01x02 - The Devil in Hammond

[bunniefuu]

(dramatic music)

- Selonia was so sweet,

like a magnolia flower.

- To be k*lled the

way she was k*lled,

I just know she was

scared to death.

- As a 6-year-old boy, I

was like, mommy's dead?

My mommy's dead?

- In our little bayou country,

people were panicking.

This never happens here.

- There's a lot of alarms

going off to police.

There's a lot of red

flags popping up.

- No one had ever heard

of people being stabbed

in such a way.

That many wounds,

that much blood.

- It's one thing to k*ll,

but it's a whole nother

level to desecrate,

humiliate a person that way.

- This was very dark

and very creepy,

and people thought, what kind

of monster would do this?

And is he still out there?

- He's a cold, blooded k*ller.

(dramatic music)

- Hammond, Louisiana.

We are in the Bayou region,

as a lot of people call it.

I've lived here my entire life.

We are the strawberry capital

of the world down here.

I grew up on a little

strawberry farm myself.

- The people here in

Hammond are friendly people.

- We have a whole lot

of fun and laughter.

Any excuse to have a party.

(crickets chirping)

- Hammond is a great place

to live and raise a family.

But like any city, you

know there's violence.

And when the sun goes down,

it can be a sketchy place

where you may not

wanna find yourself.

- [Narrator] It's a

blistering summer morning.

The sun knives through

the cypress trees

as police get an emergency

call from a panicked resident.

- On the morning of

August 23rd, 1987,

Reginald Reed telephoned the

Hammond Police Department

that his wife, Selonia Reed,

had not come home

from a night out.

She had gone to a

local bar with friends

and when he awoke

the next morning,

he discovered her missing.

The Hammond Police

dispatched a police officer.

He met with Reginald

and then began to

canvas the area.

As they were investigating,

police got a call

from the gentleman

who discovered some

contents of a purse,

some credit cards,

ID and some checks.

The checks had Selonia

Reed's name, address,

and phone number.

Just a couple of blocks from

where the purse was found

is the John's Curb Market.

And in that open parking

lot was in plain view,

a 1986 blue Chevy

Sprint two door vehicle.

They called in the license plate

and it came back

registered to Selonia Reed.

The officer looked into

the passenger side window

and saw the deceased

body of Selonia Reed.

- Selonia's body was beaten.

She was stabbed in

the chest/neck area.

Her face was bludgeoned in,

her body was stripped naked.

- There was also a large

amount of a white substance

that was covering her body.

- The police thought it had

one time had been a word,

unfortunately, in the hot sun.

As this white substance

smeared with the blood,

they couldn't read it.

- This wasn't a random k*lling.

This was the work of a very

angry person that wanted

to humiliate, embarrass,

and desecrate her

in the last moments

that she had on earth.

(country music)

- [Narrator] As the forensics

team pieces together clues

at the crime scene, officers

deliver the heartbreaking news

to Selonia Reed's family.

- I was at Selonia and

Reginald's house the morning

the police came and told us that

they had found

Selonia in her car.

I mean, I, I, I was

just sick, hurt,

to be k*lled the

way she was k*lled.

I just know she was

scared to death.

- [Narrator] From an early

age Selonia "Selonia" Reed

was a quiet girl

with big dreams.

- There was five

girls in the family.

I was the oldest girl, and

Selonia was the fourth girl.

Selonia was always quiet and

very lovable, very giving.

And Selonia was a

mama's girl, for sure.

- Selonia, she had a

beautiful smile, you know,

and she was just outgoing.

Selonia was a beautiful person.

- [Narrator] While

attending southeastern

Louisiana University,

Selonia meets Reginald Reed.

He's a former Marine from

a prominent bayou family.

A romance blossoms under

the hot Louisiana sun.

- When Selonia met Reginald,

she thought he was just like,

gorgeous, and she just fell

head over hill in love with him.

They were with each

other all the time.

I mean, when you would

see them together,

they were the perfect couple.

Selonia and Reginald.

- The very first

time I met Selonia,

we'd just come home from mass.

