Smart through Project Self-Esteem, a drug-awareness program connected with Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, New Hampshire. Smart worked at the school as a media coordinator.

There was a major imbalance between the two. Flynn was a minor and student. Smart was an adult, married school employee.

Their relationship developed beyond the school program and became sexual.

At Smart’s later trial, Flynn testified that he had been a virgin before having sex with her. He described becoming emotionally attached to Smart and believing he was in love with her.

That relationship became central to explaining why a teenager with no personal dispute with Gregg Smart would participate in his murder.

Flynn’s Relationship With Pamela Smart

Flynn described Pamela as an intelligent and attractive adult who showed an interest in him at a formative age.

He fell in love with her.

Pamela has also acknowledged having feelings for Flynn. Years after the murder, she continued to say that she had loved him, while acknowledging that their relationship was wrong.

According to the prosecution, however, Smart did more than enter into an inappropriate sexual relationship with a teenager.

Prosecutors said she exploited Flynn’s attachment to her.

Flynn testified that Smart began discussing her problems with Gregg and portrayed her husband as an obstacle to their relationship. He said the discussions developed into talk of killing Gregg.

According to Flynn, Smart told him that the only solution was for Gregg to die.

Pamela has denied that account for more than three decades.

Why Did Billy Flynn Kill Gregg Smart?

Flynn’s explanation was that he believed killing Gregg was necessary if he wanted to remain with Pamela.

According to his testimony, Smart repeatedly discussed Gregg’s death with him. Flynn said she made clear that divorce was not the solution and that Gregg needed to be eliminated.

The prosecution alleged that Smart used sex and Flynn’s emotional dependence to control him. Prosecutors portrayed Flynn as a teenager manipulated by an adult woman who understood the power she held over him.

That did not remove Flynn’s responsibility.

He participated in planning the crime, entered Gregg’s home and fired the bullet that killed him.

Flynn later acknowledged that responsibility and expressed remorse for taking Gregg’s life.

The question at Pamela’s trial was not whether Flynn killed Gregg. Flynn admitted that.

The question was why he did it and whether Pamela had ordered the murder.

The Plan to Murder Gregg Smart

Flynn was not the only teenager involved.

Patrick “Pete” Randall, Vance “J.R.” Lattime Jr. and Raymond Fowler also participated in the events surrounding Gregg’s death.

Lattime supplied his father’s .38-caliber revolver and transportation. Fowler was involved but remained outside during the killing.

Flynn and Randall entered the Smart condominium.

According to testimony, Pamela had provided information about the home and the plan. Randall testified that she said the back doors would be unlocked, told them not to hurt her dog and indicated they could disturb the condominium to make the crime appear to be a burglary.

Pamela was scheduled to be at a work meeting while the murder occurred.

She has denied helping develop the plan.

Billy Flynn and Patrick Randall Wait for Gregg

On May 1, 1990, Flynn and Randall entered the condominium in Derry and waited for Gregg to return home.

Gregg had no known personal conflict with Flynn that would explain the attack.

When Gregg arrived, the teenagers confronted him.

According to the accounts later presented in court, Gregg was overpowered and forced onto his knees in the foyer.

Randall held a knife to him.

Flynn had the .38-caliber revolver.

The murder had reached the point where Flynn had to decide whether to carry out the plan.

He did.

Billy Flynn Shoots Gregg Smart

Flynn later gave emotional testimony about the final moments before he killed Gregg.

He described hesitating while holding the gun.

At Pamela Smart’s trial, Flynn recalled that the pause seemed to last for an extraordinary length of time.

He said he asked God to forgive him.

Then he pulled the trigger.

The hollow-point bullet struck Gregg in the head and killed him.

Gregg was 24 years old.

Flynn was 16.

The teenagers left the scene, and the condominium had been disturbed to make Gregg’s death appear connected to a burglary.

Flynn had committed the act that would define the rest of his life.

How Police Identified Flynn

Investigators did not solve the murder at once.

The first appearance of a burglary gave police an alternative explanation for the killing, but the case began to unravel when the murder weapon surfaced.

