Cold Case Files - Murder in the Bayou: The Devil in Hammond

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

When a young mother, Selonia Reed, 26, is found brutally murdered in her car, detectives turn over every rock in small town Hammond, Louisiana in search of her killer. Selonia's case languishes for more than 30 years before justice is finally served.Homes.com: We’ve done your homework.Hungryroot: Go to Hungryroot.com/coldcase and use code coldcase to get 40% off your first box and a free time of your choiceProgressive: Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.Quince: Go to Quince.com/coldcase for free shipping on your order and 365-day returnsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, cold case listeners. I'm Marissa Pinson. And if you're enjoying this show, I just want to remind you that episodes of cold case files as well as the A&E classic podcasts, I survived, American justice and city confidential are all available ad free on the new A&E crime and investigation channel on Apple podcasts and Apple plus for just $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. And now on to the show. a month or $39.99 a year. And now onto the show. This program contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. — Salonia was so sweet like a magnolia flower. To be killed the way she was killed, I just know she was scared to death.

— As a six-year-old boy, I was like, mommy's dead? My mommy's dead? my mommy's dead. In our little bayou country, people were panicking. This never happens here. There's a lot of alarms going off to police. There's a lot of red flags popping up. No one had ever heard of people being stabbed in such a way. That many wounds, that much blood.

It's one thing to kill, but it's a whole nother level to desecrate, humiliate a person that way. This was very dark and very creepy and people thought, what kind of monster would do this? And is he still out there? He's a cold, bloody killer. There are over 100,000 cold cases in America. Only about 1% are ever solved.

This is one of those rare stories. It's a blistering summer morning. The sun cuts through the cypress trees as police get an emergency call from a panicked resident. Barry Ward is a lieutenant with the Louisiana State Police. On the morning of August 23rd, 1987, Residental Reed telephoned the Hammond Police Department that his wife, Salonia Reed, had not come home from a night out. She had gone to a local bar with friends, and when he awoke the next

morning, he discovered her missing. The Hammond police dispatched a police officer. He met with Reginald, and then began to canvas the area. As they were investigating, police got a call from a gentleman who discovered some contents of a purse, some credit cards, ID, and some checks. The checks had Sloania Reed's name, ID, and some checks. The checks had Salonia Reed's name, address,

and phone number. Just a couple of blocks from where the purse was found is the John's Curve Market. And in that open parking lot was, in Plainview, a 1986 blue Chevy Sprint two-door vehicle. They called in the license plate, and it came back registered to Salonia Reed. The officer looked into the passenger side window and saw the deceased body of Salonia Reed.

Taylor Anthony is an assistant district attorney. Salonia's body was beaten. She was stabbed in the chest, neck area. Her face was bludgeoned in. Her body was stripped naked. There's also a large amount of a white substance that was covering her body. H.L. Arledge is an investigative journalist. The police thought it had one time had been a word.

Unfortunately, in the hot sun, as this white substance smeared with the blood, they couldn't read it. This wasn't a random killing. This was the work of a very angry person that wanted to humiliate, embarrass, and desecrate her in the last moments that she had on Earth. As the forensics team pieces together clues at the crime scene, officers deliver the heartbreaking news

to Salonia Reed's family. Gwen Smith is Salonia Reed's sister. I was at Saloni and Regina's house the morning the police came and told us that they had found Lonnie in her car. I mean, I was just sick, hurt to be killed the way she was killed. I just know she was scared to death. From an early age, Salonia Lonnieeed was a quiet girl with big dreams. There was five girls in the family. I was the oldest girl and Saloni was the fourth girl.

Saloni was always quiet and very lovable, very giving. Loney was the mama's girl, for sure. Claudette Reed Matthews is Solonia Reed's sister-in-law. Solonia, she had a beautiful smile, you know, and she was just outgoing. Solonia was a beautiful person. In the spring of 1980, while attending southeastern Louisiana University, Solonia meets Reginald Reed. He's a former Marine from a prominent Bayou family. A romance blossoms under the hot Louisiana sun.