We thought she was really nice.

- [Narrator] In the

blink of an eye,

Reginald and

Selonia are married.

They move into a modest

home on Apple Street.

Soon after the young

couple welcome a son,

whom they name Reggie Junior.

- Selonia was excited

about being a mom.

After little Reggie was

born, she was very happy.

She loved that boy so much.

Every Sunday she would

take him to the library

and read to him.

Selonia was a fantastic mother.

(police siren)

- Police collected everything

that was in the vehicle.

They collected all of

Selonia's clothing.

There was miscellaneous

contents along the floorboard,

and there was a

Winston cigarette butt.

Selonia Reed was not a smoker,

neither was her husband.

Her family, and her

coworkers said she kept

her vehicle spotless

and she did not like

the smell of cigarette smoke.

- Maybe we can find

someone that smokes

those specific

types of cigarettes.

So it was bagged and

processed for evidence.

- [Narrator] As the

investigation deepens,

detectives get statements

from Selonia's loved ones

about their whereabouts

the night she was m*rder*d.

- Traditionally,

police always begin

with the significant other,

the person closest

to the victim.

- According to Reginald,

his wife was going

out with her coworkers

and he was home

with Reggie Junior

playing video games all night.

And when he awoke the next

morning, she was missing.

- Next morning, woke

up, mom wasn't there.

I remember that family

was over and I overheard

one of my uncles talking

about the death of my mother.

And I kind of repeated like,

mommy's dead? My mommy's dead?

And that's when

world just stopped.

I remember that I was being

consoled by my dad on his lap.

- [Narrator] The next day,

detectives learn more about

Selonia's cause of death.

When the medical examiner's

autopsy report hits their desk.

- Selonia suffered 16

different stab wounds

in her neck, chest area.

The wounds were described as

long puncture circular wounds,

larger than a ice pick or

like a small screwdriver.

Unfortunately,

investigators weren't able

to pin down a m*rder

weapon at the crime scene.

So the autopsy ultimately led

to more questions than answers.

There was no evidence of any

defensive wounds on her hands.

So maybe she was

taken by surprise,

or she was near someone whom

she thought she could trust

and they got the jump on her.

It's one thing to

take a person's life.

It's a whole nother

level to desecrate

and humiliate a person that way.

So who k*lled Selonia Reed?

- As a 6-year-old boy,

waking up on a

random Sunday morning

and to get the news

of mommy's dead

is a whole nother ball game.

The way my mother was

taken away from this earth,

someone deliberately

took her life.

I just wanna know why.

- [Narrator] With the close

knit town of Hammond on edge,

investigators turned to

Selonia's family for more clues.

Her sisters recall an odd

incident that happened the week

before Selonia was m*rder*d.

- My sister Jackie

stayed a couple nights

with Selonia since

Reginald was out of town.

So that particular

night, about 10 o'clock,

Jackie was gonna go out

and smoke a cigarette.

As she opened the door to

go out, there was a guy,

I mean like right there.

Jackie said, what? What are

you doing here? Who are you?

And he told her, it's Jimmy Ray.

- He steps out of the shadows

and scares her to no end.

He just kinda lurked in

her yard and stared at her.

At that time, the door

opens, Selonia comes out

and says, what are

you doing out here?

And starts screaming.

Selonia was terrified that

somebody was watching her,

and she was afraid.

- And Jimmy told them that he

was there to check on Selonia

and Jackie responded to him

that Selonia was a grown woman

and didn't need

to be checked on.

And she ran him off.

At the time that the

incident occurred,

this would have been three days

before the m*rder

of Selonia Reed.

- Jimmy Ray lived not

four from where Selonia

and Reginald lived.

We knew him from

the neighborhood.

He was a weird guy.

Very, very weird.

And ever since then,

we kind of thought

Jimmy Ray was involved.

- So Jimmy Ray

Barnes was picked up

and he was

interviewed by police.

- Jimmy Ray Barnes said he

knew Reginald and his family.

