Oklahoma Jury Recommends Death For Alleged Serial Killer William Lewis Reece Syndicated Local – CBS Dallas / Fort Worth
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A jury in Oklahoma has recommended a death sentence for an alleged serial killer who was convicted of kidnapping a woman from a car wash and killing her more than 20 years ago.
The jury on Wednesday recommended the death penalty for William Lewis Reece, who was convicted last week of first-degree murder for the 1997 kidnapping and killing of 19-year-old Tiffany Johnston. Formal sentencing is set for Aug. 19.
Reece did not testify at his trial, but the jury heard recordings of his confessions to police in which he admitted killing Johnston and three other people in Texas, The Oklahoman reported.
An inmate and suspected serial killer was found guilty last week of one of the four Oklahoma murders he’s been accused of committing nearly 25 years ago.
Prosecution seeking death penalty
But Oklahoma County District Judge Susan Stallings is allowing prosecutors to put on evidence linking him to three other deaths in Texas.
In an opening statement, Assistant District Attorney Ryan Stephenson told jurors Reece admitted choking Johnston in his horse trailer at the car wash after she yelled at him for spraying her.
The prosecutor said Reece confessed to raping her, too, stopping because it was too hot. He confessed to choking her with his hands and a rope after she hit him with a horseshoe.
Johnston was 19.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
DNA links defendant to Oklahoma crime