The Day My Mother Never Came Home | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] My name is Reggie Reed. Salonia Reed is my mother and Regginal Reed Senior is my father. My
mother, she was the love of my life, my first love. And I was her everything. It was very rare I wasn't by
her side. Take me back and tell me what you remember about that day. That day we
went to the mall. That's one of the things to do in Hammond. Just go to the mall. Even though if you're not buying
anything, window shop, if you will. Went to the mall, came home, and my mom went out and she never
came home. My beeper went off and it was regional. and he asked me, "Had I seen Salonia?"
And I said, "No, not since yesterday." I was a patrol officer for the Ham Police Department. I was dispatched to a
missing person's call on Apple Street in Hammond, Louisiana. The complainant, Reginal Reed, explained to me that his
wife had left home the night before and had not returned and he was concerned and wanted to file a missing person's
report. I had received a description of the car from regional. I started to drive a range
road and I noticed the car, walked up to the car and noticed Salonia's body inside the car. It was
very, very, very obvious that she was deceased. Salonia was 26 years old at the time. When I watched the crime scene
video and saw Salon's body in that car, immediately I was sad. I was mad. It was
pretty apparent to me right away that whoever did this homicide hated this woman.
So I called Regina back. I says, "Regina, have you heard anything?" He told me, he said, "Yes." He said they
found her in her car. And he said that she was dead. And that was I was interviewed after she was murdered
as a six-year-old. Okay. Can you tell me your name? What's your name? When I watch that video over and over
again. Okay. The day before Sunday, what did you do? What I see is a a six-year-old boy
that that life has been ch changed. He doesn't understand the magnitude of it yet.
[Music] And you're asking me, you trying to find out who killed my mother. Do you
remember seeing her leave? You did. Anytime a young woman Salon's age is killed the way she's killed, I
think most people right away would assume the husband did it, right? And that's the easy way. That's the
stereotypical way. But it's also not out of the realm of possibility that this was some
killing for another reason. From that day on, my life changed forever. It just begs a question why
[Music] [Music] After my mother was murdered, things moved fast. couldn't really understand like why
would somebody kill her? Like what did she do? It's been decades since Reggie Reed Jr. last saw his mother Salonia.
I feel like I missed out on a huge part of life that I'll never get back. Reggie was only 6 years old on August
22nd, 1987. One of the last things he remembers is his mother buying him a chocolate chip
cookie here at the Hammond Square Mall in Louisiana. He told police his mother kissed him when she left the house later
that night. But the rest, he says, is a blur. When you think about that, what does that feel like? When I think about
how my mother's life was shortened and how my experience was shortened, I feel empty. If somebody says to you, "Who is
Salonia?" What do you say? Someone asked me, "Who is Salonia?" I would say, "You looking at
her. Because based on the description, the memories and what things people have shared. When I look in the mirror, I see
my mother. Reggie's memories are at the heart of the memoir he's written about his
mother's murder. The day my mother never Came home. Within these pages, you will
find the memories of a six-year-old boy whose mother was murdered. a 15-year-old
young man searching for his place in the world without the guidance and encouragement of his mother. The night
my mother went out and never came home, life for me and my father basically flipped
upside down. Charles Muse, now retired, was the police officer who found Salonia's body
after taking the initial missing person's report from her husband, Reginald Reed. Salonia's body was in between the
bucket seats of the car with her torso over into the back seat of the car. She had 16 pinpoint like stab wounds in
her upper torso, shoulder, and neck. Her blouse had been torn off. Her pants had
been removed from her. She had been sexually assaulted as well. Louisiana State Police Lieutenant Barry Ward would
eventually be assigned to the case years later. He was only 16 years old when Salonia was murdered. In 1987, I was a
sophomore in Marshall County High School in Western Kentucky. When he eventually