When Lonnie met Reginald, she thought he was just like gorgeous and she just fell head over heel in love with him. They were with each other all the time. I mean, when you would see them together, they were the perfect couple, Lonnie and Reginald. The very first time I met Solonni, we'd just come home from Mass. We thought she was really nice. In the blink of an eye, Reginald and Solonni are married. They move into a modest home on Apple Street. Soon after, the young couple welcome a son, whom they name Reggie Jr. Salonia was excited about being a mom. After little Reggie was born, she was very happy.

She loved that boy so much. Every Sunday, she would take him to the library and redo him. Salonia was a fantastic mother. In the hours after Saloni's body is discovered, police search for evidence. Police collected everything that was in the vehicle. They collected all of Saloni's clothing.

There was miscellaneous contents along the floorboard, and there was a Winston cigarette. But Saloni Reed was not a smoker, neither was her husband. Her family and her co-workers said she kept her vehicle spotless and she did not like the smell of cigarette smoke. Maybe we can find someone that smokes those specific types of cigarettes. So it was bagged and processed for evidence. As the investigation deepens, detectives get statements from Salonia's loved ones about their whereabouts the night she was murdered.

Traditionally, police always begin with the significant other, the person closest to the victim. According to Reginald, his wife was going out with her coworkers, and he was home with Reggie Jr. playing video games all night and when he awoke the next morning she was missing. Reggie Reed Jr. is Salonia Reed's son. Next morning woke up mom wasn't there. I remember that family was over and overheard one of my uncles talking about

the death of my mother. And I kind of repeated like, mommy's dead. My mommy's dead. And that's when world just stopped. I remember that I was being consoled by my dad on his lap. The next day detectives learn more about Solonius cause of death when the medical examiner's autopsy report hits their desk. — Salonia suffered 16 different stab wounds in her neck, chest area.

The wounds were described as long puncture circular wounds, larger than a ice pick, more like a small screwdriver. Unfortunately, investigators weren't able to pin down a murder weapon at the crime scene. So the autopsy ultimately led to more questions than answers. investigators weren't able to pin down a murder weapon at the crime scene. So the autopsy ultimately led to more questions than answers. There was no evidence of any defensive wounds on her hands. So maybe she was taken by surprise or she was near someone whom she thought she could trust and they got the jump on her.

It's one thing to take a person's life. It's a whole nother level to desecrate and humiliate a person that way. So who killed Salonia Reed? As a six-year-old boy, waking up on a random Sunday morning and to get the news of Mommy's dead is a whole nother ballgame. The way my mother was taken away from this earth, someone deliberately took her life. I just want to know why. With the close-knit town of Hammond on edge, investigators turned to Salonia's family

for more clues. Her sisters recall an odd incident that happened the week before Salonia was murdered. My sister Jackie stayed a couple nights with Lonnie since Reginald was out of town. So that particular night, about 10 o'clock, Jackie was going to go out and smoke a cigarette. As she opened the door to go out, there was a guy, I mean like right there. Jackie said, what are you doing here? Who are you? And he told her, it's Jimmy Ray.

He steps out of the shadows and scares her to no end. He just kind of lurked in her yard and stared at her. At that time, the door opens. Salonia comes out and says, what are you doing out here? And starts screaming. Salonia was terrified that somebody was watching her, and she was afraid. And Jimmy told them that he was there to check on Salonia.

And Jackie responded to him that Salonia was a grown woman and didn't need to be checked on, and she ran him off. At the time that the incident occurred, this would have been three days before the murder of Salonia Reed. Jimmy Ray lived not far from where the incident occurred, this would have been three days before the murder of Sloan Eerie. Jimmy Ray lived not far from where Lonnie and Reginald lived. We knew him from the neighborhood. He was a weird guy, very, very weird.

