Albert Reid was sentenced to death by the State of Pennsylvania for the murder of a woman and her daughter. According to court documents Albert Reid would break into the home of his estranged wife and shoot and kill her and her daughter. Albert Reid would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Albert Reid 2022 Information
Parole Number: 051CM
Age: 73
Date of Birth: 11/14/1948
Race/Ethnicity: BLACK
Height: 6′ 00″
Gender: MALE
Citizenship: JAMAICA
Complexion: DARK
Current Location: PHOENIX
Albert Reid More News
The evidence adduced at trial establishes that Appellant and Carla Reid had a tumultuous relationship.7 According to friends and acquaintances of both Appellant and Carla, Appellant was controlling of and abusive toward Carla.8 Several Pennsylvania State Police troopers from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, testified that between 1990 and 1993, they each filed charges of terroristic threats, simple assault, or harassment against Appellant, though those charges were subsequently dropped upon Carla’s request.9 The Commonwealth also presented evidence that Carla had previously filed two Protection from Abuse (“PFA”) Petitions 10 against Appellant but later sought and obtained a dismissal of the Petitions.11 The evidence further showed, however, that in October 1996, Carla filed a third PFA Petition against Appellant and, unlike the previous PFA Petitions she had filed, Carla did not seek a dismissal of this last Petition. Rather, on October 30, 1996, a final PFA order (“PFA order”) was entered, with Appellant’s consent, stating that Appellant could not have any contact with Carla or her children. This order was in effect when Carla and Deidra were murdered.
The evidence presented at trial also established that Appellant had been charged with the felony offense of aggravated indecent assault, 18 Pa.C.S. § 3125, and the misdemeanor offense of indecent assault, id. § 3126, based on allegations by Deidra that Appellant had sexually assaulted her. In August 1994, Carla brought Deidra to the Barracks in Chambersburg and the two met with Trooper Kenneth M. Stapchuck. N.T., 10/6/98, at 172. According to Trooper Stapchuck, Deidra told him that Appellant had sexually assaulted her. Id. at 173. Trooper Stapchuck informed Deidra that he would have to interview Appellant, and Deidra indicated that she wanted Carla to be present during the interview. Id. at 173-74. For more than a year, Trooper Stapchuck unsuccessfully attempted to schedule an interview with Carla and Appellant. Id. at 173-74. Finally, in December 1995, Carla advised Trooper Stapchuck that she did not want him to continue with the investigation because she believed that Deidra had fabricated the allegations. Id. at 174-75.
On July 31, 1996, Carla and Deidra returned to the Barracks. Id. at 179, 184-85. While at the Barracks, Carla told Trooper Mark Grove that she wanted to file charges against Appellant again based on Deidra’s allegations in 1994. Id. According to Trooper Grove, Carla essentially told him that she had discontinued the charges in December 1995 because Appellant had stopped abusing Deidra after she spoke with Trooper Stapchuck. Id. Trooper Grove testified that Carla stated that she wanted to renew the charges initially made against Appellant in 1994 because Appellant had recently assaulted Deidra. Id. Therefore, based on the allegations initially made by Deidra in 1994, Trooper Grove filed charges of aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault against Appellant. Id. at 186, 225. Trooper Grove obtained a warrant for Appellant’s arrest and arrested Appellant, and that same evening, Appellant was arraigned on the charges. Id. at 226. Two days later, Appellant was released on $10,000.00 bail subject to the conditions that he would not contact Carla or Deidra and that he would participate in a Franklin County pre-release program.