did pick up the case file, he took note of the lack of blood in the car. It would suggest that she was murdered in
another location and then transported to where her body was later discovered at the John's Curb Market. That market was
about 1 and 1/2 miles from the Reed House on Apple Street. At the scene, Officer Muse
noticed something else about Salonia's naked body. I did see a substance uh that had been placed on the
body. It was a white liquid type substance on her torso and stomach area. Police believe the white lotion may have
spelled out a word, but if there was a message, it had become illeible in the Louisiana heat. The windows were rolled
up. It was August at the time. It was very hot out. Detectives bagged any potential
evidence, including the butt of a cigarette. A Winston cigarette. Police canvased the area, but Ward says
they didn't find any eyewitnesses or a murder weapon. The following day, on Monday the 24th, a
neighbor went to his mailbox and discovered a crucifix and a screwdriver. Given the nature of Salonia's injuries,
police at first believed the screwdriver might be the murder weapon, even though
it had no visible blood on it. It was early in the investigation, and detectives looked at all the angles,
including Salonia's job at Citizens National Bank. She was a teller in the commercial section. She was described as
being polite, kind, had a nice smile. Here she is taking part in a community fashion show just one week before her
murder. Salonia and Reginald, who was a Marine and later a car salesman, met during
their high school years. Salonia was known for being devoted to little Reggie, as everyone called him. But the
night she disappeared, she left the six-year-old at home with his father. According to what Reginald told police,
he and his son uh Reginald Jr. were going to stay and play video games while she went out to a local bar with her
girlfriend. Officer Muse interviewed that friend who denied she and Selonia had plans that
night. Reginald told police he suspected Salonia had a boyfriend and admitted he
and his wife had personal differences, but Ward says the police found no evidence of an affair. Based on the
research that I had conducted, her co-workers, the people that knew her said that she just went to work and came
home, that she was always seen with her little boy. The day after her body was found, investigators searched the family
home on Apple Street. The chief of police said that when he went in, it smelled like bleach in the house.
Detectives looked for evidence that Salonia may have been killed there, but all they found was a freshly vacuumed
carpet and the gold clasp of a necklace. Regginal gave investigators permission to interview little Reggie,
the only other person in the home the night of the murder. In this police video, a detective questions Reggie as
his father fidgets with a bean bag intended for his son. Tell me what you remember about that knife. Reggie Jr.
became his father's alibi. The boy said he and his father played video games and
then slept together in the same sofa bed on that August night. Did anybody come over?
Did anybody leave? Everybody stay home that night. When little Reggie agrees that everybody
stayed home, his father looks at him. Everybody, everybody stay home that night.
Don't be afraid. Just, you know, she talking. Don't be Don't Don't be afraid. Just we just talking.
I don't want to talk. She just She ask you just a few more questions. You What's the matter, baby?
He said he want to talk no more. Oh, you don't want to talk no more? Just the emotional Yeah. part of it. Okay, that's
all right. Look, didn't I tell you before that I'm I'm your friend? Oh, he's here, baby.
[Music] Okay, darling. I won't talk no more. You don't have to. I just can't imagine what
it's like as a six-year-old to have to sit there. And looking at that, it's still hard to
believe that that's me. Watching that video just brings back so so many questions
and and pain because I see me crying. In the aftermath of Salonia's murder, her family came forward with
more information. Some of it directed at one of Reginal's friends, Jimmy Ray Barnes. Turns out Barnes smoked Winston
cigarettes, the same brand found in Salonia's car. And Salonia's sister, Gwen Smith, said that Salonia did not
like Jimmy Ray. Apparently, she knew Jimmy Ray's voice cuz she started screaming, "Come inside. I don't trust
him." So, she was scared of him. In the days after Salonia's murder, there was one name police kept hearing.
