The Day My Mother Never Came Home

Summary

Podcast Summary: "48 Hours" - The Day My Mother Never Came Home

Introduction to the Case

“The Day My Mother Never Came Home” delves into the harrowing true story of Salonia Reed’s murder and the enduring quest for justice by her family. Hosted by CBS News’ Anne-Marie Green, this episode navigates through decades of investigation, familial anguish, and the intricate web of evidence surrounding the tragic event that forever altered the lives of those involved.

The Tragic Night

On August 22, 1987, six-year-old Reggie Reed Jr. recounts the day his mother, Salonia Reed, never returned home from the Hammond Square Mall in Louisiana. Reggie Jr., then a child, vividly remembers the last moments with his mother:

[05:21] Reggie Reed Jr.: "I was only six years old... one of the last things I remember is my mother buying me a chocolate chip cookie."

Later that evening, Salonia left the house briefly, entrusting her son to his father, Reginald Reed Sr., a Marine turned car salesman. However, she never came back.

Discovery and Initial Investigation

Hammond Police Officer Charles Muse responded to the missing persons report filed by Reginald Reed. Upon locating Salonia’s car on Apple Street, Muse found her lifeless body inside:

[02:13] Reggie Reed Jr.: "Walked up to the car and noticed Salonia's body inside the car. It was very, very, very obvious that she was deceased."

Lieutenant Barry Ward, later assigned to the case, described his immediate reaction:

[02:55] Lt. Barry Ward: "It was pretty apparent to me right away that whoever did this homicide Hated this woman."

Suspicion and Scrutiny

As investigators pieced together the evidence, suspicions began to fall on Reginald Reed and his acquaintance, Jimmy Ray Barnes. Key findings included:

• Insurance Policies: Reggie Sr. had taken out life insurance policies on Salonia, totaling over $700,000, shortly before her death.

• Cigarette Butt Evidence: A Winston cigarette butt found in Salonia's car linked to Jimmy Ray Barnes, whose identical twin, Billy Ray Barnes, was initially mistaken for him in a DNA match.

• Behavioral Clues: Neighbors and family noted personal issues within the Reed marriage, including allegations of physical abuse and talks of divorce.

Family Perspective

Reggie Reed Jr., now an adult, expresses the deep emotional toll his mother’s murder has had on him:

[05:02] Reggie Reed Jr.: "It's been decades since I last saw my mother... I feel like I missed out on a huge part of life that I'll never get back."

In his memoir, The Day My Mother Never Came Home, Reggie Jr. reflects on the lasting impact of his loss:

[06:06] Reggie Reed Jr.: "If someone asks me, who is Salonia? I would say you looking at her... when I look in the mirror, I see my mother."

Renewed Investigation and Breakthroughs

Decades later, in 2011, Lieutenant Barry Ward reopened the case, uncovering the suspicious insurance policies and pushing for advanced DNA testing on the cigarette butt evidence. This led to a breakthrough when Jimmy Ray Barnes became a prime suspect after admitting:

[22:01] Jimmy Ray Barnes: "Reginald Reed offered me $50,000 to, quote, 'knock off' his wife."

Despite initially passing a polygraph test, Barnes’ confession became pivotal in building the case against both him and Reginald Reed.

Indictment and Trial

In June 2019, more than 30 years after the murder, Reginald Reed was indicted for second-degree murder and conspiracy, alongside Jimmy Ray Barnes, who had agreed to plead guilty to being an accessory after the fact. The trial, commencing in November 2022, presented a case heavily reliant on circumstantial evidence:

[32:14] Lt. Barry Ward: "My theory was that Salonia and Reginald were in a marriage that was about to come to an end... I think that's why he killed this woman."

Despite the lack of direct evidence such as the murder weapon or DNA linking Reed directly to the crime, the prosecution emphasized the financial motives and the abysmal state of the Reed marriage.

Verdict and Aftermath

After less than a week of testimony, the jury convicted Reginald Reed of second-degree murder on November 18, 2022:

[38:01] Reggie Reed Jr.: "Three hours when he was found guilty. I feel like he died without dying... I just wanted to end."

Despite the conviction, Reggie Jr. remains conflicted:

[40:22] Reggie Reed Jr.: "Do I think my dad had some involvement? Maybe. I don't know though... I can't just turn a page and just look at my father as a complete monster."

