More than 35 years after the brutal killing of Selonia Reed in Hammond, Louisiana, her husband, Reginald Reed Sr., was convicted of her murder. What began as a cold case from 1987 was revived through modern forensic technology, a determined detective, and a shocking confession that pointed back to the family’s home—and possibly to a crime committed while their young son slept in the next room.
On August 22, 1987, six-year-old Reginald Reed Jr.—known as Reggie—spent what would be his final moments with his mother as they shopped at Hammond Square Mall. She kissed him goodnight that evening. Hours later, she was dead. Her body was discovered inside her car near John’s Curb Market, just over a mile from their house. She had been sexually assaulted, stabbed 16 times, and bizarrely covered in a white lotion.
Early suspicion fell on her husband, Reginald Sr., who told police that Selonia had gone out with a friend that night. But when officers followed up, the friend denied any plans with Selonia. Reginald Sr. claimed he stayed home playing video games with his son. Young Reggie, during a recorded police interview, confirmed this, saying everyone stayed home that night. But he also became visibly distressed, eventually asking for his father and refusing to speak further.
Despite early suspicions, no one was arrested. The crime scene yielded no murder weapon, no eyewitnesses, and very little forensic evidence. And so, for decades, the case remained unsolved. Selena’s family continued to believe that her husband had something to do with her death, especially after it came to light that Reginald had taken out multiple life insurance policies on her totaling more than $700,000, many of which were acquired just before her murder.
In 2011, Lt. Barry Ward of the Louisiana State Police reopened the cold case. Ward focused on overlooked evidence, including a cigarette butt recovered from Selonia’s car. DNA testing, which wasn’t widely available in 1987, revealed a match—but not to Reginald. Instead, it matched Jimmy Ray Barnes, a friend and former co-worker of Reginald Sr. Barnes had previously passed a polygraph test. But Ward suspected that Barnes’s identical twin, Billy Ray, may have taken that test in his place. Since identical twins share DNA, the theory couldn’t be conclusively proven.
As the investigation progressed, Ward secured a statement from Barnes, who admitted that Reginald had once offered him $50,000 to kill Selonia. Barnes claimed he refused the offer but confessed to seeing Selonia’s body in a car outside the grocery store where she was found. He said Reginald had asked him to help move the body. Barnes refused.
In 2019, a grand jury indicted both Reginald Reed Sr. and Jimmy Ray Barnes for second-degree murder. Reginald Jr., now an adult and a successful professional, was caught in a whirlwind of emotions. Despite the horrific details, he posted his father’s $250,000 bond. After all, this was the man who had raised him.
The trial began in November 2022. Prosecutor Taylor Anthony argued that Reginald staged the murder to look like a sex crime and that the motive was financial. He told jurors about the life insurance policies and pointed to the bottle of white lotion found in the Reed household that matched what was found on Selena’s body. Photos of scratches on Reginald’s neck taken after the murder added to the state’s circumstantial case.
Defense attorneys Vanessa Williams and LaToia Williams-Simon contended that the state had no direct evidence—no fingerprints, no DNA, and no murder weapon. They argued that the life insurance policies covered the entire family and were not evidence of premeditated murder. They also pointed to Barnes’s criminal history, which included arrests for violent offenses, although those arrests couldn’t be presented to the jury due to legal technicalities.
Barnes testified as part of a plea agreement, telling jurors that Reginald had approached him about killing Selonia and later asked for help disposing of her body. He claimed he panicked and fled, never receiving the $50,000 he had been promised. Prosecutors believe Reginald returned to the car alone later that night, stripped Selonia’s clothes, applied the lotion, and staged the scene to look like a sexual assault.
After less than four hours of deliberation, the jury found Reginald Reed Sr. guilty of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. For Reggie Jr., the verdict was devastating. He said the conviction felt like losing his father and mother all over again.
Even after the trial, Reggie struggles to make sense of it all. He says he cannot definitively say whether his father is guilty, but he also admits that questions linger. He wonders whether he slept through the murder of his mother just a few feet away. He questions why nothing was found in the home during the original investigation and whether the crime could have happened right under his nose.
In the aftermath of the conviction, Selonia’s sister, Gwen Smith, expressed relief. She had long believed that Reginald was responsible for her sister’s death and said she finally felt peace. Meanwhile, Lt. Ward, who worked tirelessly to bring justice, credited Barnes for eventually providing key information, although Barnes refused immunity and initially resisted cooperation.
Jimmy Ray Barnes served five years for being an accessory after the fact and was released from prison. In January 2024, shortly after attending the funeral of his twin brother, Billy Ray, Barnes died in a car crash in Hammond, the same town where the crime had occurred decades before.
For Reggie, the wounds are still fresh. But amid the darkness, he’s found light. He and his wife Paula welcomed a daughter in early 2024. They named her Selonia in honor of his mother. He says it’s his way of letting her name live on and reclaiming it with love and legacy.
Though his father continues to call from prison, proclaiming his innocence, Reggie remains emotionally conflicted. As he raises his children and writes about his experience in his memoir, he hopes to make peace with a past that still casts long shadows over his life. His story is one of pain, resilience, and a search for answers in the face of unimaginable loss.
