Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Obsessed Ex Murders Girlfriend on New First Date

Episode Date: November 23, 2025

Chris Smith went on a first date with Leslie Reeves in November 2021 and doesn't remember one moment of their encounter. Smith lived in rural Illinois and awoke in a hospital bed weeks later. Prosecutors would later say Reeves' ex-boyfriend, Bobby Tarr, broke into Smith's home and shot him in the head and Reeves. Reeves did not survive but miraculously Smith recovered. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy looks at the gruesome case in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/CrimeFixHost:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guest: Chris Smith https://www.facebook.com/christopher.smith.773140Producer:Jordan ChaconCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. I went out on a first date with a woman whose psychotic ex-boyfriend was stalking her, and he found her and I and shot me in the head, left me for dead, and he murdered her. That's Chris Smith. He survived a man's attempt to murder him while he was on a first date with a woman. I am a miracle as doctors and first responders and everybody else tells me. I really am. Smith is here with his story of survival after his date was murdered and now the killer is behind bars. I go through the tragic and horrific attempt on his life and how his date Leslie Reeves was tragically killed.

I'm Jeanette Levy and this is crime fix. Morgan and Morgan, they win a lot. that's why they're one of America's largest personal injury law firms. The firm actually has more than a thousand lawyers who've recovered $25 billion for more than 500,000 clients. In the last few months alone, a client in Florida received $12 million when insurance offered just $350,000. In Pennsylvania, another client was awarded $26 million. That's 40 times the insurers offer. Morgan and Morgan makes it really easy. To fight for what you deserve, you can even start a claim, from your cell phone. So if you're ever injured, you can start a claim at for the people.com

slash crime fix. Click the link below or scan the QR code that you see right there on your screen. You know, first dates, they can be nerve-wracking, kind of exciting, and in some cases, they can be really terrible. Well, something told Chris Smith to not go on a first date with a woman on November 24, 2021. Smith ignored that gut feeling, and it almost cost him his life. Chris Smith went on a date with 45-year-old Leslie Reeves, but her ex-boyfriend, Bobby Tar, tracked them down at Christopher's home in Farmersville, Illinois, through her phone. The night that promised new beginnings, it descended into a nightmare, leaving only one to open their eyes ever again. It all happened right before Thanksgiving. Farmersville, Lugner, ambulance respond for an EMS, call for gunshot wound.

204-Nobie Street, Farmers Bill 911, clear, 13.43. Now, this was Thanksgiving time, so family and friends grew really concerned when neither of them responded, and that's when police arrived at Chris Smith's home for a welfare check, and instead, they found a bloody, bloody scene. Leslie was dead in the living room, but Chris was barely conscious in the kitchen. He'd been wounded for more than 12 hours. with two gunshot victims and a suspect at large, no time could be wasted. The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office arrived on scene to investigate.

Photographs were taken of the residence and the road. Leslie's purse with her ID, phone, and car keys were found on the table, so this wasn't a break-in. Her phone was collected in case there was evidence on it and her belongings were sent to the sheriff's office for her loved ones to pick up. As detectives were walking around, they noticed an exterior door to the kitchen was open, and that's where the shooter most likely walked into the house. The door's glass was broken and lying on the porch. Crime scene investigators, they were looking for any clue that could lead them to a suspect. Clothing items of the victims that contained blood were collected for DNA testing, footwear impressions were photographed, and even a wooden

handled kitchen knife was collected for fingerprints. But there were no prints found. Police had, though, an idea of who that shooter might be. I want you to dig down deep here to be as honest with me as you can, okay? Leslie is dead. What? Can you help me shed some light on this? How did she die? She was murder.

What happened? That's why we're here with you. You help me believe that you're not involved in this. I'm not involved in anything. I went to a buddy of mine's house. He left and left me some money out of his shop and go pick it up. I remember the time he came back? Yeah, it wasn't that long.

Maybe six-thirty or something like that. You can talk to my daughter about me being home. So that's exactly what investigators do. And guess what? Bobby Tar's 17-year-old daughter, she rats him out. The first time he left was roughly. Right. And then he came home about a half hour later and I said he had to go back.

Right. And then it was 915-ish when he got back home. Yeah. He gets home. He was crying. He was solving. He said he missed his Leslie. He started laundry.

He was pacing and walking around. And he was like, I can't sleep. The daughter even mentions a gun that she knows her dad keeps in his sock drawer. It's little. It's like this big. I look at the Army Green. Yesterday morning, actually. morning, actually. I wanted to get soft. It was there.