Jimmy Ray Barnes, having served his sentence, was tragically killed in a car accident in January 2024 while attending his identical twin’s funeral.

Looking Forward

Reggie Reed Jr. continues to seek closure through his writing and reflections on the case, while Lieutenant Barry Ward stands by the conviction as a just outcome, despite lingering questions from the family:

[42:17] Reggie Reed Jr.: "I find some peace in that... she's in a place where she's consistently watching over me."

The episode concludes by highlighting the enduring quest for truth and justice, emphasizing the profound effects of unresolved trauma and the relentless pursuit of answers by those left behind.

Conclusion

“The Day My Mother Never Came Home” is a poignant exploration of loss, suspicion, and the complexities of seeking justice years after a tragic event. Through meticulous storytelling and emotional interviews, 48 Hours paints a vivid picture of a family's enduring struggle to understand and find peace in the aftermath of unspeakable loss.

Transcript

[Jill]

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[Reggie Reed Jr.]

My name is Reggie Reed. Celonia Reed is my mother and Reginald Reed Sr. 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.

[Narrator]

Take me back and tell me what you remember about that day.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

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.

[Jill]

My beeper went off and it was Reginald and he asked me had I seen Salonia and I said no, not since yesterday.

[Narrator]

I was a patrol officer for the Hammond Police Department. I was dispatched to a missing persons.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Call on Apple street in Hammond, Louisiana. The complainant, Reginald 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 Reginald and I started to drive up 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.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

Salonia was 26 years old at the time. When I watched the crime scene video and saw Salonia'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.

[Jill]

So I called Reginald back. I says, Reginald, 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.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I was interviewed after she was murdered as a six year old. Okay, can you tell me your name?

[Jill]

What's your name?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

When I watched that video over and over again, okay, the day before Sunday.

[Jill]

What was he doing?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

What I see is a six year old boy, that their life had been changed. He doesn't understand the magnitude of it yet. And you asking me, you trying to find out who killed my mother?

[Jill]

Do you remember seeing her? Lady, you did.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

Anytime a young woman Saloni'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.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

From that day on, my life changed from forever. It just begs the question why?

[Narrator]

Vladimir dutier reports. The day my mother never came home.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

After my mother was murdered, things moved fast. Couldn't really understand, like why would somebody kill her? Like, what did she do?

[Narrator]

It's been decades since Reggie Reed Jr. Last saw his mother, Salonia.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I feel like I missed out on a huge part of life that I'll never get back.

[Narrator]

Reggie was only six years old on August 22, 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?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

When I think about how my mother's life was shortened and how my experience was shortened, I feel empty.

[Narrator]

Somebody says to you, who is Salonia? What do you say?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

If someone asks 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.

[Narrator]

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.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

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.

[Narrator]

Charles Muse, now retired, was the police Officer who found Solonia's body after taking the initial missing persons report from her husband, Reginald Reed.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Salonia's body was in between the bucket seats of the car with her torso over into the back seat of the car.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

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.

[Narrator]

Louisiana State Police Lt. Barry Ward would eventually be assigned to the case years later. He was only 16 years old when Solonia was murdered in 1987.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

I was a sophomore in Marshall County High School in Western Kentucky.

[Narrator]

When he eventually did pick up the case file, he took note of the lack of blood in the car.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

It would suggest that she was murdered in another location and then transported to where her body was later discovered at the Johns Curb Market.

[Narrator]

That market was about one and a half miles from the Reed house on Apple Street. At the scene, Officer Muse noticed something else about Salonia's naked body.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I did see a substance that had been placed on the body. It was a white liquid type substance on her torso and stomach area.

[Narrator]

Police believe the white lotion may have spelled out a word, but if there was a message, it had become illegible in the Louisiana heat.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

The windows were rolled up. It was August at the time. It was very hot out.

[Narrator]

Detectives bagged any potential evidence, including the butt of a cigarette, a Winston cigarette. Police canvassed the area, but Ward says they didn't find any eyewitnesses or a murder weapon.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

The following day, On Monday the 24th, a neighbor went to his mailbox and discovered a crucifix and a screwdriver.

[Narrator]

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 was early in the investigation and detectives looked at all the angles, including Solonia's job at Citizens National Bank.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

She was a teller in the commercial section. She was described as being polite, kind, had a nice smile.