On August 12, 1996, District Justice John Wayman held a preliminary hearing regarding the charges against Appellant at which Appellant, Carla, and Deidra were present. Based on Deidra’s testimony, District Justice Wayman determined that there was sufficient evidence to proceed to trial, which was scheduled for November 1996. Shortly before the scheduled trial, however, Appellant moved to continue the trial until January so that he could obtain money to hire an attorney. The trial court granted Appellant’s request for a continuance and rescheduled the trial on the indecent assault charges for January 6, 1997.12
The evidence presented at trial further showed that following the preliminary hearing on the assault charges, Appellant not only made statements evincing his intent to kill Carla and Deidra, but also sought to purchase and eventually did purchase a gun. Tyrone Kelly, who often worked with Appellant, testified that Appellant had told him about the indecent assault charges pending against him and stated that before he would let Carla obtain all of their marital property, he would wipe Carla and Deidra out. N.T., 10/6/98, at 209. Mr. Kelly also testified that several times between October and November 1996, Appellant asked him if he would buy a gun to sell to Appellant, and he refused to do so. Id. Vonnie Trunbaugh, a friend of Appellant’s, testified that Appellant visited her in the middle of November 1996 and informed her of the indecent assault charges against him. Id. at 197-98. Ms. Turnbaugh said that Appellant explained that he was innocent of the charges and that “he would kill someone before he went back to jail.” Id.
Anthony Hurd testified that in November 1996, Appellant approached him on the street in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and inquired about obtaining a gun from him. N.T., 10/8/98, at 499-500. Mr. Hurd said that he told Appellant he would look into getting a gun for Appellant but he never actually got a gun for Appellant. Id. at 500-03. According to Mary Jones, however, in December 1996, Appellant asked her if she could get him a gun and she did in fact sell him a gun and six bullets. N.T., 10/7/98, at 350-54.13 Ms. Jones stated that she did not know specifically what type of gun she sold to Appellant but after observing several different types of guns presented to her by the police, she thought that the gun she sold Appellant resembled a Davis Industries .380 caliber handgun. N.T., 10/8/98, at 508-10.
The evidence presented at trial also established that although Appellant was not to contact Carla pursuant to the conditions of his bail and the PFA order obtained by Carla, he nevertheless continued to do so. According to Carla’s friend Candy Williams, late one night in the middle of December 1996, Carla telephoned her crying. N.T., 10/7/98, at 323. Ms. Williams testified that Carla stated that Appellant had followed her from work to the local grocery store, assaulted her as she attempted to enter the store, and threatened to kill her. Id. at 325-37. Carla further told Ms. Williams that Appellant followed her home from the store and was parked in the driveway in front of her house. Id. at 323-24, 328. Brett Wagner testified that on December 21, 1996, he went to Carla’s home to deliver toys to her children and as he was entering the driveway, he saw a man sitting in a purple pick-up truck in front of the home. Id. at 333-35.14 Mr. Wagner stated that when Carla opened the door to accept the toys from him, the man from the truck approached the house and stated, “Carla, we need to talk.” Id. at 337-38.
Donnie Williams testified that one evening in late December 1996, he was working at the Washington House Bar as a bouncer and observed Appellant attempt to speak to Carla several times. Id. at 294. Similarly, Karen Peoples testified that on the evening of either December 22 or 23, 1996, she was sitting at a table with Carla at the Washington House bar and during that time she saw Appellant repeatedly approach Carla and talk to her. Id. at 308-09. Ms. Peoples stated that Carla became very upset after Appellant left and told her that Appellant had threatened to put her lights out if he saw her talking to another man. Id. at 309-11.
