48 Hours - The Day My Mother Never Came Home

Episode Date: January 11, 2026

Did a father use his six-year-old son as an alibi for murder? A son grapples with his parents' troubled past. Vlad Duthiers reports. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My name is Reggie Reed. Salonia 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. Take me back and tell me what you remember about that day. That day, we went to the mall. 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 Reginal. And he asked me, had I seen Salonia? And I said, no, not since yesterday. I was a patrol officer for the Hamilton Police Department.

I was dispatched to a missing persons call on Apple Street in Hammond, Louisiana. The complainant, Reg. 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 persons report. I had received a description of the car from Reginald. 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 Solonia'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 Reginald back.

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

What's your name? When I watched that video over and over again. Okay, the day before Sunday, what did you do? What I see is a six-year-old boy that life had been changed. He doesn't understand the magnitude of it yet. And you're asking me, you're trying to find out who killed my mother. Do you remember seeing her living? You did?

Anytime a young woman Soloni'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 the question why. Vladimir Dutier reports, the day my mother never came home. 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 six 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 short and how my experience was short and I feel empty. Somebody says to you, who is Salonia? What do you say? Someone asks me, who was Salonia? I would say you're looking at her. Because based on description, the memories, and what things people have shared, when I look at 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 was basically flipped upside down. Charles Mews, now retired, was the police officer who found Salonia's body. after taking the initial missing person's report from her husband, Reginald. Solonius' 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'd been sexually assaulted as well. Louisiana State Police Lieutenant Barry Ward would eventually be a signed 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 Johns Car Market. That market was about one and a half miles from the Reed House on Apple Street. At the scene, Officer Mews noticed something else about Salonia's naked body. I did see a substance that had been placed on the body.

It was a white liquid-type substance on her torso and the stomach area. 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. 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 canvassed 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. Solonia and Reginal, 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, Reginald Jr., were going to stay and play video games while she went out to a local bar with her girlfriend. Officer Mews interviewed that friend, who denied she and Solonia, had plans that night. Reginald told police he suspected Solonia 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 coworkers, 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.

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 beanbag intended for his son. Tell me what you remember about that night. 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 stayed home then, my. When little Reggie agrees that everybody stayed home, his father looks at him. Can't everybody see you know of that life? Don't be afraid this, you know, when she's...

No, baby, don't be, don't be afraid. You know, we just talk. We just talk. I don't know. She did. She liked you just, a few more questions. You're right. What's the matter, baby? He said he didn't want to talk to me more.

Oh, you don't want to talk to you? It's the emotional part of it. Okay, that's all right. Look, didn't I tell you before that I'm your phone? I'm your friend. 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 many questions 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 Solonia did not like Jimmy Ray. Apparently she knew Jimmy Ray's voice because 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 Reginald Senior. Jimmy Ray Barnes was an acquaintance of Reginal Reed. He hung out with him. He worked with him. Lieutenant Ward learned about a disturbing incident at a local beach where Solonia 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 deliberate and intentional. She was not a good swimmer, and she said she struggled to make it to the bank.

The next night, her sister Gwen said Solonia became frightened when a relative who was visiting Salonia spotted Jimmy Ray Barnes near her home. And she said Saloni 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 Salonia,

and she ran him off. Ward would learn that Jimmy Ray, along with Reginal, 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. 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 operate in. That was his car. Some two weeks later, police assembled this photo array and showed it to the witness. The witness identified the driver as Reginald 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 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. There's a lot of circumstantial evidence in 1987 that pointed to Reginal Reed and Jimmy Ray Barnes. As far as a smoking gun, 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 Reginald continued to live in Hammond. He even ran for mayor in 1998. R.A.R.R.R.R. 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 Salonia's family, her sisters, I realized how important it was. Before Barry Ward came into the picture, I just felt like nobody cared about Salonius' 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 Solonia. 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 Solonia that paid out more than $700,000. Some of those policies were taken out the same month that Salonia was murdered. Ward wanted to re-interview 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's this coming from? Like, it's been over three decades. You're 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. 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 had he felt was damning. The Texas Ranger asked Reggie about those policies. He showed me a graph, a timeline.