Sometimes Jimmy Ray

would work for him

doing jobs around his house.

- But he denied

having anything to do

with the m*rder of Selonia Reed.

Jimmy Ray Barnes told the police

that he washed Selonia's car.

He also said that he

smoked Winston cigarettes.

Well, they found a

Winston cigarette butt

inside her vehicle.

Unfortunately, in 1987, DNA

testing was in its infancy

so that a cigarette

butt was never tested.

- [Narrator] Without

hard evidence linking

Jimmy Ray to Selonia's m*rder,

detectives take his

statement and let him walk.

The pressure's building on

Hammond PD to catch a k*ller.

Investigators turn to

the community for tips

and receive a promising lead.

- In the area where the contents

of Selonia's purse was located,

a bystander reported

finding a crucifix

and a screwdriver

in their mailbox.

The Hammond Police

Department was never able

to produce a m*rder weapon

from the crime scene,

but they thought that

maybe it was some

type of a screwdriver.

So is this where the k*ller

abandoned the m*rder weapon?

- When they found the

screwdriver and a crucifix,

people were afraid.

Maybe there's some kind

of ritual connection,

girls being stolen

for human sacrifice

and that sort of thing.

- And then it was

like the boogeyman

because every woman in

Hammond was afraid to go out.

Who could do

something like this?

- So in our little bayou

country, people were panicking.

Police are canvassing the

area, searching mailboxes,

people's yards, what have you.

And people thought,

what kind of monster

would do this to us?

And is he still out there?

Is he gonna be after me next?

(dramatic music)

- After the m*rder

of Selonia Reed,

a bystander reported finding

a crucifix and a screwdriver

in a mailbox that was in the

area of where the contents

of Selonia's purse was located.

- Our little bayou

community was terrified.

There were rumors of ritual

activity, human sacrifice.

So the first thing I thought

was, could this be connected

to Selonia Reed's m*rder?

- [Narrator] Wondering if

they found the m*rder weapon,

investigators send the crucifix

and the screwdriver out

for forensic testing,

but the results come up short.

- Those items did not show

any type of blood on them,

therefore, they were not

considered part of the crime.

- [Narrator] Back to

square one, detectives meet

with Selonia's husband,

Reginald again.

As they speak to him,

something catches their eye.

- Investigators notice scratches

on Reginald Reed's neck.

They ran in length just a

couple of inches on both sides.

- Reginald told the police

that the scratch was from

the family dog.

So they took that

for what it's worth,

they had no reason

to dispute that.

- [Narrator] But

when police speak

to Selonia's sisters again,

they learned that the

reeds seemingly happy

marriage was anything but.

- Reginald was very,

very controlling.

Whatever he wanted her

to do is what she did.

It was very hard for me the

way she was treated and abused.

There was one day little Reggie

must have been three or four,

and he says, Nanna, I'm

gonna stay with you today.

I said, says who? You know,

just messing with him.

And he said, because mom

has to go to the hospital.

Just like that.

And asked Selonia, you

know, what's going on?

Because I saw her and her

face was all black and blue.

And in spite of the abuse,

Selonia gave it 100%.

She loved her husband dearly.

(dog barking)

- [Narrator] Investigators

obtain a search warrant

for the couple's

home on Apple Street.

Upon entering, they're

immediately alarmed

by the condition

of the living room.

- It smelled of cleaner,

and it was so clean

You could see the

lines in the carpet

from where it was

freshly vacuumed.

And then police find in the

carpet a broken necklace

that they believe was

some of Selonia's jewelry,

maybe indicating to them

that the dispute

started in the home.

- Police also found bottle

of Wandra hand lotion

inside the residence.

They obtained a sample

from the crime scene

and they were able to

test that and determine

that the substance on Selonia's

body was in fact

Wandra hand lotion.

- To me, the fact that

that lotion was there

and was chemically consistent,

that was just too

much adding up.

It was another detail

that linked Reginald Reed

to that crime scene.

- [Narrator] As suspicions

surrounding Reginald builds,

whispers about his involvement

spread through the community.