And ever since then, we kind of thought Jimmy Ray was involved. So Jimmy Ray Barnes was picked up, and he was interviewed by police. Jimmy Ray Barnes said he knew Reginald and his family. Sometimes Jimmy Ray would work for him, doing jobs around his house. But he denied having anything to do with the murder of Salonia Rhee. Jimmy Ray Barnes told police that he washed Salonia's car.

He also said that he smoked Winston cigarettes. Well, they found a Winston cigarette butt inside her vehicle. Unfortunately, in 1987, DNA testing was in its infancy, so the cigarette butt was never tested. Without hard evidence linking Jimmy Ray to Salonia's murder, detectives take his statement and let him walk.

The pressure is building on Hammond PD to catch a killer. Investigators turn to the community for tips and receive a promising lead. In the area where the contents of Salonius purse was located, a bystander reported finding a crucifix and a screwdriver in their mailbox. The Hammond Police Department was never able to produce a murder weapon from the crime scene, but they thought that maybe it was some type of a screwdriver.

So is this where the killer abandoned the murder weapon? When they found the screwdriver and a crucifix, people were afraid. Maybe there's some kind of ritual connection, girls being stolen for human sacrifice and that sort of thing. And it was like the boogeyman, because every woman in Hammond was afraid to go out.

Who could do something like this? So in our little bayou country, people were panicking. Police are canvassing the area, searching mailboxes, people's yards, what have you. And people thought, what kind of monster would do this to us? And is he still out there? Is he gonna be after me next? So the first thing I thought was,

could this be connected to Sloan Reade's murder? Wondering if they found the murder weapon, investigators send the crucifix and the screwdriver out for forensic testing. But the results come up short. Those items did not show any type of blood on them. Therefore they were not considered part of the crime. Back to square one, detectives meet with Salonia's husband Reginald again. As they speak to him, something catches their eye.

Investigators noticed scratches on Reginald Reed's neck. They ran in length just a couple of inches on both sides. Reginald told the police that the scratch was from the family dog. So they took that for what it's worth. They had no reason to dispute that. But when police speak to Salonia's sisters again, they learned that the Reed's seemingly happy marriage was anything but. Reginald was very, very controlling.

Whatever he wanted her to do is what she did. It was very hard for me, the way she was treated and abused. There was one day, little Reggie must have been three or four, and he says, Nana, I'm going to stay with you today. I said, says who? You know, just messing with him. And he said, because mom has to go to the hospital. Just like that. And I asked Soloni, you know, what's going on?

Because I saw her, and her face was all black and blue. And in spite of the abuse, Solonia gave it 100%. She loved her husband dearly. Investigators obtain a search warrant for the couple's house on Apple Street. Upon entering, they're immediately alarmed by the condition of the living room. It smelled of cleaner and it was so clean alarmed by the condition of the living room. It smelled of cleaner and it was so clean you could see the lines and the carpet from where it was freshly vacuumed. And then police find in the carpet a broken necklace that they believe was some of Salonia's jewelry, maybe indicating to them that the spute started in the home. Police also found a bottle of Wander Hand lotion inside the residence.

They obtained a sample from the crime scene and they were able to test that and determine that the substance on Sloanie's body was in fact Wander Hand lotion. To me, the fact that that lotion was there and was chemically consistent, that was just too much adding up. It was another detail that linked Reginald Reed to that crime scene. As suspicions surrounding Reginald builds, whispers about his involvement spread through the community. Willie Jones and Michael Morris, these guys were in a personal relationship

and they were friends with Reginald Reed and Salonia Reed. And they were friends with Reginald Reed and Salonia Reed. Willie Jones, co-workers, said he was telling people the murderer was Reginald Reed. When it comes to grocery shopping and meal planning, I've got this problem. I'm always short on time and energy. Between work, family, and other commitments, I find myself constantly stressed about what to cook and how to maintain a healthy diet. That all changed thanks to Hungry Root. It's the easiest way to eat healthy. Hungry Root is like having your own personal shopper and nutritionist rolled into one.