On December 26, 1996, Carla worked from 2:50 p.m. until 11:20 p.m. at her job at South Mountain Restoration Center in Hamilton Township, Pennsylvania. After getting off work, Carla stopped at Kel’s Place, a local bar in Chambersburg. Ruby Murray, Carla’s friend, testified that when Carla walked into the bar, she appeared distraught. N.T., 10/7/98, at 439-40. According to Ms. Murray, Carla said that Appellant had followed her to the bar and had told her that he was going to shoot her in the head and that she would not live to see another night. Id. Ms. Murray testified that she advised Carla to leave the bar with her and her friends and call the police, but Carla insisted on picking up her children from the babysitter’s house. Id. at 440-42. When Ms. Murray left the bar, she observed Appellant’s truck parked outside the bar. Id. at 443-45. Marlena Linda George Campbell, another friend of Carla’s, also testified that she saw Appellant sitting in his truck before she entered Kel’s Place at approximately 11:45 p.m. on December 26 and again when she left the bar shortly thereafter. Id. at 463-67, 471-72.15
Carla subsequently left Kel’s Place and picked up her six children 16 at the babysitter’s house in Chambersburg at approximately 12:30 a.m. on December 27. Id. at 477-78. After assembling her children in her minivan, Carla drove to her home in Hamilton Township. N.T., 10/6/98, at 157-58. Carla’s oldest son, Jonathon, testified that on the ride home his mother appeared nervous and asked him to look out the back window of the minivan to see if Appellant was following them. Id. at 159. When they arrived home, Carla and her children prepared for bed and went to sleep. Id.17
Sometime during the early morning hours of December 27, Carla and Deidra each suffered a single fatal gunshot wound to the head while in their beds.18 Carla was sleeping in a bed with her two sons, Jeremy and Lorrance. Jeremy and Lorrance did not wake when Carla and Deidra were shot, but sometime afterwards Lorrance woke up Jeremy and said he wanted to talk to Deidra. N.T., 10/5/98, at 130, 137. Jeremy and Lorrance walked to Deidra’s room and when Jeremy attempted to wake Deidra, he got blood on his hands. Id. at 130-31, 137. Jeremy and Lorrance returned to their mother’s room and discovered that their mother was also bleeding. Id. 131-32.
Jeremy and Lorrance went downstairs to wake up their older brother, Jonathon. Id. at 132. Jeremy woke up Jonathon and told him that his mother and sister were dead, but Jonathon thought that his brother was merely having a nightmare and told him to go back to bed. Id. at 132, 137; N.T, 10/6/98, at 162.19 Jeremy and Lorrance subsequently fell asleep downstairs. Id. at 133-34. At approximately 8:30 a.m. on December 27, Jonathon woke up and discovered that both Deidra and Carla were bleeding, cold, and immobile. N.T., 10/6/98, at 163-64. Jonathon attempted to call 911 but the telephone was dead. Id. at 165. Consequently, Jonathon woke up his brothers, Joseph and Jeremy, and told them to go to their neighbors’ homes to call the police, which they did.
The police arrived at the crime scene at 8:48 a.m. and initiated an investigation. The police found a bullet of .380 auto caliber near Carla’s body and a bullet of the same caliber was subsequently recovered from Deidra’s body.20 They further learned that both a back door to the house leading into the basement and a sliding glass door that led to a porch in the back of the house were unlocked. N.T., 10/5/98, at 56-57, 81, 90-91.21 In walking around the outside of the house, the police discovered that the telephone wire and the cable television wire leading into Carla’s house had been cut. N.T., 10/5/98, at 65-66, 85-86, 112. On the left side of the house near where the cable wire had been cut, the police observed a footprint in some bark mulch. Id. at 112.22 The police additionally noticed that a dotted impression had been left on the PVC utility pipe outside of the house. Id. at 57.
While the police were investigating the crime scene, Appellant appeared and agreed to go to the Barracks and speak with Troopers H. Wayne Sheppard and Anthony Manetta. N.T., 10/8/98, at 513. At the Barracks, Appellant told the troopers that he was in his room at the Rose Lawn Motel from 8:30 p.m. the previous evening until 9:00 a.m. that morning. Id. at 514-15. He further stated that he had not been near Carla’s home the previous evening and that he had never owned or even shot a gun. Id. at 522. During the interview, Trooper Sheppard thought he saw blood on Appellant’s jacket and therefore, asked him if he would consent to an analysis of the jacket. Id. at 516. Appellant agreed to allow the troopers to take his jacket as well as his boots and hat. Id.