I know. It was there yesterday. He ain't gone today. Okay. And that was all investigators needed to hear. You're under arrest for murder. So, right. And by, bad. Tar was charged with one count of murder and one count of attempted murder. And when he's booked into the jail,

investigators bring him into an interrogation room, hoping now that he's charged with a crime, that he might come to his senses and start talking. Hi. I'm going to go over. your constitutional rights real quick okay you have the right to remain silent you understand that you have any questions about that anything you say can and will be used against you in the court law do you understand that yes any questions about that no you have the right to talk to your lawyer before questioning and

to have one present during questioning do you understand that yes yes any questions about that I don't know. No. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you free cost to you. Do you understand that? Yeah. Any questions about it?

No. I need one, no. Okay. So we'll just give me a favor, said you've been advised of and you do understand your constitutional rights. If you put a sign for me right there, please. Okay. So saying, are you willing to talk to us this morning or by saying you need an attorney? You have to be a question one. Okay. Thank you very much. I'll get you on the back.

Well, guess what? Bobby Tarr, he chooses to remain silent. He pleads not guilty to the charge. In April 24, during the trial, prosecutors dropped a bombshell, the murder weapon, they had it, the firearm, the magazine, the ammunition. It was all found in a Ziploc bag located on Tar's property. It turns out his father found it outside next to a wheelbarrow. The bullets matched those found at the scene, but the firearm, it was suspiciously clean. There were no fingerprints, no blood, until a deeper inspection was done, revealing small traces of blood. blood that was determined to be Leslie's. A search of Bobby Tarr's phone revealed he conducted searches for Chris Smith, and at one point,

he typed into a search bar, can the police track me if I have a VPN? And can the police track my phone if it's off? The jury convicted Tarr after deliberating for less than three hours, and a judge sentenced him to 85 years in prison for murder and attempted murder. When Tarr was given the chance to speak at sentencing, he went, on a 20-minute rant claiming he was innocent until the judge cut him off. Several people left the courtroom while he was talking and Chris Smith was one of them. Tar will not be eligible for parole until he's 128 years old, but it did not stop there.

A year after the shooting, Tar was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of solicitation to commit murder for hire. Detective said Tar hired a person to kill Chris and the lead investigator on the shooting case. but more on that in a little bit so chris smith is here with me he is the author of a book entitled my fatal first date and it really tells his story of surviving this horrific event um so chris thank you so much for joining me i appreciate it first off how are you doing well i say i'm still all right because my left hand's not really working that good yet but um i'm i'm doing actually you know if we're taking a nine millimeter hollow point to my head and being completely paralyzed on the left-hand side due to three systemic strokes afterwards i am a miracle as doctors and first responders and everybody else tell me

i really am i'm here still walking to serve to uh inspired motivate educate help to give hope to and restore faith of god to the world and make sure this never happens to anybody else again advocate for domestic violence awareness tbi and stroke recovery and you know just do what i can to give back and also I have received menisciamble stem cells which are short is M.S.C. Menoscanal stem cells and they helped to recover from stroke and TBI. Like I said, my whole Lusite was dead. When I woke up in a coma, it felt like literally like a half of concrete on my body. Nothing at all. I mean, it was to say to least, I woke up in the hospital freaking out, especially because I did not know Leslie. We had just met up Facebook apparently like a week, week and a half prior to the first date.

And I had a better chance to get struck by lightning or winning powerball. Wow. It's absolutely horrible. And I want to prevent this from happening to anybody ever again, ever. And how do you prevent that from happening to anybody? I mean, this to me seemed like just such a freak thing. I mean, you go on a date with Leslie. You guys are on a date. And my God, you know, the most, you know, terrifying, horrific thing that could ever happen happens. Right. I mean, funny story for you. So I'm a creature of habit. I'll always take the same route home from work every day. So on my way into Farmer'sville, all the way into my town, I always passed by my neighbor, Denny Hobson's house.

I'm driving past his house looking down elevator street, which down where the bar was at. And I remember, like the voice or gut feeling, whatever you want to call it. my pastor's the Holy Spirit, voice in my head saying, stay home, don't go out or go to St. Lucent Party because it was Thanksgiving Eve. I mean, last thing I remembered, then I woke up from a coma, remember that. And one other thing you can think I'm crazy, but I have proof of this. I had four angels with me. When I was found, Denny Hops was the first responder, ironically, my best friend of Farmer's Hill.