Jimmy Ray Barnes, a friend of Regginal Senior. Jimmy Ray Barnes was an acquaintance of Regginal Reed. He hung
out with him. He worked with him. Lieutenant Ward learned about a disturbing incident at a local beach
where Salonia was swimming with little Reggie just days before the murder. They were on inner
tubes. Jimmy flipped Salonia over. She didn't feel that it was a playful thing. She felt that it was uh deliberate and
intentional. Uh she was not a good swimmer and uh she said she struggled to make it to the bank. The next night, her
sister Gwen said Salonia became frightened when a relative who was visiting Salonia spotted Jimmy Ray
Barnes near her home. And she said Salon went into hysterics like, "No, no, don't
go out there. Don't go out there." And within a few moments, Jimmy Ray Barnes walked around the corner of the house.
Jimmy told her that he was checking on Stonia and she ran him off. Ward would learn that Jimmy Ray
along with Reginald came under even more scrutiny 2 days after the murder. A witness came forward to say she had seen
two men around John's Curb Market on the night Selonia was murdered. She became suspicious and later wrote down on a
piece of scrap paper the license plate. As it turns out, that was the vehicle that Reginal Reed was known to um
operate in. That was his car. Some 2 weeks later, police assembled this photo array and showed it to the witness. The
witness identified the driver as Reginal Reed and the passenger as Jimmy Ray Barnes. Jimmy Ray was given a polygraph
test and police at the time said he passed. But it wasn't long before Jimmy Ray left
Hammond. Reginald denied having anything to do with Salonia's murder. But neighbors told police the marriage was
trouble. Family members say Salonia had accused her husband of physical abuse and there was talk of divorce.
The police continued investigating, but prosecutors never brought the case to a grand jury. There's a lot of
circumstantial evidence in 1987 that pointed to Reginal Reed and Jimmy Ray Barnes. Um, as far as a a smoking gun,
it it it was not there at that time. I started feeling like nothing was going to be done about her murder and we would
not get justice. Time passed and Reginal continued to live in Hammond. He even ran for mayor
in 1998. Ariel Reggie Reed, number eight. You can count on me. Thank you. He lost that race, but he and little
Reggie stayed in the family home, which today has fallen into disrepair. So, this is it. What's it like for you to
just come back here? I know you don't like to, but what does it feel like? I feel numb. Yeah, I feel numb. This is
where it all started. You know, this is the halls I used to run. This is the TV room. This was the TV room. When you
were playing Nintendo with your father the night that your mother was murdered, was that here? That was in this room.
Reggie went on to attend college and later got an MBA. He moved out of Hammond and began working for a
pharmaceutical company. There were no new developments on his mother's murder until 2011 when Lieutenant Barry Ward of
the Louisiana State Police got involved. After I started interacting with Selonia's family, her sisters, I
realized how important it was. Before Barry Ward came into the picture, I just felt like nobody cared about Salon's
case. This was just the last opportunity I felt before more witnesses passed away
that we would have a chance to find justice for this terrible crime that happened to Sloania.
As far as Ward could determine, the crucifix and screwdriver found within days of the murder led nowhere. But the
detective was drawn to several life insurance policies Reginal had taken out on Salonia that paid out more than
$700,000. Some of those policies were taken out the same month that Selonia was murdered. Ward wanted to reinter Reggie
Jr. in 2012. Reggie was 31 years old and living in Texas. Ward sent a Texas Ranger to begin the questioning.
