Rodney Reed who was convicted and sentenced to death row in 1998 for the rape and murder of 19 year old Stacey Stites. Investigators concluded that she'd been strangled and sperm was collected from the scene. After a year her case went unsolved until suddenly law enforcement tested against Rodney Reed and when the DNA matched they no longer sought out any more evidence. Reed being black and Stites white and engaged to a man named Jimmy Fennel a white cop in the neighboring town, he (Reed) initially denied knowing Stites but admitted to having an affair with her, explaining the sexual intercourse two days before the murder. Reed had various witnesses who could testify but most weren't called because they we're related to him. But one of the witnesses recalled knowing of the affair and that Fennell found out and threatened Reed. With medical and forensic evidence being debunked, witnesses from Stites family who came forward and said they knew about the affair and Fennell's suspicious timeline of the event no further consideration was taken.
Comments