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Company and affiliates potential savings will vary not available in all states or situations. Just a few days after Willie makes this accusation, a shocking call comes into the sheriff's department. On the night of August 31, a pedestrian was struck off of Interstate 55. The victim turned out to be Willie Jones. Not only was he struck by a motorist, but Willie Jones also had sustained a gunshot wound to the mid-facial area. They immediately determined this was a homicide. So just over a week after Salonia Reed's murder,

the guy who said her husband did it has been murdered. So what's happening here? Is somebody killing people that Reginald and Salonia were friends with? Or was Willie just close to the truth as to who killed Salonia? On August 23, 1987, Salonia's body was found. And then a week and a half later,

another homicide happens where Willie Jones is found. Willie Jones was friends with Reginald Reed. So the community thought maybe these homicides were connected in some way. Before detectives can even begin their investigation, Willie Jones' murder case solves itself. Michael Morris turned himself into police and confessed to shooting Willie Jones over domestic dispute. He had caught him with another man and became enraged.

Once Michael Morris confessed that absolved Reginald of any suspicion of being involved in Willie Jones's murder. Finding no connection between the two homicides, Salonius murder investigation stalls until a witness comes forward with a story that puts detectives back on track. The night before Salonius body was discovered, a witness was getting gas at the John Curb Market. This person noticed a blue sedan drive through the parking lot that looked suspicious. The witness indicated that she got a good look at the driver and the front passenger.

They're driving slow and they're looking. So she's thinking they could be casing the place. The witness wrote down the license plate of the vehicle. And after hearing on the news about Sloan Reade's murder, called the Hammond Police Department. They run the license plate and they find out that the car belonged to Reginald Reade's murder, called the Hammon Police Department. They run the license plate, and they find out that the car belonged to Reginald Reade's mother. So why was Reginald Reade's mom's car driving around the Johns

curb market the night before, right next to where Salonia's body was found the next morning? At that point, the detectives collected photos of everyone who had access to that vehicle and created a photo lineup that they could show to this witness. They used a photograph of Reginald Reed. They also added a picture of Jimi Ray Barnes, the man standing there outside of Salonia's house

the week before the murder. And without hesitation, she picked Reginald Reed and Jimi Ray Barnes as the two men she saw that night. But when they went to pick up Jimi Ray to interview him again, he was gone. They couldn't find him. Jimmy Ray Barnes disappeared. At that point, red flags are popping up that are tying the crime scenes

of Reginald Reed and Jimmy Ray Barnes. So the Hammond Police Department collected everything that they had to secure a conviction. They turned everything over to the district attorney, and a day turned into a week, and a week into a month, and nothing ever happened. Ultimately, the district attorney's office felt the case didn't have enough evidence to move forward

on the prosecution level. One year into the investigation, there is still no smoking gun tying Reggie or Jimmy Ray Barnes to Salonia's murder. And the case goes cold. At first, we had hope. But then nothing happened. It was hard.

As time went on, I worried about little Reggie. After my mom passed, I remember the first time I stayed at home alone. I was terrified. I initially thought, my mom never came home. So what happens if my dad never comes home? That always was a thought in my mind. In 2011, Louisiana State Police get involved in the cold case and ask Barry Ward to start the investigation again, to reopen it, to see where you can go with it. The evidence in the box was very well preserved.

In 1987, a cigarette butt would not have been anything significant because there would be very limited testing that they could do other than the branding of the cigarette. But late 2011, early 2012, there was new technology. DNA testing was available. I sent the evidence off to the DNA lab and I got a call back that we got a hit on the cigarette butt. So the DNA came back to a man named Billy Ray Barnes, whose DNA was in the system for some prior activity. He is the identical twin brother of one of the suspects,

Jimmy Ray Barnes. Then the DNA supervisor informed me that identical twins contain identical DNA. I've never in my career had a situation where identical twins DNA was on a homicide scene. This was a first for me. With no connection between Billy Ray Barnes and Salonia Reed, investigators quickly clear him and move their attention to his twin, Jimmy.

