GUILTY TX - William Lewis Reece, Serial Killer - Laura Smither, 12, Kelli Cox, 20, and Jessica Cain, 17

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  • #61
 
  • #62
Fox News Houston is reporting that the prosecutor is going before a grand jury Thursday to get an indictment for the murders of Jessica Cain and Laura Smither.

There is a press conference scheduled for 3:30 p.m. to announce the results of the grand jury.

[video=youtu;RDKvK9OepSc]http://youtu.be/RDKvK9OepSc[/video]


 
  • #63
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Man indicted and charged for his role in 1997 murder of two girls
A man already charged with abducting and killing a 19-year-old woman in Oklahoma was indicted Thursday in the 1997 slayings of two girls in Texas.
A Galveston County grand jury indicted William Lewis Reece on murder counts in the deaths of 12-year-old Laura Smither of Friendswood and 17-year-old Jessica Cain of Tiki Island.
 
  • #66
http://www.click2houston.com/news/investigates/remembering-laura-a-20-year-search-for-justice

"FRIENDSWOOD, Texas - On April 3, 1997, a 12-year-old girl by the name of Laura Kate Smither vanished from her Friendswood neighborhood.

Twenty years later, her accused killer is finally facing trial...Not long after Laura's death, the name William Lewis Reece emerged as a suspect. However, it would take nearly 20 years for law enforcement officials to charge him with Laura's murder.

Laura went for a jog on the morning of April 3 and was less than a quarter mile from her home when she vanished. Laura's body was found 17 days later near Pasadena.

Reece did spend the last two decades in prison, but that sentence was for the kidnapping of Sandra Sapaugh in September 1997. Sapaugh escaped Reece and her testimony sealed his fate. Unfortunately for the Smithers, the fog of time left many people with the false impression Reece also went to prison for Laura's murder.

Reece had finally started talking, and not just about Laura. He led detectives to the body of Jessica Cain, who disappeared from La Marque the same year as Laura. Reece also helped police find the the body of Kelli Ann Cox, who also disappeared in 1997 from Denton. Just before these revelations, Reece was charged with the murder of a young girl in Oklahoma. Like the others, Tiffany Johnston was also killed in 1997. KPRC's sources said Reece confessed to the murders.

Reece was indicted for the murders of Laura and Jessica, but has not yet been charged with Kelli Ann Cox's murder. Shortly before these indictments, Reece was extradited to Oklahoma County to stand trial for Johnston's murder. Since prosecutors in that state were the first to file charges, Texas prosecutors made a deal that allowed Reece to be tried there first. Oklahoma prosecutors have not yet said whether they will seek the death penalty."
 
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So he's suspected in four murders and convicted of at least three abductions and sexual assaults, right?

He would have been 20 in the late 1970s. Any chance he's responsible for other Texas Killing Field murders before the abductions that landed him in prison?
 
  • #69
My radar goes off knowing that the guy that was farrier by trade (early in his life) wasn't connected to the Calder road scene, that was adjacent to horse stables.
 
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  • #71
nutkin said:
How is he an example? Name a known victim that was not in their late teens early 20s. There is a huge difference between 12 and 19.

I have always believed, however, that whomever is responsible for the murder of Amber Hagerman in Dallas could be responsible for the murder of Smither, as well.
Click to expand...
I have been doing research on Amber's case and I can't believe that this was not considered. The similarities in Laura Smithers and Ambers cases are unbelievable.
* Both found in small bodies of water
* Both found nude-except for 1 sock
* Both close to same age, 9-12 not far off, IMO
*Both white females, freckles, brown hair
*Both found decapitated (Ambers throat slash was so severe, her head was hanging on to her neck by back skin)
Cleburne Times April 14 2018
*Both found under 10 miles of their abduction locations
*Both bodies dumped near major highways/thoroughfares
*Both abducted in broad daylight

IMO LE have the wrong guy for Smither's death. MOO
 
  • #72
SAMS said:
I have been doing research on Amber's case and I can't believe that this was not considered. The similarities in Laura Smithers and Ambers cases are unbelievable.
* Both found in small bodies of water
* Both found nude-except for 1 sock
* Both close to same age, 9-12 not far off, IMO
*Both white females, freckles, brown hair
*Both found decapitated (Ambers throat slash was so severe, her head was hanging on to her neck by back skin)
Cleburne Times April 14 2018
*Both found under 10 miles of their abduction locations
*Both bodies dumped near major highways/thoroughfares
*Both abducted in broad daylight

IMO LE have the wrong guy for Smither's death. MOO
Click to expand...


I 100% agree with you there. I have always believed Hagerman and Smither were murdered by the same person. And I think they should look at Kevin Edison Smith, who is in prison for murdering Krystal Baker.

