On an otherwise normal Friday evening, Charity Loretta Lee Southerland, a 21-year-old female, settled in for the night in her Greenville, South Carolina home. The next day, April 2, 2022, she was discovered by family members in her bedroom, having been shot to death. The devastating discovery was made even more tragic as her two-year-old son was found physically unharmed in the same room.
The coroner's report would later confirm that she had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
In the wake of her death, Southerland’s family was left reeling, grappling with the sudden and violent loss of a beloved daughter and mother. They described her as a good and lovable person who was cherished by everyone she met. A year after her death, with no suspects publicly named, her family held a vigil to keep her memory alive and to plead for any information that might lead to an arrest in the unsolved case. They offered a reward for information that could bring them the answers they so desperately sought.
For nearly two years, the case remained a painful open wound for her loved ones. Investigators revealed they had a person of interest early on but lacked the concrete evidence to press charges. A significant breakthrough finally came when authorities in Rome, Georgia, contacted them regarding an individual arrested for a separate assault. This individual, Charles Russel Reams, was the 22-year-old ex-boyfriend of Southerland and the father of her child.
New evidence, including DNA and witness statements, ultimately linked Reams to Southerland's death. He was subsequently charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in connection with the domestic dispute that authorities believe led to her death. Reams was incarcerated in Georgia on the unrelated assault charges while awaiting extradition to South Carolina to face the accusations in Southerland's case. The arrest brought a measure of relief to her grieving family, who expressed gratitude for the law enforcement officials who continued to work on her case.