He told me why he was here and it was to discuss my mother's murder. And the ranger then told Reggie something. He
said he'd never heard before. He was not aware that his father was a suspect in the murder of his mother. I was like,
"Where is this coming from?" Like, it's been over three decades. You talking about my dad like killed my mom. Like,
seriously. I remember asking, is there any new evidence that was surfaced? And it was nothing new. It's true that
the insurance policies had been discovered by the original detectives, but Lieutenant Ward had organized them
in a way that he felt was damning. The Texas Ranger asked Reggie about those policies. He showed me a graph, a
timeline that showed these insurance policies that were taken out close to her death. Did you all of a sudden say,
"I need to get to the bottom of this or what?" It was eye opening cuz I'm like, well, that doesn't look good. I got to
learn more like what's all this. Reggie struggled to make sense of it all. I did talk to my dad about it
over the phone and his response was he he took our policies on everyone. Reggie said he finds it hard to square what the
investigation revealed with the loving father who raised him. I look back, I'm like, man, he really he really did do
some great stuff for me. He was a great provider. Ward took a deep dive into the case file
and focused on that Winston cigarette butt found in Salonia's car. He sent it out for DNA testing, something that was
not widely available in 1987. There was a match in the National Crime DNA database, COTUS, but not to
Jimmy Ray. It came back to a man by the name of Billy Ray Barnes. Billy Ray was Jimmy
Ray's identical twin brother. And the DNA supervisor had another surprise. He let me know that identical twins share
identical DNA. Lieutenant Ward decided he had to interview Jimmy Ray. And it turned out
that Jimmy Ray had been holding on to some key information all these years. Jimmy Ray Barnes did tell me that Regin
offered him $50,000 to quote unquote knock off his [Music] wife. In July 2012, Lieutenant Barry
Ward went on the hunt for Jimmy Ray Barnes, who had become a prime suspect in the Salonia Reed murder case after
his DNA was linked to the crime scene. Ward found Barnes in the Atlanta area, where he said Barnes told him he'd
fled Hammond because he was afraid of Reginal Reed. Barnes said back then he'd been shot at three times and hit once in
the neck. Barnes suspected the shooter was Reginal, but had no proof. Jimmy said he was known to carry a gun, but
you fast forward 25 now 30 years, Reginald Reed was now an old man. We are. Barnes was ready to talk about
Reed without a lawyer. I ain't got nothing to Barnes told Ward that a few days before Selonia was killed, Reed
asked him if he would quote, "Knock off his wife. Reginald asked you if you would quote by
your term knock off his wife and that that mean you took that to mean to kill her to murder right what was your
response to that? Hell no. Did he discuss any money with you? Yeah, he had he discussed money. Ward pressed
Barnes to tell him how much money. More than 5,000. Yeah. More than 10,000? Yeah. More than 50,000. 50,000. He
offered you $50,000. Is is that is that a guess or is that the amount he offered? That was the amount he offered.
But Barnes told Ward that he would not repeat the story in court. I don't trust the law no more. Ward confronted Barnes
about that polygraph test from the original case file. Barnes allegedly had passed that polygraph, but Ward
suspected Jimmy Ray secretly had asked his identical twin, Billy Ray, to take that test.
I talked to Billy and he said he took that polygraph test and if Billy looked like you and
was questioned over a murder that you took part in and he doesn't know anything about it, he's probably going
to pass that polygraph test. Would that be fair to say? I don't know. I'm not going to answer
that cuz I know I'm the one who took the polygraph test. Ward believed he had a solid case to
finally bring charges. He had Jimmy Ray's DNA connected to the crime scene and his videotape statement about Reggie
offering him $50,000 to kill Selonia. But Ward said prosecutors always wanted more. I would get phone calls through
the years from prosecutors who had asked me to rein family members, find out additional information, test more
evidence. It was busy work. Then in 2018, a newly hired prosecutor, Taylor Anthony, got assigned the case.