The only thing they have linking Reece to Smither's murder is that he was a registered sex offender and was working at construction site nearby. How many registered sex offenders work construction? Probably quite a few considering you generally only need to pass a drug test to get hired. And how many work construction in the Houston area? Many. The Smithers, understandably, wanted answers and they have pushed Reece for years on this. His attorney had to get a judgment so that Friendswood police would stop showing up to interrogate him in prison without his attorney present.

If he is so chatty and willing to take responsibility for all of the other murders, why not Laura too? It honestly makes no sense.
 
  • #73
nutkin said:
I 100% agree with you there. I have always believed Hagerman and Smither were murdered by the same person. And I think they should look at Kevin Edison Smith, who is in prison for murdering Krystal Baker.

The only thing they have linking Reece to Smither's murder is that he was a registered sex offender and was working at construction site nearby. How many registered sex offenders work construction? Probably quite a few considering you generally only need to pass a drug test to get hired. And how many work construction in the Houston area? Many. The Smithers, understandably, wanted answers and they have pushed Reece for years on this. His attorney had to get a judgment so that Friendswood police would stop showing up to interrogate him in prison without his attorney present.

If he is so chatty and willing to take responsibility for all of the other murders, why not Laura too? It honestly makes no sense.
Click to expand...
No sense whatsoever. I need to look into the facts of Krystal Bakers case. Thank you for sharing.
 
  • #74
SAMS said:
No sense whatsoever. I need to look into the facts of Krystal Bakers case. Thank you for sharing.
Click to expand...

I cannot say where Kevin Edison Smith lived from 1996-1997, but I do know that in 1998 he lived in Friendswood and that in the early 2000s, he did live in Arlington/Ft. Worth. He seems very transient and seemed to move around for construction/contract jobs at refineries, often staying in motels. He was staying at America's Best Value Inn in Groves, TX, when he was arrested in 2010. The timeline of where he was staying from 1998-2010 does have plenty of overlaps, so it seems he likely was living in the same areas in the 90s.
 
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The Oklahoman


Widower testifies at admitted serial killer William Lewis Reece's trial
 
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  • #78
Oklahoma County prosecutors filed a felony charge for possession of contraband Tuesday afternoon.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Reece has been in possession of a pink cellphone while in the Oklahoma County Detention Center.

Reece is currently being held in the Oklahoma County Detention Center until his formal sentencing August 19.

According to court records, after detention officers conducted a search of Reece’s cell on July 9, 2021, Reece asked to go to the shower area so he could sit down and change his pants.

When Reece stepped out of the shower and started walking back to his cell, officers said a pink cellphone fell out from his pants leg and landed on the ground.

Court records show the phone appeared to be operational and contained a ''T-Mobile" brand SIM Card.

Officers also reviewed jail calls and claim after the search he made a call in which he told the person on the other end of the line, “I lost my phone.”

It is unclear who Reece was calling from the jail phone or the confiscated phone.
Convicted Killer William Reece Faces New Criminal Charge
 
  • #79
Late Thursday night, after a long day of travel, the parents of Laura Smither landed at Hobby Airport in Houston. They had traveled to Oklahoma to watch the man who confessed to killing their daughter in 1997 be sentenced.

William Reece got the death penalty for the murder of Tiffany Johnston, a separate case in Oklahoma City.

I wouldn’t say I was hoping for it, but it is justice,” said Gay Smither, Laura Smither’s mother. “He is someone who has worked the system.”

Gay Smither, still wearing a gold necklace engraved with Laura Smither’s face around her neck, said she attended the trial in Oklahoma to represent her daughter.

“Just had to see it through, just had to see it through,” Gay Smither said. “I’m glad we went. I’m glad Bob (Laura Smither's father) was able to come this time.

Their daughter was just 12 years old when she went missing in Friendswood. Her body was found two weeks later in a pond. Smither said she hopes their presence in Oklahoma would have an impact on Reece.

“I would hope it would spark his conscience,” Gay Smither said.
Alleged victim's family speaks after confessed serial killer is sentenced to death in another case | khou.com
 
  • #80
Suspected serial killer convicted of 1997 murder to stand trial

On Monday, Texas authorities picked up Reece from the Oklahoma County Detention Center and brought him back to the Friendswood, Texas Police Department, where the police chief said he will stay. Reece has previously been housed there.

In 2016, he admitted to kidnapping and killing 12-year-old Laura Smither, 20-year-old Kelli Cox and 17-year-old Jessica Cain in 1997. The district attorney in Galveston, Texas, said in a statement to KOCO 5 that they "intend to vigorously prosecute Reece and hold him accountable under the law."
 
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