- Willie Jones and

Michael Morris.

These guys were in a

personal relationship

and they were friends with

Reginald Reed and Selonia Reed.

Willie Jones' coworkers

said he was telling people

the m*rder*r was Reginald Reed.

- [Narrator] Just a

few days after Willie

makes this accusation,

a shocking call comes into

the sheriff's department.

- On the night of August 31st,

a pedestrian was struck

off of Interstate 55.

The victim turned out

to be Willie Jones.

Not only was he

struck by a motorist,

but Willie Jones also had

sustained a g*nsh*t wound

to the mid facial area.

They immediately determined

that this was a homicide.

- So just over a week after

Selonia Reed's m*rder,

the guy who said her husband

did it has been m*rder*d.

So what's happening here?

Is somebody k*lling people

that Reginald and Selonia

were friends with?

Or was Willie just

close to the truth

as to who k*lled Selonia?

- On August 23rd, 1987,

Selonia's body was found.

And then a week

and a half later,

another homicide happens

where Willie Jones

is found.

Willie Jones was friends

with Reginald Reed.

So the community thought

maybe these homicides

were connected in some way.

- [Narrator] Before

detectives can even begin

their investigation,

Willie Jones' m*rder

case solves itself.

- Michael Morris turned

himself into police

and confessed to

sh**ting Willie Jones

over domestic dispute.

- He had caught him with

another man and became enraged.

- Once Michael Morris confessed,

that absolved Reginald

of any suspicion

of being involved in

Willie Jones' m*rder.

- [Narrator] Finding

no connection

between the two homicides,

Selonia's m*rder investigation

again sits rudderless

until a witness comes

forward with a story

that puts detectives

back on course.

- The night before Selonia's

body was discovered,

a witness was getting gas

at the John Curb Market.

This person noticed

a blue sedan drive

through the parking lot

that looked suspicious.

The witness indicated

that she got a good look

at the driver and

the front passenger.

- They're driving slow

and they're looking,

so she's thinking they

could be casing the place.

- The witness wrote down the

license plate of the vehicle

and after hearing on the news

about Selonia Reed's m*rder

called the Hammond

Police Department.

- They run the license plate

and they find out that the car

belonged to Reginald

Reed's mother.

So why was Reginald Reed's

mom's car driving around

the John's Curb Market

the night before,

right next to where

Selonia's body

was found the next morning?

- At that point, the

detectives collected photos

of everyone who had

access to that vehicle

and created a photo lineup

that they could show

to this witness.

- They used a photograph

of Reginald Reed.

They also added a picture

of Jimmy Ray Barnes,

the man standing there outside

of Selonia's house the

week before the m*rder.

And without hesitation,

she picked Reginald Reed

and Jimmy Ray Barnes as the

two men she saw that night.

- But when they went

to pick up Jimmy Ray

to interview him

again, he was gone.

They couldn't find him.

Jimmy Ray Barnes disappeared.

- At that point red

flags are popping up

that are tying the crime

scene to Reginald Reed

and Jimmy Ray Barnes.

- So the Hammond Police

Department collected everything

that they had to

secure a conviction.

- They turned everything

over to the district attorney

and a day turned into a

week and a week into a month

and nothing ever happened.

- Ultimately, the

district attorney's office

felt the case didn't

have enough evidence

to move forward on

the prosecution level.

- [Narrator] One year

into the investigation,

there is still no

smoking g*n tying Reggie

or Jimmy Ray Barnes

to Selonia's m*rder.

The case of the young

mother becomes as murky

as a Louisiana

swamp and goes cold.

- At first we had hope,

then nothing happened.

It was hard.

As time went on, I worried

about little Reggie.

- After my mom passed,

I remember the first time

I stayed at home alone.

I was terrified.

I initially thought my

mom never came home.

So what happens if my

dad never comes home?

That always was a

thought in my mind.

- In 2011, Louisiana

State Police

get involved in the cold case

and ask Barry Ward to start

the investigation again,

to reopen it to see

where you can go with it.

- The evidence in the box

was very well preserved.

