In what began as a missing persons case, the lives of 34-year-old Joseph Soule and 31-year-old Jaclyn Lepird of Battle Creek, Michigan, came to a tragic end in October 2020. The couple was last seen on October 7, 2020, and a missing persons report was filed with the police the following Monday. As the investigation progressed, details emerged that suggested their disappearance was under suspicious circumstances.
The focus of the investigation soon turned to their landlord, 53-year-old
Chad Reed, with whom they lived at a residence on Post Avenue and had an ongoing dispute. The situation escalated on October 15, 2020, when Reed turned himself in to the Battle Creek Police and confessed to murdering both Soule and Lepird. Reed claimed that a verbal altercation with the couple on the day they went missing had turned violent. According to Reed's account, Soule pulled out a knife, prompting Reed to pull out a gun and shoot him. He then shot Lepird as she tried to flee.
Following his confession, Reed led investigators to the location of their bodies. He admitted to wrapping the deceased in plastic and leaving them in his pickup truck for several days before moving the vehicle to an abandoned garage at another property. Reed was subsequently arrested and lodged in the Calhoun County Jail, facing two charges of open murder. A fire later broke out at the Post Avenue home where the murders occurred, adding another layer to the investigation.
In the ensuing legal proceedings, Chad Reed was charged with two counts of open murder for the deaths of Joseph Soule and Jaclyn Lepird. Despite his initial confession, he pleaded not guilty. Jurors began deliberating his fate in October 2023, after a trial where it was revealed that Reed had not only shot the victims but had also beaten and strangled Lepird. Ultimately, in December 2023, Chad Allan Reed was sentenced to life in prison for the killings, bringing a measure of closure to the families of Joseph Soule and Jaclyn Lepird.
