Jury selection begins in trial of Oklahoma teen’s 1997 murder against man linked to at least 5 other kidnappings, killings

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Jury choice started Monday morning on the Oklahoma County Courthouse for the trial of the 1997 homicide of Tiffany Johnston in Bethany.

The suspect, William Lewis Reece, has been linked to 5 different kidnappings or murders throughout Oklahoma and Texas.

In July of 1997, 19-year-old Tiffany Johnston’s Dodge Neon was discovered on the Sunshine Carwash close to Northwest twenty third and Council in Bethany. The newlywed’s keys have been nonetheless within the ignition however the teen was nowhere to be discovered.

The subsequent day, Johnston’s bare physique was present in a Canadian County subject.

The Medical Examiner later decided Johnston had been strangled and raped. In accordance with 2015 data, examiners took vaginal and rectum swabbings from Johnston.

In 2015, DNA taken from Johnston was linked again to William Reece. 

At the moment, Reece was already serving a 60-year sentence in Texas for the rape and kidnapping of Sandra Sapaugh.

In accordance with reviews, Sapaugh was kidnapped at knifepoint however managed to flee and name police.

Investigators stated that crime occurred two months earlier than Johnston’s loss of life.

20-year-old Kelli Cox and 17-year-old Jessica Cain’s our bodies weren’t discovered till 2016, when Reece led Texas investigators to graves the place their stays have been buried.

Again in Oklahoma, Court docket Paperwork present investigators determined to check Reece’s DNA in opposition to Johnston’s unsolved case.

The identical court docket paperwork present investigators linked payphone data, proving Reece was in Canadian County on the identical day Johnston vanished.

Investigators additionally allege Reece admitted to understanding the teenager’s household.

Reece was extradited to face trial in Oklahoma, the place he beforehand spent a decade locked up for sexually assaulting two girls. In accordance with on-line data, Reece had solely been out of jail for one 12 months when the murders occurred.

Oklahoma prosecutors stated they plan to hunt the loss of life penalty in Johnston’s homicide. 

Reece’s legal professional has stated their shopper is simply keen to confess his roll if capital punishment is taken off the desk.

Jury choice is anticipated to take days, maybe even one week.