In 1987, a cigarette butt

would not have been anything

significant because there

would be very limited testing

that they could do other than

the branding of the cigarette.

But late 2011, early 2012,

there was new technology.

DNA testing was available.

I sent the evidence

off to the DNA lab

and I got a call back

that we got a hit on

the cigarette butt.

- So the DNA came back to a

man named Billy Ray Barnes,

whose DNA was in the system

for some prior activity.

He's the identical twin

brother of one of the suspects,

Jimmy Ray Barnes.

- Then the DNA

supervisor informed me

that identical twins

contain identical DNA.

I've never in my

career had a situation

where identical twins DNA

was on a homicide scene.

This was the first for me.

- [Narrator] With no connection

between Billy Ray

Barnes and Selonia Reed,

investigators quickly clear him

and move their attention

to his twin, Jimmy.

- So I learned that

Jimmy Ray Barnes

was in the Atlanta, Georgia area

and in July of 2012 we

set up an interview.

- He denied having

any involvement.

But he said that Reginald

offered him money

to help him k*ll his wife.

- Jimmy Ray Barnes

also indicated

that just a couple of days

before Selonia Reed's m*rder,

Reginald Reed asked

him to check on Selonia

at the house while he was away.

- He tries to distance

himself from Reginald.

He says, look, I

did not k*ll her.

- So at at

this point, police have two

key suspects at the

scene of the crime

within 12 hours of

the body being found.

And those people are both

connected to Selonia Reed.

- Hell, the same thing

he told me.

- At this point, police

are looking at two suspects

that are both connected

to Selonia Reed.

The DNA evidence from

the cigarette butt

was tied to Jimmy Ray Barnes.

- But there was also a lot

of circumstantial evidence

that points to Reginald Reed.

The bottle of hand lotion

found in his home matched

the type of

lotion that Selonia's body

was covered with.

The scratches on his neck.

The eyewitness that

puts him on the scene

with Jimmy Ray Barnes the night

before Selonia was k*lled.

- The only alibi Reginald Reed

had was his 6-year-old son

and he shielded him

from the police.

So you have to wonder why?

- [Narrator]

Investigators want to know

if Reginald Reed's

alibi still holds up.

So they follow up with

his son Reggie Jr.

about his memory from

the night of the m*rder.

- I was there at the time

in San Antonio, Texas.

One night I get a

knock at the door

and it was a Texas Ranger.

The Ranger says, you

mind if I come in,

I want to talk about the

m*rder of your mother.

- What little Reggie actually

remembers about that night,

we don't know. He

was probably asleep.

That doesn't mean Reginald

didn't m*rder Selonia,

but for police it

was a dead end.

- Unfortunately, Reggie

Junior's interviewed

just didn't move the

case forward

on the prosecution level.

It come to a point where I

realized I, I had to move on.

- [Narrator] As the mystery

surrounding Selonia's m*rder

continues to grip the community,

the parish's newest

assistant district attorney

Taylor Anthony is

handed the case.

He teams up with

Lieutenant Barry Ward.

The duo review the evidence

and decide to pursue

the person they

consider the weak link.

- Barry Ward and I load

up and we go to Atlanta

on our search for

Jimmy Ray Barnes.

We have a picture

of Jimmy Ray Barnes

and we're just kind

of driving around,

have you seen this man?

And eventually we pull

up to this residence

and out steps Jimmy Ray Barnes,

he was just standing

there in the flesh.

- He just kept saying

the same thing,

that he wasn't involved.

But while we were

getting ready to leave,

Jimmy makes what law

enforcement calls

a spontaneous utterance.

He says quote, "I'm

the key to it all".

- It was almost movie

like the way he said it.

We knew he knew what happened.

So we got back in the car,

I went back to Hammond,

I went to my boss and I said,

boss, it's been 32 years.

Give me a microphone,

gimme a podium,

gimme a jury and let me go.

I can prove Reginald and

Jimmy Ray did this. I know it.

