Denton (1080 KRLD) - A jury in Oklahoma is recommending death for a suspected serial killer who is believed to have murdered a Farmers Branch woman 24-years ago.
Police in two states says William Reece, 61, is behind at least four murders, including University of North Texas law enforcement student Kelli Cox. She abducted from Denton shortly after touring the police department as part of a class on July 15, 1997. Her body was found in a remote area of Brazoria County after Reece led police to the scene in 2016.
The Oklahoma case involved newlywed Tiffany Johnson, who was, raped and murdered at a car wash in the town of Bethany. The jury convicted Reece of murder in an hour, then recommended that District Judge Susan Stallings impose the death sentence. Stallings will announce her decision in Oklahoma City on August 19th.
DNA from Johnson's case was linked to Reece through a records system. At the time Reece was serving a 60-year prison term for kidnapping a 19-year old woman at knifepoint in 1997. She was able to escape by jumping from Reece's moving truck.
A Texas Ranger convinced Reece to admit to other murders to give the families of the victims closure. Reece agreed and led police to two gravesites, including the location where Cox was buried.
The conviction and death sentence recommendation were hailed by Jan Bynum, the Farmer's Branch mother of Cox.
"They did the right thing." Bynum said of the jury's verdict.
Bynum had waited almost 20 years for some clue of what happened to her daughter when Reece confessed and led authorities to her grave. Medical problems with her family kept her from attending the trial. She is considering attending the sentencing hearing in August, if for no other reason than to stare at her daughter's accused killer, eye-to-eye.
"That's a hard one for me to answer. There's times I want to and then there's times I'm like, I don't know I might need someone there to physically hold me back." Bynum said.
Legal experts say if the death sentence is imposed it is unlikely the remaining murder trials will take place.
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