Why reopen a 35year-old case? What was the trigger? Well, why reopen it? It's an interesting question. This was a case
to me right away when I looked at it that there was a story to be told. Anthony was impressed by all the
investigative work done by Lieutenant Ward. So, he reached out. But Ward told Anthony he was too busy and that he felt
he'd been let down by other prosecutors. My initial response was to just get this
guy off the phone. He said, "Look, I've already poured hundreds of man hours into that case and y'all didn't do
anything." And he said, "You're wasting your time, kid. Have a nice life, basically." But Anthony was undeterred
and promised war that this time things would be different. I think he saw what I saw. I think that made all the
difference in the world. Like Ward, Anthony was sure Jimmy Ray Barnes knew a lot more. So he and Ward
took a road trip to Atlanta. We're able to locate Jimmy. He was staying in a camper at his employer's place. We
pulled up early in the morning when the sun was coming up and he was coming out of this camper putting a belt in his
pants and he said, "Uh, hey, who y'all looking for?" I said, "You, Jimmy." And he goes, "Oh, you again." But this time,
the new prosecutor had with him an agreement approved by a judge giving Barnes complete immunity if he testified
to everything he knew about Salonia's murder. So to the lay person, you offered him a deal. So I offered him
what I would say would be the golden ticket. But Barnes rejected the offer. He did not trust me. He did not believe
me. He did not want to talk to us. Ward and Anthony were about to drive back to Louisiana when Barnes said
something that took them by surprise. As Barry and I were getting back at the car, Jim Ray Barnes came over to us and
he said, "I want you boys to know that I'm the key to it all." And he said, "If you think you can indict me for murder,
then do it." Anthony was quick to take him up on that challenge. A couple of weeks later, grand jury in Tensville
Parish returned seconddegree murder indictments for both Regginald Reed and Jimmy Ray
Barnes. Immediately, we went to Reginald's home. I knocked on the door, identified who I was, and that I had an
arrest warrant for him for the murder of his wife. He really had no emotion. The date was June 21st,
2019, more than 30 years after Salonia's murder. When Reginal was arrested, it was
like it's like a burden just got my chest like a burden was lifted off. I got a call that my father was indicted
for seconddegree murder and conspiracy along with a codefendant for my mother's murder.
Reggie Jr. put up his father's $250,000 bail bond. My dad being my rock for so many years, I felt the need to
try to help him. Now that you are both adults, did you ever ask him those questions that you have that you're
questioning even now as we sit here? Yeah, I asked him. I asked him and he he he maintains his innocence.
Sitting in another Hammond jail cell was Jimmy Ray Barnes. He now had a lawyer and asked to speak with Detective Barry
Ward and Taylor Anthony. So Barry and I went and met with him again, and in exchange for him telling us everything
he knew, he was offered a deal to plead to accessory after the fact to murder and was given a 5-year prison sentence.
The homicide trial of Reginal Reed was scheduled for November 2022, and Jimmy Ray had agreed to testify. Reggie Jr.
hoped to hear never before revealed details of what had happened to his mother. I want to know what happened.
[Music] In November 2022, the murder trial of Regginal Reed began in Ameat, [Music]
Louisiana. Reed was represented by the mother and daughter defense team of Vanessa Williams and Latoya William
Simon. What makes you think that he did not murder Salonia? Their entire case is
circumstantial. William Simon says the state's case was weak. There was no murder weapon. No fingerprints or DNA
tying Reed to Salonia's homicide. I was confused as to how they were really going to prove their case. There's no
direct evidence. But prosecutor Taylor Anthony believed his prosecution would deliver justice to
Salonia. The reason I became a prosecutor is to fight for people like this. I see a
woman whose body has been desecrated, violated, mutilated, and nobody spoke up for her and fought for her. And there's
a quote that I love, and it goes, "The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is the duty of the living to do so for
them. And that's my job." Anthony told jurors about the $700,000 from the insurance policies on
Salonia's life. So, what was your theory once you put all these pieces together? My theory was
that Salon and Regginald were in a marriage that was about to come to an end. There was a history of abuse and
that Selonia was tired of it and she was ready to leave Reginald. I think he was
angry and he saw an opportunity for some money. I think that's why he killed this
woman. the case that they're presenting, which is this man takes out all these life insurance policies on a young,
healthy 26-year-old woman. What is his rationale for having done that? But they're missing the biggest part of it.
