On Jan. 30, a man was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife nearly four decades ago.
After renewed interest in the case, Reginald Reed was arrested in June 2019 and found guilty of second-degree murder in November 2022.
On Aug. 23, 1987, 26-year-old Selonia Reed’s body was found in the passenger seat of her car in the parking lot of a gas station on East Thomas Street in Hammond. Police reports say that Reed had blunt trauma to her face and several stab wombs on her upper body. She had also been sexually violated with an umbrella.
At the time, Reginald was identified as a primary suspect but was never charged. Locals speculated that he used his political ties to avoid time in jail, and four years after his wife’s death, he ran for mayor Hammond but didn’t win.
In 2011 the case reopened after DNA was found on a cigarette that was in Selonia’s car, which led authorities to believe that Reginald hired Jimmy Barnes to murder his wife.
Barnes was interviewed in Georgia where he confessed to his role in the killing and pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to first-degree murder and was sentenced to five years.
Barnes testified in Reginald’s trial, which helped secure his conviction and life sentence.