Vance Lattime Sr. learned that his .38-caliber revolver might have been involved in Gregg’s death and took the gun to police.

Ballistics evidence connected it to the murder.

Investigators also received information about conversations among the teenagers.

Ralph Welch told authorities about discussions in which details of Gregg’s killing had been revealed.

Police were then able to connect Flynn, Randall, Lattime and Fowler to the crime.

The next question concerned their connection to Gregg.

Investigators found that connection through Pamela Smart.

Flynn Turns Against Pamela Smart

Cecelia Pierce, a teenager who knew both Pamela and Flynn, told investigators about their sexual relationship.

Pierce then agreed to cooperate with police and secretly recorded conversations with Pamela.

As investigators assembled their case, Flynn and the other teenagers began cooperating.

Flynn confessed to killing Gregg and told investigators that Pamela had persuaded him to do it.

His decision to cooperate became critical to the prosecution.

He could describe his relationship with Pamela, conversations about Gregg, preparations for the murder and the killing itself.

Pamela claimed Flynn was lying to reduce his own punishment.

Flynn maintained that Pamela had convinced him Gregg needed to die.

Billy Flynn Testifies Against Pamela Smart

Pamela Smart went on trial in March 1991.

Flynn became one of the prosecution’s most important witnesses.

He described becoming involved with Smart and developing strong feelings for her. He testified about the sexual relationship and the discussions that he said led to murder.

Flynn told jurors that he believed he and Pamela could be together only if Gregg was dead.

He also described shooting Gregg.

His testimony presented the jury with a teenager who had committed murder but claimed an adult woman had manipulated him into believing the killing was necessary.

Pamela’s defense challenged that account.

Her attorney argued that Flynn and the other teenagers had incentives to blame Pamela because cooperation could help them avoid harsher punishment.

Pamela testified that she had not ordered the murder.

The jury believed the prosecution’s case.

Pamela Smart Is Convicted

On March 22, 1991, Pamela Smart was convicted of being an accomplice to first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and witness tampering.

She received life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

The conviction established the prosecution’s version of the case as the legal finding: Smart had participated in the conspiracy that resulted in Gregg’s murder.

Flynn’s testimony played a major role in that result.

Smart has maintained that Flynn lied.

Even after decades in prison, she has continued to argue that Flynn and his friends decided to kill Gregg without her authorization.

She has said that Flynn is one of the few people who could change her situation if he came forward and changed his account.

Flynn has not done so.

What Sentence Did Billy Flynn Receive?

Flynn pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

In 1992, he received a life sentence with a minimum term that allowed for eventual parole. Part of that minimum could be deferred if he maintained good behavior.

His sentence therefore differed from Pamela Smart’s.

Smart had no possibility of parole.

Flynn did.

That difference would become one of the most discussed aspects of the case as the decades passed.

The person who physically killed Gregg would eventually have a chance to leave prison, while the woman convicted of orchestrating the murder faced incarceration for the rest of her life.

The difference resulted in part from the charges, plea agreements and Flynn’s cooperation with prosecutors.

Billy Flynn’s Life in Prison

Flynn spent much of his incarceration at the Maine State Prison in Warren.

During his years behind bars, he earned his GED and worked as an electrician.

Reports about his prison record also described his involvement in charitable work.

As he grew older, Flynn began presenting himself as someone who understood the enormity of the crime he committed as a teenager.

He did not deny shooting Gregg.

That point separates Flynn’s later position from Pamela Smart’s continuing dispute over her own role.

Flynn acknowledged that he killed Gregg and expressed remorse to Gregg’s family.

Flynn Waits Before Seeking a Sentence Reduction

In 2007, Flynn sought a reduction in his minimum sentence after serving about 16 years.

He said he had made a personal decision not to seek a reduction until he had spent as many years incarcerated as he had lived free before the murder.

Flynn apologized to Gregg’s family.

Gregg’s relatives opposed his request for a sentence reduction.