[Narrator]

Here she is taking part in a community fashion show just one week before her murder.

[Jill]

She's wearing tied to her big.

[Narrator]

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.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

And his son Reginald Jr. Were going to stay and play video games while she went out to a local bar with her girlfriend.

[Narrator]

Officer Muse interviewed that Friend who denied she and Salonia 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.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

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.

[Narrator]

The day after her body was found, investigators searched the family home on Apple Street.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

The chief of police said that when he went in, it smelled like bleach in the house.

[Narrator]

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. Reginald 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.

[Jill]

Tell me what you remember about that night.

[Narrator]

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?

[Jill]

Did anybody leave? Anybody stayed home that night?

[Narrator]

When little Reggie agrees that everybody stayed home, his father looks at him.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

Everybody.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Everybody stay home that night. Don't be afraid.

[Jill]

Just, you know, when she. Don't be afraid.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

We just talking.

[Jill]

I don't want to talk. She did.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

She likes you. Just a few more questions.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

You read.

[Jill]

What's the matter, baby?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

He said he didn't want to talk no more. Oh, you don't want to talk no more?

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

It's just emotional part of it.

[Jill]

Okay, that's all right. Look, didn't I tell you before that I'm your friend? Oh, he's here, baby. Okay, darling. I won't talk no more. You don't have to.

[Narrator]

I just can't imagine what it's like as a six year old to have to sit there and.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Looking at that. It's still hard to believe that that's me. Watching that video just brings back so. So many questions and pain because I see me crying.

[Narrator]

In the aftermath of Salonia's murder, her family came forward with more information, some of it directed at one of Reginald'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 Solonia did not like Jimmy Ray.

[Jill]

Apparently, she knew Jimmy Ray's voice because she started screaming, come inside. I don't trust him. So she was scared of the missing child? Is Lucia Blix, 9 years old.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Please let her come back home safely.

[Jill]

April 16th.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

The kidnappers plundered meticulously.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

If money is what it takes to.

[Jill]

Get her back, we're gonna pay it. The secrets they hide.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

You can't talk about this.

[Narrator]

You can't write about it.

[Jill]

Are the clues.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

The mother's hiding something. I know it.

[Jill]

To find her, tell me where she is. The Stolen girl series premiere April 16 on Freeform and stream on Hulu.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

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[Jill]

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[Narrator]

In the days after Salonia's murder, there was one name police kept hearing. Jimmy Ray Barnes. A friend of Reginald Sr. Jimmy Ray.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

Barnes was an acquaintance of Reginald Reed. He hung out with him. He worked with him.

[Narrator]

Lt. Ward learned about a disturbing incident at a local beach where Salonia was swimming with little Reggie just down days before the murder.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

They were on inner tubes. Jimmy flipped Salonia over. She didn't feel that it was a playful thing. She felt that it was deliberate and intentional. She was not a good swimmer, and she said she struggled to make it.

[Narrator]

To the bank the next night. Her sister Gwen said Salonia became frightened when a relative who was visiting Celonia spotted Jimmy Ray Barnes near her home.

[Jill]

And she said Saloni went into hysterics, like, no, no, don't go out there. Don't go out there.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

And within a few moments, Jimmy Ray Barnes walked around the corner of the house. Jimmy told her that he was checking on Salonia, and she ran him off.

[Narrator]

Ward would learn that Jimmy Ray, along with Reginald, came under even more scrutiny. Two days after the murder, a witness came forward to say she had seen two men around John's Curb Market on the night Salonia was murdered.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

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 Reginald Reed was known to operate in. That was his car.

[Narrator]

Some two weeks later, police assembled this photo array and showed it to the witness.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

The witness identified the driver as Reginald Reed and the passenger as Jimmy Ray Barnes.

[Narrator]

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 Solonia's murder, but neighbors told police the marriage was trouble. Family members say Solonia 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.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

There's a lot of circumstantial evidence in 1987 that pointed to Reginald Reed and Jimmy Ray Barnes. As far as a smoking gun, it was not there at that time.

[Jill]

I started feeling like nothing was going to be done about her murder and we would not get justice.

[Narrator]

Time passed, and Reginald continued to live in Hammond. He even ran for mayor in 1998.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

Ral.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Reggie Reed, number eight. You can count on me.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

Thank you.

