After two days of questioning, a jury of seven men and five women were selected Wednesday afternoon to hear the trial of a local man charged with two counts of capital murder for the 2015 shooting deaths of his wife and daughter.
Opening arguments and testimony in the case of Eric Allen Reid, 57, are scheduled to begin today in Garland County Circuit Court with Judge John Homer Wright presiding. The state, represented by Chief Deputy Prosecutor Joe Graham and Deputy Prosecutor Kara Petro, have indicated they plan to seek the death penalty if Reid is convicted.
Reid, who has remained in custody since his arrest the night of the shootings on Oct. 20, 2015, was initially charged with two counts of first-degree murder, punishable by up to life in prison, but prosecutors amended the charges on April 10, 2017, to capital murder, punishable by death or life in prison without parole.
Reid was set to stand trial on the original charges on June 28, 2017, but after the charges were amended, his attorney, Willard Proctor Jr., of Little Rock, requested a continuance, which Wright granted, and the trial was reset for this week.
Reid pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect on Dec. 7, 2015, for the shooting deaths of his wife, Laura J. Reid, 57, and his daughter, Mary Ann Reid, 32, who both lived at his residence at 607 Northwood Trail.
Four panels of jurors were called in Tuesday and after a full day of questioning by prosecutors and the defense attorneys, which also include Dominque King and Cara Boyd-Conner, six jurors were seated by the end of the day. The jurors were questioned in groups of three during the process.
Jury selection resumed Wednesday and the remaining six main jurors were selected and one male alternate by around 4:30 p.m. Attorneys were still working to select one or more additional alternates late Wednesday.
A gag order limiting pretrial publicity was previously issued by Wright, and Proctor filed a motion to suppress statements made by Reid to Garland County sheriff's investigators following his arrest, arguing they were in violation of his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.
Reid surrendered to sheriff's deputies in the driveway of his residence when they arrived at the scene shortly after 9 p.m. on Oct. 20, 2015, after responding to a report of shots fired.
Deputies made entry into the house and discovered the bodies of Laura Reid and Mary Ann Reid. Also inside the house was Reid's younger daughter, 20, who also lived there, and Mary Ann Reid's two young children, none of whom were injured.
The younger daughter gave a statement to Investigator Jennifer Tonseth, indicating her father had shot and killed her sister and mother and "relayed the details" to Tonseth.
After processing the crime scene, Investigator Terry Threadgill went to the sheriff 's department where he questioned Reid after advising him of his rights, and he reportedly provided a videotaped statement in which he admitted to shooting both victims.
Garland County Sheriff Mike McCormick, at a news conference the next day, said, "This was a horrific event in Garland County," and noted there was "some discord going on in the family" preceding the shootings, but couldn't elaborate further.
Local on 03/01/2018