The court denied the request in February 2008 but reduced his earliest parole eligibility date by three years, creating a path toward parole after approximately 25 years.

Flynn remained incarcerated.

In 2014, he moved to a minimum-security facility in Warren, Maine, and became eligible to participate in work release.

Freedom was approaching for the first time since his arrest.

Billy Flynn Is Granted Parole

Flynn appeared before the New Hampshire Parole Board in March 2015.

By then, almost 25 years had passed since Gregg’s murder.

The board granted parole.

Flynn was released on June 4, 2015, a few days after the 25th anniversary of Gregg’s death.

Patrick Randall was also released that day.

Flynn had entered the criminal justice system as a teenager and emerged as a man in his early 40s.

His release did not mean his sentence disappeared.

He was placed on lifetime parole.

Billy Flynn Expressed Remorse for Killing Gregg

One of the major differences between Flynn and Smart during their years in prison involved their public treatment of responsibility.

Flynn admitted committing the physical murder.

He apologized to Gregg’s family and acknowledged the damage caused by his actions.

His expressions of remorse became part of the record considered as he pursued eventual release.

Pamela spent decades maintaining that she had no advance knowledge of the murder plot. In 2024, she changed her language and accepted responsibility for her role in the circumstances that resulted in Gregg’s death, while continuing to deny that she ordered Flynn to kill him.

Flynn has never publicly withdrawn the testimony that helped convict her.

Did Billy Flynn Love Pamela Smart?

Flynn has described his feelings for Pamela as love.

The emotional question remained important to him years after the murder.

During a 1995 interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer, Flynn was asked what he would ask Pamela if he had the opportunity.

His answer concerned whether she had ever loved him.

For Flynn, the question went to the center of how he understood what happened to him.

He had committed murder while believing he was acting for a woman he loved. The possibility that she had never loved him raised the prospect that the relationship he believed justified his actions had been based on manipulation.

Pamela gave her own answer in a separate interview.

She said she believed she had loved Flynn.

Decades later, she continued to say that she had feelings for him and rejected the idea that she had selected him for the sole purpose of manipulating him into committing murder.

How Old Was Billy Flynn When He Killed Gregg Smart?

Flynn was 16 years old when he murdered Gregg Smart on May 1, 1990.

He had been 15 when his relationship with Pamela began.

His age has remained an important part of the case because Pamela was an adult school employee when their sexual relationship developed.

Flynn’s youth was also relevant to the prosecution’s depiction of him as susceptible to Pamela’s influence.

It did not eliminate his criminal responsibility.

He admitted entering Gregg’s home, confronting him and firing the fatal shot.

Flynn ultimately spent close to a quarter-century incarcerated for that decision.

What Happened to the Other Teenagers?

Patrick Randall was also convicted of second-degree murder.

Randall was inside the condominium when Gregg was killed and held a knife during the attack. Like Flynn, his sentence was reduced enough to allow him to seek parole after about 25 years.

Randall was released on lifetime parole on June 4, 2015.

Vance Lattime supplied the car and his father’s gun. He was convicted as an accomplice to second-degree murder and was released on lifetime parole in 2005.

Raymond Fowler remained in the vehicle during the murder. He was convicted of conspiracy to murder and attempted burglary. Fowler was paroled in 2003, returned to prison after a parole violation and was released again in 2005.

All four teenagers involved in Gregg Smart’s murder have therefore been released from prison.

Where Is Billy Flynn Now?

As of 2026, William “Billy” Flynn is no longer incarcerated.

He was released from prison on June 4, 2015, after serving approximately 25 years for Gregg Smart’s murder.

His release was subject to lifetime parole, meaning his connection to the criminal justice system did not end when he walked out of prison.

Public information about Flynn’s present-day private life is limited. He has maintained a much lower public profile since his release than he had during the murder investigation, trial and parole proceedings.

There is no indication in the information surrounding the case that Flynn has returned to prison for the 1990 murder. His established status remains that he was paroled in 2015 and remains subject to lifetime supervision.

Given the limited reliable public information about his private life after release, claims about a current employer, exact residence or other personal details should be treated with caution.

