William Reece agrees to be extradited to Oklahoma, face murder charge
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Convicted kidnapper and accused murderer William Reece agreed Wednesday to be temporarily transferred to Oklahoma to face the pending 1st degree murder charge.
The 56-year-old walked into court wearing a blue polo shirt and khaki pants. He was shackled at the wrists and ankles. He kept a straight face and answered the judge's questions without showing emotion.
"Oklahoma has been good in working with us," Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady said. "We were able to keep Reece here, get information that has led to the resolution and solving of these cases, so he's done what we need at this point, we'll let him go to Oklahoma, and then we'll get him back in Texas."
Reece will travel to Oklahoma to stand trial for the murder of Tiffany Johnston. Once Reece steps on Oklahoma soil, Galveston County will officially charge him with the murders of Jessica Cain and Laura Smither.
The Denton County District Attorney's Office will likely follow suit in the case of Kelli Cox.
Bob and Gay Smither, the parents of Laura Smither, were in the courtroom. They said seeing Reece in person is not easy.
"Awful," Gay Smither said. "But he's also a very broken individual, and I have pity in my heart for someone who is so broken, to do what he has done to so many people. This person did not live the lives that so many of us lived and we have to remember that."
Reece has been in custody in Galveston County for months after agreeing to lead authorities to the bodies of missing women. He has not yet been charged but has been long suspected in the deaths of Jessica Cain, Laura Smither and Kelli Ann Cox. Smither was found dead shortly after she disappeared, but Cain and Cox both vanished without a trace nearly two decades ago. Both victims' bodies were recovered from Houston area fields in March.
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