On September 30, 2010, the body of Reita L. Long, a 52-year-old African American female, was discovered on the steps outside the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in downtown Houston, Texas. She was fully clothed and had suffered trauma to her neck. Emergency responders pronounced her dead at the scene, and forensic analysis later confirmed that she had been strangled with a black bra. Long, who was homeless at the time, had previously worked as a teacher and was known to suffer from mental illness. Her personal belongings, including a METRO bus card and identification, were missing, suggesting a possible robbery.
Following an investigation by the Houston Police Department, DNA evidence collected from the bra and scrapings from Long’s fingernails matched the profile of a suspect already in the national DNA database. The suspect, Lucky Ward, a 46-year-old African American homeless male with a long criminal history, was arrested without incident on November 4, 2010, just blocks from the crime scene. Ward confessed to the murder, stating that the killing stemmed from a petty argument. He was charged with capital murder and held without bond.
Ward’s criminal record included convictions for aggravated assault, drug possession, theft, and prostitution. Authorities also considered him a suspect in the deaths of two other women in the same downtown area: Carol Flood, a 62-year-old homeless African American female found strangled and partially nude behind the old YMCA building on October 10, 2010, and Raquel Mundy, a 24-year-old African American female found nude from the waist down near railroad tracks on June 18, 2010. However, at the time of Ward’s arrest, no charges had been filed in those cases.
In 2025, Ward was sentenced to death for the murders of Reita L. Long and another victim, Charlie Rodriguez, a transgender woman. During the trial, Long’s daughter and sister testified about the lasting impact of her death. Prosecutors described Ward as a continuing threat to society, citing his brutal methods and lack of remorse. Although defense attorneys pointed to Ward’s traumatic upbringing and mental health diagnoses, the jury ultimately determined that the severity of his crimes warranted the death penalty.