[Narrator]

He lost that race, but he and little Reggie stayed in the family home, which today has fallen into disrepair.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

So this is it.

[Narrator]

What's it like for you to just come back here? I know you don't like to, but what does it feel like?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

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.

[Narrator]

When you were playing Nintendo with your father the night that your mother was murdered, Was that here?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

That was in this room.

[Narrator]

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 Lt. Barry Ward of the Louisiana State Police got involved.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

After I started interacting with Salonia's family, her sisters, I realized how important it.

[Jill]

Was before Barry Ward came into the picture. I just felt like nobody cared about Salonia's case.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

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 Slonia.

[Narrator]

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 Reginald had taken out on Salonia that paid out more than $700,000. Some of those policies were taken out the same month that Solonia was murdered. Ward wanted to reinterview Reggie Jr. In 2012, Reggie was 31 years old and living in Texas. Ward sent a Texas Ranger to begin the questioning.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

He told me why he was here, and it was to discuss my mother's murder.

[Narrator]

And the Ranger then told Reggie something he said he'd never heard before.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

He was not aware that his father was a suspect in the murder of his mother.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

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 will surface? And it was nothing new.

[Narrator]

It's true that the insurance policies had been discovered by the Original detectives, but Lt. Ward had organized them in a way that he felt was damning. The Texas Ranger asked Reggie about those policies.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

He showed me a graph, a timeline. They show these insurance policies that were taken out close to her death.

[Narrator]

Did you all of a sudden say, I need to get to the bottom of this or what?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

It was eye opening because I'm like, well, that doesn't look good. I gotta learn more. Like, what's all this?

[Narrator]

Reggie struggled to make sense of it all.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I did talk to my dad about it over the phone, and his response was he took out policies on everyone.

[Narrator]

Reggie said he finds it hard to square what the investigation revealed with the loving father who raised him.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I look back, I'm like, man, he really. He really did do some great stuff for me. He was a great provider.

[Narrator]

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, codis, but not to Jimmy Ray.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

It came back to a man by the name of Billy Ray Barnes.

[Narrator]

Billy Ray was Jimmy Ray's identical twin brother. And the DNA supervisor had another surprise.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

He let me know that identical twins share identical DNA.

[Narrator]

Lt. 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]

Jimmy Ray Barnes did tell me that Reginald reed offered him $50,000 to, quote, unquote, knock off his wife.

[Narrator]

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 he'd fled Hammond because he was afraid of Reginald Reed. Barnes said back then he'd been shot at three times and hit once in the neck. Barnes suspected the shooter was Reginald, but had no proof.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

Jimmy said he was known to carry a gun, but you fast forward 25 now, 30 years. Reginald Reed was now an old man.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

We are on.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

Okay.

[Narrator]

Barnes was ready to talk about Reed without a lawyer.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I ain't got Nothing to hide.

[Narrator]

Barnes told Ward that a few days before Celonia was killed, Reed asked him if he would, quote, knock off his wife.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

Reginald asked you if you would, quote, by your term, knock off his wife. And that mean you took that to mean to kill her, to murder her?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Right.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

What was your response to that? Hell, no. Did he discuss any money with you?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Yeah, he had. You discussed the money?

[Narrator]

Ward pressed Barnes to tell him how much money.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

More than 5,000?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

More than 10,000?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

More than 50,000. 50,000. He offered you $50,000? Is that a guess or is that the amount he offered?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

That's the amount he offered.

[Narrator]

But Barnes told Ward that he would not repeat the story in court.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I don't trust the loan no more.

[Narrator]

Ward confronted Barnes about that possibility. 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.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

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 gonna pass that polygraph test. Would that be fair to say?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I don't know. I'm not gonn. I know I'm the one who took the polygraph test.

[Narrator]

Ward believed he had a solid case to finally bring charges. He had Jimmy Ray's DNA connected to the crime scene and his videotaped statement about reggie offering him $50,000 to kill Salonia. But Ward said prosecutors always wanted more.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

I would get phone calls through the years from prosecutors who had asked me to re interview family members, find out additional information, test more evidence. It was busy work.

[Narrator]

Then in 2018, a newly hired prosecutor, Taylor Anthony, got assigned the case. Why reopen a 35 year old case? What was the trigger?

