Detective Lorie Howard made a promise years ago to identify Grace Doe and to find her killer.
That promise was fulfilled on March 21, 2024 when the McDonald County Sheriff’s Office (Missouri) declared the decades-old case closed.
McDonald County Sheriff Robert Evenson, along with Detective Howard and her partner, Detective Rhonda Wise, announced at a press conference that Talfey Reeves of Pineville, Mo., was identified as the murderer of Shauna Garber in 1990. Garber was formerly referred to by investigators as “Grace Doe.”
The 33-year-old cold case was resolved after Detectives Lorie Howard and Rhonda Wise spent decades gathering evidence. Initially, there was speculation that the notorious BTK killer was the prime suspect. However, the detectives announced that Shauna’s killer was Talfey Reeves, who is now deceased.
“Through statements, sources, witnesses, pounding the ground, and driving people absolutely insane for 30 years, we finally have the answers that we needed,” Detective Howard said.
Reeves had multiple charges dating back to the 1980s, including first-degree assault and drug trafficking. Detectives were able to confirm Reeves as Shauna’s killer through six corroborated sources and a witness who came forward after Reeves died in a car accident on November 5, 2021.
“I can tell you Talfey Reeves was a suspect in this case for years,” Howard said. “I just couldn’t get anybody to talk to me on the record, as an affidavit, I couldn’t corroborate their stories until years later. I had nobody who had the missing piece until he died. And that’s how we are here today.”
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