It wasn't just on her. It was on himself. It was on the child. It was family policies. So, it's not like he
just went and took out policies on Salonia only. Prosecutor Anthony was frank with jurors, telling them that the
state would not produce a murder weapon or the exact location where Salonia was stabbed. He focused on what the
prosecution did have, including that white lotion found on Salonia's body. Later, police were able to find a bottle
of lotion in the Reed household that matched that type of lotion that was on her body. The prosecutor also showed
jurors a photograph of some scratches on Reed's neck taken on the day Salonia's body was found. They wanted to take
photographs of his neck, and he was very hesitant. Anthony said Reed told police
two different stories about how he got those scratches, but after forensic testing, it was determined that none of
Reed's DNA was found under Salonia's fingernails. They believe that the killer is Mr. Regginal Reed. Anything
that goes to contradict that, they're going to completely block out. William Simon pointed to Jimmy Ray's long
criminal record of arrests. It couldn't be introduced at trial. And the reason why his criminal rap sheet couldn't be
introduced at trial is because these aren't convictions. But William Simon says Jimmy Ray's arrests were for
violent crimes. False imprisonment and aggravated assault, aggravated battery with a dangerous weapon, murder. These
are things that the jury had a right to know, but because of the law, they didn't find out.
Jimmy Ray Barnes ultimately took the stand as part of his plea agreement. Jimmy, will you please tell me there
were no cameras in the courtroom. So, this recording is taken from Barnes's police interview conducted by Ward
before the trial. He told the same story when he testified. On the night of the murder, Barnes said
he promised to meet Reed in the parking area outside John's Curb Market where Salonia's body had been found. Oh, when
I got there, he was getting out the little blue car. The blue car was parked there. Barn said Reginald asked for his
help in moving Salonia's body. I said, "No, I I wasn't getting involved in that. He wanted me to move the body and
I didn't want to move and I didn't move the body." Barnes says that Salonia was fully clothed when he saw her and
sitting in the passenger seat. I did see the body in there and uh I paned. My understanding after the fact is that
Jimmy Ray Barnes talked to Reggie and said, "Where's the money? You told me $50,000." He says he never got a penny
of it. Prosecutor Anthony contends that after the men drove away, Reed returned and
staged the crime scene, stripping off Salonia's clothes, covering her with that white lotion, and leaving other
evidence to make it appear as a sex crime. And what does your dad say to that? He say it's completely
BS. You say it's it's no way we were at home playing Nintendo. William Simon had her own theory of what
happened that night. All of the information that we've received about Jimmy Ray Barnes is that he was
borderline obsessed with Salonia. I believe that maybe he encountered her, tried to make a pass at her, that was
rejected, and that's where you see that anger, that rage, that hatred. Sitting through the trial, Reggie
admitted that the relentless focus on his mother's murder was upsetting, especially as he watched that crime
scene video, which he had never seen before. And it really struck a card by just seeing my mother there
um lifeless and just alone and dead. Regginal Reed never took the stand and after less than a week of testimony, the
case went to the jury. Reggie Jr. braced for the verdict. [Music] As a prosecutor, when the jury
deliberates, it's painstaking. You're just waiting and waiting and waiting. Some of Reginal Reed's brothers and
sisters were waiting as well. Kennedy Reed, Belinda Reed Cox, and Claude Reed. Claude, you don't believe your brother
murdered Salonia? No, I don't. I don't believe Reggie did that. My brother is not a murderer. He's
not. But on this day, November 18th, 2022, Reginal Reed was found guilty of seconddegree murder after the jury
deliberated for just over 3 hours. When he was found guilty, I feel like he died
without dying. And I saw myself at that same six-year-old crying out for my dad as I did in that
video. [Music] And I just wanted to end. Reggie tried to recapture the moment his father was
found guilty in his book. My father grabbed me up into a big hug. I wanted to stay there forever. He pulled back
for a moment, looked me in the eyes, and kissed me on the forehead. We embraced once more and then they took him away
from me. I wanted to tell him, "I'm sorry for the loss of your mother. I'm sorry for your
father going to prison." I can't even imagine the grieving process that he's got to gone through. Reggie says sitting
through the trial was excruciating. But when it was over, he still wanted answers.
That's where I passed from. Lieutenant Ward has told you that one of his theories is that your mother may have
been killed in this room. In this room? I just go back thinking of the manner and the way which she was killed.