[Lt. Barry Ward]

Well, why reopen? 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.

[Narrator]

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.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

My initial response was to just get this guy off the phone.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

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.

[Narrator]

But Anthony was undeterred and promised Ward that this time things would be different.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

I think he saw what I saw. I think that made all the difference in the world.

[Narrator]

Like Ward, Anthony was sure Jimmy Ray Barnes knew a lot more. So he and Ward took a road trip to Atlanta.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

We were able to locate Jimmy. He was staying in the 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, hey, who y'all looking for? I said, you, Jimmy? And he goes, oh, you again.

[Narrator]

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 layperson, you offered him a deal.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

So I offered him what I would say would be the golden ticket.

[Narrator]

But Barnes rejected the offer.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

He did not trust me. He did not believe me. He did not want to talk to us.

[Narrator]

Ward and Anthony were about to drive back to Louisiana when Barnes said something that took them by surprise.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

As Barry and I were getting back in 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.

[Narrator]

Anthony was quick to take him up on that challenge.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

A couple of weeks later, grand jury in tangible parish return 2nd degree murder indictments for both Reginald 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.

[Narrator]

The date was June 21, 2019, more than 30 years after Salonia's murder.

[Jill]

When Reginald was arrested, it was like. It was like a burden just got my chest. Like a burden was lifted off.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I got a call that my father was indicted for second degree murder and conspiracy, along with a co defendant for my mother's murder.

[Narrator]

Reggie Jr. Put up his father's $250,000 bail bond.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

My dad being my rock for so many years, I felt the need to try to help him.

[Narrator]

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?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Yeah, I asked him. I asked him. And he maintains his innocence.

[Narrator]

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.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

So Barry and I went and met with him again. 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 five year prison sentence.

[Narrator]

The homicide trial of Reginald 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.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I want to know what happened.

[Jill]

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[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Tell you a little bit about our podcast Psychopedia.

[Jill]

It's true crime infused with comedy, making.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

It a crimedy and that is our word. Thank you. We made it up.

[Jill]

I do extensive investigative research and go deep into the darkest corners of the.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

Human psyche and I'm just here to lighten things up a little bit with.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Humor, baby, you know, Never at the.

[Jill]

Expense of the victims though, obviously. Come join our family of little psychos.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

Over on Psychopedia, available on the Odyse.

[Jill]

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[Narrator]

In November 2022, the murder trial of Reginald Reed began in Amite, 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 Solonia?

[Jill]

Their entire case is circumstantial, William Simon says.

[Narrator]

The state's case was weak. There was no murder weapon, no fingerprints or DNA tying Reed to Salonia's homicide.

[Jill]

I was confused as to how they were really going to prove their case. There's no direct evidence.

[Narrator]

But prosecutor Taylor Anthony believed his prosecution would deliver justice to Salonia.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

The reason I became a prosecutor is to fight for people like This I see a woman whose body's 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.

[Narrator]

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?

[Lt. Barry Ward]

My theory was that Salonia and Reginald were in a marriage that was about to come to an end. There was a history of abuse and that Solonia 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.

[Narrator]

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?

[Jill]

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.

[Narrator]

Only Prosecutor Anthony was frank with jurors, telling them that the state would not produce a murder weapon or the exact location where Solonia was stabbed. He focused on what the prosecution did have, including that white lotion found on Salonia's body.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

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.

[Narrator]

The prosecutor also showed jurors a photograph of some scratches on Reed's neck taken on the day Salonia's body was found.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

They wanted to take photographs of his neck, and he was very hesitant, Anthony said.

[Narrator]

Reid 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 Solonia's fingernails.

[Jill]

They believe that the killer is Mr. Reginald Reed. So anything that goes to contradict that, they're gonna completely block out.

[Narrator]

William Simon pointed to Jimmy Ray's long criminal record of arrest.

[Jill]

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.

[Narrator]

But William Simon says Jimmy Ray's arrests.

[Jill]

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.

[Narrator]

Jimmy Ray Barnes ultimately took the stand as part of his plea agreement.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

Jimmy, will you please tell me.

[Narrator]

There were no cameras in the courtroom. So this recording is taken from Barnes 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 Stalloneus body had been found.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

When I got there, he was getting out of the blue car. The blue car was parked there.

