Reginald Reed Jr., often called Reggie, spent greater than twenty years questioning who killed his mom, Selonia Reed, when he was solely 6 years previous. Selonia, a financial institution teller, was 26 when her physique was present in her automobile in Hammond, Louisiana.
One of many final recollections Reggie has of that day is his mom shopping for him a chocolate chip cookie on the Hammond Sq. Mall. He additionally remembers her kissing him goodbye however all the things else is a blur.
“48 Hours” and contributor Vladimir Duthiers examine what occurred within the many years that adopted in “The Day My Mom By no means Got here House,” now streaming on Paramount+.
Fb
It was a sizzling summer time day in August 1987 when Selonia’s physique was discovered inside her blue Chevy Dash in a parking space about one-and-a-half miles from the Reed house. Police mentioned she had been bludgeoned, stabbed a number of instances and stripped bare. It was clear, police mentioned, that she was sexually assaulted.
Selonia’s husband Reginald Reed Sr. had reported her lacking an hour or so earlier than her physique was discovered. Reginald informed police on the morning of Aug. 23, 1987, that Selonia informed him she was going out with a girlfriend the evening earlier than. That girlfriend later informed police the 2 had “no plans” to exit that evening, however Reginald caught to his story.
Because the investigation unfolded, police discovered that Selonia had informed family that Reginald was bodily abusive and had talked about getting a divorce. He grew to become an early suspect, however none of that suspicion reached the ears of Reggie, who was solely a toddler.
Louisiana State Police 
Reggie was questioned by police after they acquired permission from his father. The police videotaped Reggie’s interview with a police detective whereas his father sat subsequent to him. He vouched for his father’s model of occasions, saying the 2 of them spent the night enjoying video video games and sleeping in the identical couch mattress. In impact, Reggie grew to become his father’s alibi. Years later, Reggie seen that interview and have become emotional when he noticed his 6-year-old self crying that he wished his “mommy” and “daddy.”
“I simply cannot think about what it is like as a 6-year-old to have to sit down there,” mentioned Duthiers.
” that, it is nonetheless laborious to imagine that that is me,” mentioned Reggie. “Watching that video simply brings again so … so many questions and — and ache as a result of … I see me crying.”
Reggie wrote a memoir about his experiences titled, “The Day My Mom By no means Got here House.”
Reggie had no concept that his father was the prime suspect within the case till 25 years later in 2012 when a Texas Ranger confirmed up at his house. By then, Reggie was 31, had graduated faculty and was working for a pharmaceutical firm close to San Antonio.
“I used to be like, the place’s this coming from?” Reggie informed “48 Hours.” “I keep in mind asking, is there any new proof that was surfaced?”
However over the following few years, the brand new lead investigator within the case, Lt. Barry Ward of the Louisiana State Police, was capable of provide you with new proof. Finally, it was sufficient that Reginald and an alleged confederate have been indicted for second-degree homicide.
The confederate, a good friend of Reginald named Jimmy Ray Barnes, agreed to testify in opposition to Reginald in trade for a five-year jail sentence. In November 2022, Reginald Reed Sr. was discovered responsible of second-degree homicide for killing Selonia Reed and was later sentenced to life in jail.
Ward informed Reggie that police imagine Reginald doubtless murdered Selonia of their bed room whereas Reggie slept. Detectives imagine he then positioned her physique in her automobile and drove to the spot the place it was discovered. Reginald’s co-conspirator Jimmy Ray Barnes testified at trial that he met Reginald on the crime scene and noticed Reginald in that automobile subsequent to Selonia’s physique.
To today, Reggie continues to query his father’s guilt.
“I would like justice, however I did not assume justice was gonna come on the value of my dad going to jail for all times,” Reggie informed Duthiers who requested: “Do you imagine that your father murdered your mom?”
“I do not know … one other query — do I feel my dad had some involvement? Perhaps. I do not know although. I do not know. In order that’s the place I am simply, it is like a tug-of-war recreation.”
Reggie mentioned he struggles to sq. what the state claims with the daddy he knew. Reggie appreciates that his father was loving to him, put him by non-public college and raised him to be the person he’s as we speak.
“Simply understanding the kind of father he’s,” Reggie mentioned. “I am unable to simply flip a web page and simply have a look at my father as an entire monster.”