If she was killed here, how is it possible that they couldn't find anything? I mean, it's
Where was I? Did you leave the house after I fell asleep? questions Reggie cannot answer because
he simply cannot remember. On January 30th, 2023, everyone piled back into the same
courtroom where Reginal Reed was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of
parole. He did not offer any kind of explanation or statement and said nothing. You know, I want justice, but I didn't
think justice was going to come at the price of my dad going to prison for life.
So, my question is, do you believe that your father murdered your mother? I don't
know. Another question. Do I think my dad had some involvement? Maybe. I don't know though. I don't know. So
that's where I'm just It's like a tugof-war game. Just knowing the type of father he
is. I can't just turn a page and just look at my father as a complete monster. Salonia's sister, Gwen Smith, always
believe Reginal was Salonia's killer. Although she and Reggie Jr. are estranged. She still worries about him.
I just kind of feel bad for him, you know, because his mom was taken away from him when he was a little boy. What
do you want people to know about this case? If you could sum it up for me. I know one thing. My brother did not
commit this murder. For Barry Ward, who worked on the Salonia Reed case for a decade, the
conviction was just, and he appreciates that Jimmy Ray Barnes agreed to testify.
Jimmy Ray Barnes was the key. Barnes served his sentence for being an accessory after the fact to murder. He
was freed from prison and shortly after on January 27th, 2024, he was killed in a car accident. He was in Hammond to
attend the funeral of his identical twin. There are several cases throughout my career that stick out to me and this
is probably the the main one. Charles Muse, the Hammond police officer who found Salonia's body, is pleased he
got to see the outcome of the case. I mean, her death, you know, didn't just go and vain. I find some peace in
that. You say that you wish you would have gotten to know her better, but then you realize too, you must, that she's
living through you, that she's here because you're here. Absolutely. And I think about that she's in a place
where she's consistently watching over me. As for Reggie's father, he calls Reggie
from a Louisiana state prison once or twice a week. This call is not private. It will be recorded and may be
monitored. Hey Re. Hey. How you doing, man? Good. How are you? A 48 hours producer was present during a
recent call. Do you think you got a fair trial? No, of course not. Of course not. Was no
evidence. What you got to tell us about your son? Oh, remarkable. I thank the Lord for him
every day that he was able to understand some something that was going on, but that I would never leave him.
These days, Reggie has his own family. His son, Lean, is nearly the age he was when Selonia was killed, and they often
play games just as Reggie did with his [Applause] father. And in January 2024, Reggie and
his wife Paula were blessed with a baby girl. When our daughter was born, we both agreed
there's no other name that we should name her except Salonia. You know, give that name an opportunity to live life
and be recognized in a positive way. Wow. It's beautiful. [Music] Something happened at the house. We are
very worried about your dad. A daughter's forbidden love. There's blood everywhere. Turns deadly. We found
several murder plans. Who's the mastermind of all of this? Where were you? 48 hours is all new CBS next
Saturday, 10:9 central and streaming on Paramount Plus. [Music]

Did a father use his 6-year-old son as an alibi for murder? A son grapples with his parents' troubled past. "48 Hours" contributor Vladimir Duthiers reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

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Brief Summary

The episode details Salonia Reed's murder, the investigation, and Reginald Reed's trial and conviction for her murder.

Key points

A Mother's Love. Reggie reflects on the deep bond he shared with his mother, Salonia.
The Day Everything Changed. Reggie recounts the tragic day his mother went missing, altering his life forever.
New Evidence Emerges. Decades later, new evidence and a fresh investigation bring hope for justice.
A Shocking Offer. Reggie learns of his father's alleged offer to kill his mother, raising suspicions.
The Search for Truth. A new prosecutor reopens the case, determined to uncover the truth behind Salonia's murder.
Barnes' Challenge Accepted. Barnes boldly challenges the indictment, leading to a grand jury's decision.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I feel like I missed out on a huge part of life.

Reggie reflects on his childhood without his mother.

4:54WatchApr 17, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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