He was an ambulance chief up there. And he cannot initially find a pulse. He broke protocols, kind of freaking out. because best friend was laying in a pool of blood started screaming my name a third time you screamed my name i woke up and said i'm freaking freezing and i was out in the coma until i woke up on one 12 of 22 and i remembered the ride home from work that afternoon and then my four angels which i was not about to tell anybody about a near-death experience after you wake up and getting shot in the head they were locked up in the padded room so i didn't talk about that until last summer when i was shooting

my 48 hours interview But, I mean, you can't, you can't make any of this up. I mean, it's so crazy. If somebody would have told me this five years ago, I would have said, you're nuts. It's a movie script, you know? I mean, just like you said, I mean, you, you, it's, it's just crazy. I mean, you never in a million years that thought this would happen to myself or to anybody. I mean, I guess you do see stuff like this on the news, but for myself to be victim,

and I'm a victim of domestic violence. I mean, I really am. I mean, the thing about Bobby Tar was, he was out on parole. And me knowing myself, even though I don't remember Leslie, and the whole month of November, it erased my mind, if a woman would have told me she had a psychiatric exploration that would be capable of doing this. Because apparently, from the text messages that were revealing court,

she had texted her best friend in the net, like a week or two prior, saying, I need to cut all ties with Bobby Tar, or he's going to end up killing me. So she did with something was going on. I just started my own company and I had my daughter 50% of the time. Nice house, an acre and a half of land. And I mean,

I had the rule by the Cajoners. You know, I wouldn't have jeopardized that just for first date. You know, I mean, and he is a POS to say at least the guy still won't admit I was framed by the cops. Now, how the hell do you be framed by the cops that were an hour and a half away from you?

Come on, man. Well, and he's also accused of trying to hire someone to kill you. He's not accused. A grand jury didn't die, but the reason that did not go through with that is because it really wouldn't add much more time to his sentence. The guy's

already, he's going to die in prison. He's not going to live until he's 148 years old. I mean, I hope not, or I'm going hunting. I mean, I mean, you know, I do want to forgive the guy if you want to admit your guilt. You know, because the good Lord says to always forgive everybody,

love your enemies as well as you love your friends uh-huh so i mean but he's a he's a prototypical sociopath i was a psych minor in college and he has every freaking trait of a sociopath he he really does yes what he did to me hurts i lost i i'll say i lost my life without staying dead but what he did to my little girl taking her daddy away from her for four years and me losing the town through that's what pisses me off the most you know i lost that time my daughter i'll never get back i'm she was nine done that out of shot she'll be 14 this january you know that's what hurts and what he did the rest of my family my friends i mean everybody he turned so many lives upside

down taking less his life her her her children you know i mean the guy's the scum of the earth he really is and a coward tell me why you decided to write the book well i really didn't want to write a book i'm not an author i'm a singer-songwriter i've been playing music singing writing music since i was a teenager and um by the urgency of others and then be sitting around thinking well why not write it i can help millions of people through my recovery and it took me while to sit back i mean When I first woke from the coma, got out of the hospital, I got, I had to go live in my parents' house for the first year and a half. Really great. You know, at least I wasn't living in the basement.

But, I mean, I was like, you know, shoot, do it. So I did it all on my iPhone with my right thumb since I'm able to type. When I woke from the coma, I immediately erased the word can't out of my vocabulary. Because we are capable and we can do anything we want. It doesn't matter how bleak life is, no matter how crappy things look. Life, handy, lemon, limes. You've got to dig down tea for that tequila and that sugar water, make you poor man's margaritas.

There's no time for sulking, and I hate to rip this line up, but there's no time for crying in baseball. You've got to get out there. You've got to do it. We are unstoppable. We all have the power within us. The human spirit is unstoppable. And so I was like, you know what?

Heck, let's write the book. I wrote the book because I've done countless interviews. And due to time constraints, they can't really delve into my recovery. The crime is a story, but it's a horrible story, but it's not the story of me, the recovery of what I went through. So my book is like all the intimate details of everything. I mean, I'm in my second bone plate. The first year and a half in, I had dehesion on my star line.

I don't know if you can see the scars or whatever. So anyway, so it's a gym flipping pilometric blocks. I'd stand behind them and try to flip them and hopefully not fall over. So I have a baseball and basketball background. and be in the Navy. So I was trying to think of everything I've learned in the past that could help me regain my leg, use, and whatever. And I split my scarline open. And then I went to the doctor, he kept trying to stitch it up and close it with no anesthesia,

mind-having because I would have put anesthesia, could have leaked into my dura, which is a then membrane that goes over our brain. And it would have combined with the CSF fluid, which is a cerevial spinal cord fluid. It could have put my brain to sleep. So that would have been bad. So he literally would stitch me up in his office with no anesthesia. this one out for about two months and then finally um it popped open and i i believe i sent you the picture which i don't know if you want to put it on or not of a green cold screw head sticking out of my head i walked around literally for a couple months on antibiotics with a exposed hardware

which end up getting infected and they had to yank it out and put a new one in in august of 23 in head I had major total scalp reconstruction surgery. And the reason why it sounds like I kind of talk funny. I know if you can see this big knot in here where my glasses are. That's my, that's my jaw muscle. It's not attached over here. I'm the left-hand side of it. So I literally only have one jaw muscle.

