Cold Case Files: Murder in the Bayou (2024) s01e02 Episode Script

(dramatic music)
- Selonia was so sweet,
like a magnolia flower.
- To be killed the
way she was killed,
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 kill,
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 killer.
(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 killing.
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 killed the
way she was killed.
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 murdered.
- 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 murder
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 killed 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 murdered.
- 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 murder
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 murder 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 murder,
detectives take his
statement and let him walk.
The pressure's building on
Hammond PD to catch a killer.
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 murder weapon
from the crime scene,
but they thought that
maybe it was some
type of a screwdriver.
So is this where the killer
abandoned the murder 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 murder
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 murder?
- [Narrator] Wondering if
they found the murder 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 murderer 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 gunshot wound
to the mid facial area.
They immediately determined
that this was a homicide.
- So just over a week after
Selonia Reed's murder,
the guy who said her husband
did it has been murdered.
So what's happening here?
Is somebody killing people
that Reginald and Selonia
were friends with?
Or was Willie just
close to the truth
as to who killed 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' murder
case solves itself.
- Michael Morris turned
himself into police
and confessed to
shooting 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' murder.
- [Narrator] Finding
no connection
between the two homicides,
Selonia's murder 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 murder
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 murder.
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 gun tying Reggie
or Jimmy Ray Barnes
to Selonia's murder.
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 kill his wife.
- Jimmy Ray Barnes
also indicated
that just a couple of days
before Selonia Reed's murder,
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 kill 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 killed.
- 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 murder.
- 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
murder 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 murder 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 murder
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 murder 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
murder of Selonia Reed.
- When I got the call
that he was indicted
for my mother's murder, 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 murder.
- Jimmy Ray Barnes denies
that he killed 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 kill 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 murder
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 killed 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 killing 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 killer.
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.