So I learned that Jimmy Ray Barnes was in the Atlanta, Georgia area. And in July of 2012, we set up an interview. Today we are speaking with Mr. Jimmy Ray Barnes in reference to the Salonia Reed homicide from 1987. Are you willing to answer questions at this time? Yeah. But I ain't got nothing to hide. He did not having any involvement, but he said that Reznor offered him money

to help him kill his wife. He came into the house. Did he discuss any money with you? Yeah, he had. He discussed some money, $50,000. He offered you $50,000 to knock off his wife. Right. You took that to mean to kill her, to murder her?

Right. What was your response to that? Hell no. When he said that, I told him to hell on a weight. Jimmy Ray Barnes also indicated that just a couple of days before Saloni Reed's murder, Reginald Reed asked him to check on Salonia at the house while he was away. He tries to distance himself from Reginald.

He says, look, I did not kill her. Mr. Jimmy, there's more than one person involved in this murder. I ain't got nothing to do with it. I got two of them. I'm telling you, I don't say anything. So at this point, police have two key suspects at the scene of the crime within 12 hours of the body being found.

And those people are both connected to Salonia Reed. That was the same day he told me. You can't unkeep a secret. I'm gonna get to the bottom of it. Today is your day. And in this case, the strongest fissile evidence I have on the murder of Salonia Reed is against you. At this point, police are looking at two suspects that are both connected to Salonia Reed.

The DNA evidence from the cigarette butt was tied to Jimmy Ray Barnes. But there was also a lot of circumstantial evidence that points to Reginald Reed. The bottle of hand lotion found in his home matched the type of lotion that Soloni's body was covered with. The scratches on his neck, the eyewitness that puts him on the scene with Jimmy Ray Barnes the night before Soloni was killed. The only alibi Reginald Reed had was his six-year-old son, and he shielded him from the police. So you have to wonder why.

It's now September 2012, 25 years after Solonius' murder. And investigators want to know if Reginald Reed's alibi still holds up. So they follow up with his son, Reggie Jr., about his memory from the night of the murder. I was living at the time in San Antonio, Texas. One night, I get a knock at the door and it was a Texas Ranger. The Ranger says, you mind if I come in?

I want to talk about the murder of your mother. What happened that particular night? I just remember my dad and I followed him to sleep. I had a tender. What did he tell you, dad? He said, mom's not playing Nintendo. What did he tell you to happen? He said, well, I was not coming home. I don't remember. I just remember laying across my dad's lap, just trying to console him.

What little Reggie actually remembers about that night, we don't know. He was probably asleep. That doesn't mean Reginald didn't murder Salonia. But for police, it was a dead end. Unfortunately, Reggie Jr.'s interview just didn't move the case forward on the prosecution level. It came to a point where I realized I had to move on. It's now January 2019. As the mystery surrounding Salonia's murder continues to grip the community, the parish's newest assistant district attorney, Taylor Anthony, is handed the case.

He teams up with Lieutenant Barry Ward. The duo review the evidence and decide to pursue the person they consider the weak link. Barry Ward and I load up and we go to Atlanta on our search for Jim and Ray Barnes. We have a picture of Jim and Ray Barnes and we're just kind of driving around. Have you seen this man? And eventually we pull up to this residence and out steps Jimmy Ray Barnes. He was just standing there in the flesh.

He just kept saying the same thing, that he wasn't involved. But while we were getting ready to leave, Jimmy makes what law enforcement calls a spontaneous utterance. He says, quote, I'm the key to it all. It was almost movie-like the way he said it. We knew he knew what happened.

So we got back in the car. I went back to Hammond. I went to my boss and I said, boss, it's been 32 years. Give me a microphone, give me a podium, give me a jury and let me go. I can prove Reginald and Jimmy Ray did this. I know it. Three decades after the murder of Salonia Reed, a grand jury is convened to hear the evidence against Reginald Reed and Jimmy Ray Barnes. I laid out the facts to the grand jury, told them everything we had, and the grand jury returned an indictment against Reginald Reed and Jimmy Ray Barnes for the second degree murder of Salonia Reed. When I got the call that he was indicted for my mother's murder, it was a moment of disbelief. It was...it was shocking.