They 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 because I'm like, well, that doesn't look good. I gotta learn what, 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 took out 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 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's cigarette but 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. 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 twin 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 Reginal Reed offered him $50,000 to, quote-unquote, knock off his 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 Reginald. 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're on.

Barnes was ready to talk about Reed without a lawyer. Barnes told Ward that a few days before Solonia 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 means, you took that to mean to kill him. her to murder her.

Right. What was your response to that? Hell no. Did he discuss any money with you? Yeah, he is. He discussed the 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. Yeah. Is that a guess, or is that the amount he offered?

The amount he offered. But Barnes told Ward that he would not repeat the story in court. I don't trust the loan. 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. Would that be fair to say? I don't know if I'm not going to answer that because I know I'm the one that's a 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 Salonia. But Ward said, prosecutors always wanted more. I would get phone calls through the years from prosecutors who had asked. asked me to re-interview 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 35-year-old case? What was the trigger? 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. 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 were 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, 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 layperson, 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 intends will perish return second-degree murder indictments for both Reginald and Jimmy Ray Barnes. Immediately, we went to Resonel'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 Reginald 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 second-degree murder. and conspiracy, along with a co-defendant 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 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. 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. 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. I want to know what happened. Do you have a dark curiosity? Heart starts pounding, horrors, hauntings, and mysteries is a weekly podcast hosted by me, Kailen Moore. Each week, I'll take you on a dark journey through terrifying true urban legends,

bizarre true crime cases, chilling tales of backwoods horror and more. So if you're looking to join a passionate community of the Darkly Curious, Check out Heart Starts Pounding on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. And remember, stay curious. In November 2022, the murder trial of Reginald Reed began in Ameet, 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'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. 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 Saloni 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. 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...

just went and took out policies on Solonia 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 Salonius' 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 Solonius' 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 Salonius' fingernails. They believe that the killer is Mr. Reginald Reed. So anything that goes to contradict that, they're going to completely block out.

William Simon pointed to Jimmy Ray's long criminal record of arrest. 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 arrest 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 Salonius body had been found

Oh, when I got there He was getting out of the little blue car The blue crowd was parked there Barnes said Reginald asked for his help in moving Solonia's body. I said, no, I wasn't getting involved in there. He wanted me to move the body, and I didn't want to move. And I didn't move the body. Barnes says that Solonia was fully clothed when he saw her,

and sitting in the passenger seat. I did see the body in there. And I panicked. 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 Salonius' 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 says it's completely BS. He says 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 passerer 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 eyes. mother they're lifeless and just alone and dead. Reginald 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. 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's not a murderer.

He's not. But on this day, November 18, 2022, Reginald Reed was found guilty of second-degree murder after the jury. deliberated for just over three 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. And I just wanted the 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 have gone through. Reggie says sitting through the trial was excruciating. But when it was over, he still wanted answers. This is my parents' room. 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 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? Questions Reggie cannot answer, because he simply cannot remember. On January 30, 2023, everyone piled back into the same courtroom where Reginald 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. 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 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 a complete monster.

Salonius' sister, Gwen Smith, always believe Reginal was Salonius' 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 27, 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 main one. Charles Mews, 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 bang.

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, Ray. Hey.

How you doing, man? Yeah, how you is? 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. What no evidence? What do you got to tell us about your son? Oh, remarkable.

I think the law for him every day. that he was able to understand something that was going on, but that I would never leave. These days, Reggie has his own family. His son Lathen is nearly the age he was when Solonia 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. When our daughter was born, we both agreed it's no other name that we should name her except Solonia.

You know, give that name an opportunity to live life and be recognized in a positive way. Wow. It's beautiful. Reginald Reed Sr. has filed an appeal. 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.