OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The demise penalty trial for accused serial killer William Lewis Reece is underway contained in the Oklahoma County Courthouse.
Reece is accused of raping and killing 19-year-old Tiffany Johnston on July 26, 1997, in Bethany.
Bethany police mentioned they discovered the newlywed’s Dodge Neon on the Sunshine Carwash close to Northwest twenty third and Council. Her keys had been nonetheless within the automobile however she was nowhere to be discovered.
The subsequent day, her bare physique was present in a Canadian County area. The health worker mentioned she had been raped and strangled.
After an exhaustive seek for the suspect, the case went chilly.
In 2015, Investigators mentioned DNA discovered on Johnston was linked to Reece, who was already serving a 60-year sentence for kidnapping and raping one other teen, Sandra Sapaugh in Texas.
In line with reviews, Sapaugh was kidnapped at knifepoint however managed to flee and name police.
Investigators mentioned that crime occurred two months earlier than Johnston’s demise.
Twenty-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 had been buried.
The protection argues there’s room for error within the prosecution’s case, citing DNA match outcomes, questionable witnesses and the likelihood that investigators fed Reece details about the case he would’ve in any other case not identified.
On Monday, witnesses took the stand to color an image of Reece earlier than the alleged murders.
Attorneys learn transcribed testimony from a 19-year-old College of Oklahoma scholar who mentioned Reece sexually assaulted her in Norman in 1986.
One other sufferer took the stand, saying she awoke one evening in mattress to Reece on prime of her, forcing her to have intercourse with him. She managed to flee to get assist.
On the finish of the day, Sapaugh took the stand to share her testimony.
The protection will start their cross examination into Sapaugh’s story beginning at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
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