William Lewis Reece

Serial Killer

William Lewis Reece: The 1997 Interstate Murder Cases

Background and Earlier Violence

William Lewis Reece is an American serial killer, kidnapper, and sexual predator whose crimes terrorized communities in Texas and Oklahoma. Born on July 1, 1959, Reece spent much of his adult life moving between the two states and working in jobs that allowed him to travel along major highways. His familiarity with isolated roads, construction areas, and rural properties later helped him conceal his victims and avoid prosecution for years. Reece had already demonstrated a pattern of violence against women before the murders for which he eventually became notorious. In Oklahoma, he was convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women during the 1980s. He received a lengthy prison sentence but was released in October 1996 after serving approximately ten years. After leaving prison, he initially lived with his mother in Anadarko, Oklahoma, before relocating to the Houston, Texas, area. Within months of his release, young women and girls began disappearing along routes connecting Houston, Galveston County, Brazoria County, Denton, and central Oklahoma. The victims ranged in age from twelve to twenty. Reece often approached women while they were alone, stranded, jogging, or using public businesses near highways. Investigators later concluded that he used deception, physical force, and threats with a weapon to gain control of his victims.

Laura Kate Smither

Twelve-year-old Laura Kate Smither disappeared from Friendswood, Texas, on the morning of April 3, 1997. Laura had left her family's home for a short jog but failed to return. Her disappearance prompted an enormous search involving law-enforcement officers and thousands of volunteers. Searchers examined neighborhoods, fields, roadsides, waterways, and undeveloped land throughout the region. Laura's remains were found on April 20, 1997, in a retention pond near Pasadena, approximately twelve miles from her home. Investigators determined that she had been killed shortly after she disappeared. Reece later gave changing versions of what happened, at one point claiming that his vehicle struck Laura while she was jogging. He eventually admitted taking her in his vehicle and strangling her before leaving her body in the pond. The case had a lasting effect on the Friendswood community. Laura's parents, Bob and Gay Smither, later helped establish the Laura Recovery Center, an organization dedicated to assisting searches for missing children and supporting affected families. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Laura Smither Age: (12), Date of Death: 1997-04-03

William Lewis Reece - Wikipedia