I'm talking with my left-side jaw muscle. My right one is literally like accordioned up right here. What do you hope people take from your story? You know, it sounds like you're telling people, first of all, trust your gut if your gut's telling you not to go on the date or your guts telling you to stay home maybe listen to it exactly the first time in my life i always listen to my gut feeling always always first time i never did and i wake up and i'm being told i was shot ahead by leslie's exploration and i said i don't know a freaking wesley because i didn't know her i mean i have deemed

recognized her since i've seen new pictures i mean i like said the whole month of november except for that drive home that afternoon is a blank slate. Crazy. The last thing I remember is digging up my banana trees on the 29th of October. That's the last memory I had. And it started all over again when I woke up from the coma on 112. 22. And you kind of are doing some trying to do some motivational speaking type stuff now too, right?

Yeah, I'm actually going out. I was a keynote speaker for the BIAA, which that's the Brain Injury Association of America. I spoke through Midwest conference they had here in St. Louis on 1022, 12. I'm sorry, 1022.25, sorry. And I was speaking to medical professionals there, doctors, OTs, PTs, and researchers. You know, I'm trying hard as I can to get this meniscomable stem cell transplants, FDA approved for stroke and TBI recovery because of work. And my neurologist said you have a hell of a time getting it to,

for them to prove it because big farmer, the insurance of the health care industry are going to lose trillions of dollars. Our bodies can repair themselves by our stem cells. We just need the doctors to guide them to the damaged part. And yes, I am on a mission, literally, to help as many people around this world as I can for, you know, domestic violence, GSW, TBI, and AVI recoveries, you know? I mean, that's what I'm here walking for. I'll be with the cane.

I mean, I'm good for about 20 feet without, but it gets a little hairy. But I mean, I will never give up. And what I want people to take away from my story is never give up. Listen to your gut feeling. And never give up. Love life. You never know how many grains of Sam we have left in an hourglass and when the last one's going to fall. So love your loved ones.

Be kind to your fellow neighbor. And help anybody you can't. I mean, I'm going to be honest with you. everything was for crisp before I was shot I took everything for granted like we all do I would always moan about why don't I had this why is this yada yada what you got to learn how to tie your shoe with your teeth in one hand it kind of hobbles you I mean it's just like but it goes show now that I I have a scooter that I call it my tricycle that I get around and I do yard work I'm planting my banatories I have a couple of John Deer riding lawnmores

I'm able to get up and on and off with I have three quarters of an acre here and I've got I used to farm and uh farm banana trees and giant pumpkins in the middle of Illinois yes you can grow bananas in a cold weather environment it's a little pain in the butt you got to dig them up every year storm in the basement yada yada rinse repeat but it's I was told I could do it so I did it so like my doctor told me Christian learned walk again I said Victor you told the wrong person he can't do something because I will do it out of spite to prove you wrong and I have and he's told me, Chris, do me a favor. He's one

probably really got me to write the book. He says, I want you to make doctors like me never get up, never to give up on patients like yourself. And I made them a promise that I do it. So that's why I'm here. And I want people to take away from this. You can do anything you're unstoppable and never give up anything

in life. We can achieve, overcome, and exceed any goal you have. Well, Chris, I really appreciate you sharing your story with us. Chris, author of my fatal first date. We appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

Hey, thank you very much. And I mean, you can check me out anywhere. I mean, if anybody wants to reach out to me, talk to me. I'm on Facebook, Christopher James Smith, Instagram, anywhere. I'm going to help anybody I can. I'll answer your message and I, I mean, I'm here. That's what I'm here for. Thank you.

Thank you very much. So the solicitation for murder charges brought against Bobby Tarr, they were later dismissed since he's in prison basically for the rest of his life. Let's talk now about Leslie Reeves. According to her obituary, Leslie was known for living life to the very fullest and always showing her beautiful smile. Her greatest joy was her children. Leslie left her stable job working as a petroleum engineer to pursue her passions. She started her own business, all-use studio and party place to serve others and make a positive impact in her community. She created a space for women to practice yoga, to train and learn self-defense.

Hey, everybody. It's Leslie from All You Studio, your personal safety and awareness specialist here in Troy. Leslie was active throughout her life, filling her time with dancing, exercising, art, traveling, and even collecting shoes. Her favorite song was Sweet Child of Mime by Guns and Roses, and those who knew her best, would swear the song was written about her. She's got a smile that it seems to remind me of childhood memories where everything was fresh as the bright blue sky. That's how the song goes. Leslie's family asks that people honor her by reaching out to help someone in need or perform a random act of kindness. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy.

Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time. Thank you.