At that point, I began to see Reginald as a monster, capable of doing anything. Reginald was arrested in his home, and Jimmy Ray Barnes was arrested in Georgia and flown back to Louisiana to face prosecution. I did ask Reginald if he would be willing to sit down with me and submit to an interview in which he declined. Unlike Reginald, Jimmy Ray Barnes is finally ready to talk.

Okay, Jimmy, will you please tell me what if any knowledge you have of the events that occurred the day of Sloanie Reed was murdered? I have an idea. I was driving the car. The car was already parked there already. I just picked him up from there. Who's him?

Reginald Reed. I picked up Reginald Reed from there. He told us that Reginald Reed called him and said, hey, I need you to go get my mother's car. I need you to come pick me up from the John's Curb Market from the gas station. Oh, when I got there, he was getting out of the blue car. The blue car was parked there.

Did you get out of the car and look? Yeah, I got out because he had called me. He wanted me to do something. I said, no, I wasn't getting involved in that. He wanted me to move the body, and I didn't want to move, and I didn't move the body. And you saw some of Reed. I did see the body in that. He wanted me to move the body, and I didn't want to move, and I didn't move the body. And you saw Salome Reed.

I did see the body in there. And I panicked. The information that you have given us today, are you prepared to testify? I don't know. Jimmy indicated that he was fearful of Reginald Reed, and he didn't want to come back to Louisiana to testify because of his safety.

This is one of the worst homicides that's happened in our region. And it all boils down to this. Can we get the testimony of Jimmy Ray Barnes? Based on Jimmy's confession, I believe he took part in Salonia's murder. Jimmy Ray Barnes denies that he killed her, but he says he knows it was Reginald Reed. But we just needed to get Jimmy Ray to testify. Jimmy Ray Barnes was scared of Reggie. He thought he was trying to kill him.

Ultimately, Jimmy Ray Barnes made the decision to testify in exchange for his testimony against Reginald Reed. Jimmy Ray Barnes pled guilty to accessory after the fact of second-degree murder and received a five-year sentence. Who doesn't love the good things in life? Even though I enjoy a little luxury, it doesn't mean I can always afford it. Until I discovered Quince. Quince is my go-to for luxury essentials

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That my dad's a monster. But seeing the evidence, hearing the testimonies, you know, it does look suspicious. After four hours of deliberation, the jury returns its decision. Reginald Reed was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of killing his wife in 1987. When the guilty verdict was read, I was shaken. I was just staring at my dad and he didn't make a sound. And I just put my head down. I was numb.

Time had stopped. I just felt like that six-year-old boy again. Thank you, Jesus. Justice has been served. It was a long time coming. He got to live his life. But my sister-in-law, Solani, you're a heartless person to do somebody like that. My brother is a cold-blooded killer.

I wonder sometimes what life would be like if she was still here. I miss Solania dearly. I miss her. I hope my sister's at peace, knowing that at least Reginald is in jail, and we miss her. I hope my sister's at peace, knowing that at least Reginald is in jail. And we miss her so much. I've had successes professionally, personally, but I would trade all that in just to have my mom back

and just erase all of this. I started to write a memoir. It's titled, The Day My Mother Never Came Home. I'll share excerpts that I wrote. I miss my mother. Though I don't have enough memories of her to know exactly what I miss about her, I still feel a deep, empty place in my life

where her presence would have and should have been. The wound swells and contracts in time with the beating of my heart. It is an old scar and reminds me of how deeply I have been hurt and the painful truth of all that was taken from me. A few months ago, my wife and I found out that we're pregnant with our second child. And a couple weeks ago, we found out she's going to be a girl. We thought about names, and the first name that came to our mind was Solonia Grace Reed. This is a joyful moment.

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