[Narrator]

Barnes said Reginald asked for his help in moving Salonia's body.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I said no, I wasn't getting involved in that. He wanted me to move the body and I. I didn't want to move and I didn't move the body.

[Narrator]

Barnes says that Solonia was fully clothed when he saw her and sitting in the passenger seat.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I did see the body in there and I panicked.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

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.

[Narrator]

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?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

He says completely B.S. he says, it's no way we were at home playing Nintendo.

[Narrator]

William Simon had her own theory of what happened that night.

[Jill]

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.

[Narrator]

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.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

And it really struck a chord by just seeing my mother there, lifeless and just alone and dead.

[Narrator]

Reginald Reed never took the stand. And after less than a week of testimony, the case went to the jury. Reggie Jr. Brace for the verdict.

[Jill]

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[Lt. Barry Ward]

As a prosecutor, when the jury deliberates, it's painstaking. You're just waiting and waiting and waiting.

[Narrator]

Some of Reginald 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 Zallonia?

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

No, I don't.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I don't believe Reggie did that.

[Jill]

My brother is not a murderer. He's not.

[Narrator]

But on this day, November 18, 2022, Reginald Reed was found guilty of second degree murder. After the jury deliberated for just over.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Three hours when he was found guilty. I feel like he died without dying. And I saw myself at that same 6 year old crying out for my dad, as I did in that video. I just wanted to end.

[Narrator]

Reggie tried to recapture the moment his father was found guilty in his book.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

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.

[Lt. Barry Ward]

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 go through.

[Narrator]

Reggie says sitting through the trial was excruciating. But when it was over, he still wanted answers.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

This is my parents room.

[Narrator]

Lt. Ward has told you that one of his theories is that your mother.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

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? Where was I? Did you leave the house after I fell asleep?

[Narrator]

Questions Reggie cannot answer because he simply cannot remember. On January 30, 2023, everyone piled back into the same courtroom where Reginald 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.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

You know, I want justice, but I didn't think justice was gonna come at the price of my dad going to prison for life.

[Narrator]

So my question is, do you believe that your father murdered your mother?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

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 tug of 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.

[Narrator]

Celonia's sister, Gwen Smith, always believed Reginald was Celonia's killer. Although she and Reggie Jr are estranged, she still worries about him.

[Jill]

I just kind of felt bad for him, you know, because his mom was taken away from him when he was a little boy.

[Narrator]

What do you want people to know about this case? If you could sum it up for me.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I know one thing. My brother did not commit this murder.

[Narrator]

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]

Jimmy Ray Barnes was the king.

[Narrator]

Barnes served his sentence for being an accessory after the fact to murder. He was freed from prison, and Shortly after, on January 27, 2024, he was killed in a car accident. He was in Hammond to attend the funeral of his identical tw.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

There are several cases throughout my career that stick out to me, and this is probably the main one.

[Narrator]

Charles Muse, the Hammond police officer who found Salonia's body, is pleased he got to see the outcome of the case.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

I mean, her death, you know, didn't just go in vain. I find some peace in that.

[Narrator]

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.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Absolutely. And I think about that she's in a place where she's consistently watching over me.

[Narrator]

As for Reggie's father, he calls Reggie from a Louisiana state prison once or twice a week.

[Jill]

This call is not private. It will be recorded and may be monitored.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Hey, Reg. Hey, how you doing, man? Good. How are you?

[Narrator]

A 48 hours producer was present during a recent call.

[Jill]

Do you think you got a fair trial?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

No, of course not.

[Narrator]

Of course not.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Wasn't no evidence.

[Jill]

What you gotta tell us about your son?

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

Oh, remarkable. I thank the Lord for him every.

[Jimmy Ray Barnes]

Day that he was able to understand.

[Narrator]

Some things that was going on, but.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

That I would never leave him.

[Narrator]

These days, Reggie has his own family. His son Lathan is nearly the age he was when Celonia was killed. And they often play games, just as Reggie did with his father. And in January 2024, Reggie and his wife Paula were blessed with a baby girl.

[Reggie Reed Jr.]

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.

[Narrator]

That's beautiful. Reginald Reed Sr. Has filed an appeal.

[Jill]

Join me Tuesday for postmortem from 48 hours, where we'll dive even deeper into today's episode and answer your questions about the case.