Reagan Delaney Tokes, a 21-year-old female student at Ohio State University, was tragically murdered on February 9, 2017, in Scioto Grove Metro Park, Grove City, Ohio. Reagan was born on March 13, 1995, in Edgewood, Kentucky, and grew up in Maumee, Ohio. She was a psychology major and had aspirations of working at the Cleveland Clinic after graduation.
On the night of February 8, 2017, Reagan was abducted by Brian Golsby while leaving her job at Bodega, a restaurant-cum-bar in Columbus's Short North neighborhood. Golsby, who had recently been released from prison, forced Reagan to drive to the park, where he robbed and raped her. He then marched her into a field and shot her twice in the head just before midnight. Reagan's body was discovered the following morning by a pedestrian.
Brian Golsby, a 32-year-old male, was identified as the perpetrator.
He had a history of criminal behavior, including a six-year prison sentence for kidnapping a pregnant woman and her child, which he had pled down to robbery and attempted rape. Despite being on parole and wearing a GPS monitor, Golsby violated his probation and committed six robberies before murdering Reagan. He was convicted in March 2018 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty, but the appeals court ruled that they could not continue to pursue it.
Reagan's murder received extensive media coverage and led to calls for changes in Ohio's criminal justice system. In 2018, Governor John Kasich signed part of the Reagan Tokes Act into law, aimed at improving the state's criminal justice system. Reagan's family also filed a lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and NISRE Inc., the company responsible for housing Golsby, arguing that their negligence contributed to Reagan's death. However, several courts dismissed the lawsuit against the ODRC, and the Supreme Court of Ohio declined to hear the case.
The tragic death of Reagan Tokes has left a lasting impact on her family, friends, and the community, and continues to be a focal point in discussions about criminal justice reform.