- [Narrator] Three decades after

the m*rder of Selonia Reed,

a grand jury is convened

to hear the evidence

against Reginald Reed

And Jimmy Ray Barnes.

- I laid out the facts

to the grand jury,

told them everything we had,

and the grand jury

returned an indictment

against Reginald Reed

and Jimmy Ray Barnes

for the second degree

m*rder of Selonia Reed.

- When I got the call

that he was indicted

for my mother's m*rder, it

was a moment of disbelief.

It was it, it was shocking.

- At that point, I

began to see Reginald

as a monster capable

of doing anything.

- Reginald was

arrested in his home,

and Jimmy Ray Barnes

was arrested in Georgia

and flown back to Louisiana

to face prosecution.

- I did ask Reginald

if he would be willing

to sit down with me and

submit to an interview,

in which he declined.

- [Narrator] Unlike Reginald,

Jimmy Ray Barnes is

finally ready to talk.

- He told us that Reginald

Reed called him and said,

hey, I need you to go

get my mother's car.

I need you to come

pick me up from

the John Curb Market

from the gas station.

- Jimmy indicated that he

was fearful of Reginald Reed

and he didn't want to

come back to Louisiana

to testify because

of his safety.

- This is one of

the worst homicides

that has happened in our region,

and it all boils down to this.

Can we get the testimony

of Jimmy Ray Barnes?

- Based on Jimmy's confession,

I believe he took part

in Selonia's m*rder.

- Jimmy Ray Barnes denies

that he k*lled her,

but he says he knows

it was Reginald Reed.

- But we just needed to

get Jimmy to testify.

- Jimmy Ray Barnes

was scared of Reggie.

He thought he was

trying to k*ll him.

Ultimately, Jimmy Ray Barnes

made the decision to testify

in exchange for his testimony

against Reginald Reed.

Jimmy Ray Barnes pled

guilty to accessory

after the fact of

second degree m*rder

and received a

five year sentence.

- Testifying at trial

was one of the moments

I was most terrified of.

Leading up to it

I had nightmares.

So that day I was

called to the stand.

It was, it was rough.

I broke down, I- I was asked

a few questions about my dad,

my mom, and it was just

one of those moments

I'll never forget.

I still have a

hard time believing

that my dad k*lled my mother,

that my dad's a monster.

But seeing the evidence,

hearing the testimonies,

you know, it does

look suspicious.

- [Narrator] After four

hours of deliberation,

the jury returns its decision.

- [News Anchor] Reginald

Reed was sentenced to life

in prison after

being found guilty

of k*lling his wife in 1987.

- When the guilty verdict

was read, I was shaking.

I was just staring at my dad

and he didn't make a sound.

And I just put my

head down. I was numb.

Time has stopped.

I just felt like that

6-year-old boy again.

- Thank you. Jesus.

Justice has been served.

It was a long time coming.

He got to live his life.

But my sister-in-law, Selonia,

you a heartless person

to do somebody like that.

My brother is a

cold-blooded k*ller.

I wonder sometime what

life would be like

if she was still here.

I miss Selonia

dearly. I miss her.

- I hope my sister's at peace

knowing that at least

Reginald is in jail.

And we miss her so much.

(gentle piano music)

- I've had successes

professionally, personally,

but I would trade

all that in just to

have my mom back and

just erase all of this.

I started to write a memoir.

It's titled "The Day My

Mother Never Came Home".

I'll share excerpts

that I wrote.

"I miss my mother.

Though I don't have

enough memories of her

to know exactly what

I miss about her.

I still feel a deep

empty place in my life

where her presence would

have and should have been.

The wound swells and

contracts in time

with the beating of my heart.

It is an old scar

and reminds me of how

deeply I have been hurt.

And the painful truth of

all that was taken from me."

A few months ago, my wife and I

found out that we are pregnant

with our second child.

And a couple weeks ago we found

out she's gonna be a girl.

We thought about names and

the first name that came

to our mind was

Selonia Grace Reed.

This is a joyful moment.

I know my mother is watching

over me and my family,

and I'm not gonna let her down.