In the quiet, rural community of Citronelle, Alabama, a horrific act of violence unfolded on August 20, 2016, claiming the life of 23-year-old Justin Kaleb Reed and four other individuals. The tragedy took place at a private residence where a woman, Laneta Lester, had sought refuge from her abusive and estranged boyfriend, Derrick Ryan Dearman.
In the early morning hours, Dearman, fueled by methamphetamine, broke into the home where Lester was staying with her brother, Joseph Adam
Turner, and his wife, Shannon Melissa Randall. Also in the house were friends Robert Lee Brown, Justin Kaleb Reed, and his wife, Chelsea Marie Reed, who was five months pregnant. After residents had earlier made a 911 call to report Dearman trespassing, he returned and attacked the occupants while they slept, using an axe and a firearm. All five were brutally murdered.
Following the gruesome attack, Dearman kidnapped Lester and the three-month-old infant of Joseph and Shannon. He took them across the state line to his father's home in Leakesville, Mississippi. After releasing them, Dearman, persuaded by his father, surrendered to the authorities in Greene County, Mississippi. He confessed to the murders, attributing his actions to being under the influence of methamphetamine.
Derrick Dearman was extradited to Alabama and charged with six counts of capital murder, which included a charge for the unborn child of Chelsea Reed, as permitted under Alabama law. In September 2018, he pleaded guilty to the capital murder charges. A jury subsequently convicted him and recommended the death penalty, a sentence that was formally imposed in October 2018. After giving up his appeals, Derrick Ryan Dearman was executed by lethal injection on October 17, 2024.