Billy Flynn Remains Connected to Pamela Smart’s Claims of Innocence

Although Flynn has been out of prison for more than a decade, his testimony remains central to Pamela Smart’s continuing legal fight.

Smart has argued that Flynn lied when he said she ordered Gregg’s murder.

At one point, she described Flynn as one of the few people capable of helping her obtain freedom by coming forward and, in her view, telling the truth about what happened.

Flynn has not recanted his testimony.

That leaves the two with incompatible accounts.

Flynn says Pamela convinced him Gregg had to be killed.

Pamela says Flynn and his friends killed Gregg without her knowledge and then implicated her.

The jury accepted Flynn’s account when it convicted Pamela in 1991.

Pamela Smart Is Still in Prison While Flynn Is Free

The difference between their current circumstances is striking.

Flynn fired the bullet that killed Gregg Smart and has been free since 2015.

Pamela did not physically participate in the attack but remains incarcerated under a life-without-parole sentence because the jury found that she helped orchestrate it.

Smart’s supporters have pointed to that difference when arguing that her sentence should be reconsidered.

The legal distinction is important.

Flynn pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and cooperated with prosecutors. His sentence allowed eventual parole. Pamela went to trial and was convicted as an accomplice to first-degree murder, producing a mandatory life-without-parole sentence.

The different outcomes therefore reflect different convictions and sentences rather than a finding that Flynn had less involvement in Gregg’s physical death.

Pamela Smart Continues to Challenge Flynn’s Account in 2026

The dispute has gained renewed importance because Smart is pursuing another legal challenge.

In January 2026, her attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition seeking to overturn her conviction. Among their arguments are claims concerning inaccurate transcripts of the secretly recorded conversations used at Smart’s trial, jury instructions and the effect of extensive media coverage.

At a July 20, 2026 hearing, Smart appeared by video from Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women while attorneys argued over whether the petition should proceed.

The State of New Hampshire has asked the court to dismiss the case.

The new challenge does not change Flynn’s admission that he killed Gregg.

Instead, it concerns whether the proceedings that established Pamela’s legal responsibility for that murder were constitutionally sound.

Where Are Billy Flynn and Pamela Smart Today?

Their lives have taken different paths since 1990.

William Flynn is free from prison but remains on lifetime parole. Pamela Smart remains incarcerated and has no possibility of parole under her current sentence.

Flynn spent roughly 25 years behind bars for shooting Gregg.

Smart has now spent more than 35 years in custody for her role in the conspiracy and remains at Bedford Hills in New York.

Flynn acknowledged killing Gregg and expressed remorse. Smart has acknowledged wrongdoing in her relationship with Flynn and, since 2024, has accepted responsibility for her role in the circumstances surrounding Gregg’s death. She continues to deny ordering the murder.

That disagreement remains unresolved outside the legal finding reached in 1991.

Where Is William “Billy” Flynn in 2026?

William “Billy” Flynn is best known as the teenager who fired the shot that killed Gregg Smart, but his age and relationship with Pamela Smart are essential parts of understanding how the crime developed.

He was 15 when an adult school employee began a sexual relationship with him. He was 16 when he participated in a planned attack on her husband and shot Gregg in the head.

Flynn later confessed, pleaded guilty, testified against Pamela and spent about 25 years in prison.

He was released on June 4, 2015, and remains on lifetime parole as of 2026. Reliable public information about his current day-to-day life and location is limited, and he has remained outside the level of public attention that surrounded him during the 1990s.

His role in the case, however, has never disappeared.

Flynn is the person who killed Gregg Smart. His testimony also helped establish that Pamela Smart arranged the murder, a finding she continues to challenge more than three decades later.

For Pamela, changing Flynn’s account could have profound significance.

For Flynn, the central fact is settled by his own admission: on May 1, 1990, at age 16, he entered Gregg Smart’s home, pointed a gun at him and pulled the trigger. He served nearly a quarter-century in prison for the killing and has now spent more than a decade outside prison under lifetime parole.

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