In the winter of 2016, a quiet Oklahoma City neighborhood was shattered by a brutal act of violence that claimed the life of 59-year-old Sharon Reed and her husband. On February 9th, police were called to the couple's home, a place that also served as a daycare, to conduct a welfare check. What they discovered inside was a scene of unimaginable horror that would send shockwaves through the community.
Sharon Reed and her husband, James Earl Reed, 78, were found deceased inside their
residence. The couple had been shot and subsequently decapitated. The tragedy was further compounded by the fact that the home they shared was a place of care and trust for neighborhood children. Fortunately, the children present at the daycare at the time of the incident were found unharmed in an attached garage, seemingly shielded from the horrific events that transpired within the house.
The primary suspect in this gruesome crime was shockingly close to the victims. Sharon's own grandson, 20-year-old Quinton Dashawn Laster, who had been living with his grandparents, was found at the scene. Laster was taken into custody by the Oklahoma City police without incident. He had reportedly spoken to a neighbor after the killings, which prompted the call to the police. Following his arrest, Laster was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. While the motive for the shocking and violent act was not immediately clear, the arrest brought a swift, albeit painful, resolution to the initial investigation into the tragic deaths of Sharon and James Reed. The community was left to grapple with the loss of a couple described as a stabilizing force and the disturbing reality of the violence that had unfolded within a family.
