Site icon 48 Hours Tonight

Who Is Reginald Reed Sr. & Where Is He Now? 2026 Update & Profile

Ryan Gill

Reginald L. Reed Sr. is the Louisiana man convicted of murdering his wife, Selonia Reed, in 1987, a crime that remained unsolved for more than three decades before advances in forensic science and a renewed investigation led to his arrest and conviction. The case attracted national attention because the couple’s six-year-old son, Reginald “Reggie” Reed Jr., was unknowingly used as part of his father’s alibi and later spent years trying to understand whether the man who raised him was responsible for his mother’s death.

Today, Reed remains incarcerated in Louisiana serving a mandatory life sentence for second-degree murder. He has consistently maintained his innocence and has continued to challenge his conviction through the courts.

A Military Veteran and Family Man

Before becoming the focus of one of Louisiana’s longest-running cold cases, Reginald Reed Sr. was known in Hammond as a former U.S. Marine who later worked in automobile sales. He married Selonia Reed, and together they had one son, Reginald “Reggie” Reed Jr., who was born in 1981.

Following Selonia’s death, Reed raised Reggie as a single father. According to Reggie, his father was strict and disciplined but also ensured he received a good education, encouraging him to attend private school and eventually college. Throughout Reggie’s childhood and adulthood, Reed never discussed the murder in detail, and his son believed for many years that police had never identified a suspect.

An Early Suspect in Selonia’s Murder

On August 24, 1987, Reed reported his 26-year-old wife missing, telling police she had gone out with a girlfriend the previous evening and never returned. Within hours, officers discovered Selonia’s body inside her car in Hammond. She had been beaten, stabbed multiple times, stripped, and sexually assaulted.

Investigators quickly found problems with Reed’s account. The friend he claimed Selonia had planned to meet told detectives no such plans existed. Family members also informed police that Selonia had complained about physical abuse during the marriage and had spoken about seeking a divorce. These factors caused investigators to focus on Reed almost immediately, although they lacked sufficient evidence to prosecute him.

A Cold Case Reopened

For more than thirty years, the investigation remained inactive. In the 2010s, Louisiana State Police reopened the case under Lt. Barry Ward, who reexamined physical evidence using modern forensic testing.

DNA recovered from a cigarette butt found near Selonia’s vehicle identified Jimmy Ray Barnes, a longtime friend of Reed. When confronted with the evidence, Barnes agreed to cooperate with investigators. He told detectives that Reed had recruited him to help dispose of Selonia’s body after killing her and later testified that Reed had offered him $50,000 to help make his wife “disappear.”

The 2022 Murder Trial

Reed was arrested in 2019 and stood trial in 2022 for second-degree murder. Prosecutors argued that Selonia was murdered inside the family’s bedroom while six-year-old Reggie slept nearby. They contended that Reed later transported her body to the location where it was discovered and staged the scene.

Jurors heard testimony from Jimmy Ray Barnes, forensic experts, investigators, and witnesses familiar with the Reed marriage. Prosecutors also introduced evidence concerning multiple life insurance policies Reed had obtained on Selonia before her death, arguing they provided a possible financial motive. Defense attorneys Vanessa Williams and LaToia Williams-Simon challenged Barnes’ credibility and argued the state’s largely circumstantial case failed to prove Reed’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Conviction and Sentence

In November 2022, the jury unanimously found Reginald Reed Sr. guilty of second-degree murder. On January 30, 2023, he was sentenced to life imprisonment at hard labor without the possibility of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, the mandatory sentence under Louisiana law for second-degree murder.

Reed has continued to insist he did not murder his wife. His legal team appealed the conviction, arguing the evidence was insufficient and challenging several aspects of the trial. In May 2025, the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal rejected those arguments and affirmed both his conviction and life sentence.

Relationship With His Son

One of the most unusual aspects of the case is Reed’s continuing relationship with his son. Despite his father’s conviction, Reggie has publicly stated that he struggles to reconcile the father who raised him with the man prosecutors portrayed during trial.

Reggie has acknowledged that the evidence against his father is significant but has also said he continues to have questions about exactly what happened to his mother. He remains in contact with his father in prison, and Reed continues to tell his son that he is innocent. Their relationship and Reggie’s emotional conflict are central themes of Reggie’s memoir, The Day My Mother Never Came Home, as well as CBS’s 48 Hours coverage of the case.

Where Is Reginald Reed Sr. Now?

As of 2026, Reginald Reed Sr. remains incarcerated in the custody of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Multiple reports indicate he is housed at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, where he is serving his life sentence for the murder of Selonia Reed.

Although his direct appeal was unsuccessful, Reed continues to maintain his innocence. Unless future post-conviction proceedings alter the outcome, he will remain imprisoned for the rest of his life under his sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

More “The Day My Mother Never Came Home”

More Feature Articles

Exit mobile version