William Reece Pleads Guilty to the 1997 Murders of Laura Smither, Jessica Cain and Kelli Cox: KHOU 11 Report, 2022

Name: William Reece Pleads Guilty to the 1997 Murders of Laura Smither, Jessica Cain and Kelli Cox: KHOU 11 Report, 2022
Uploaded: 2022-06-30T00:00:00Z
Duration: 2 min 40 s
Description: A KHOU 11 report on the day William Reece pleaded guilty in Galveston and Brazoria counties to murdering Laura Smither, Jessica Cain and Kelli Cox, 25 years after they were killed.

A KHOU 11 report on the day William Reece pleaded guilty in Galveston and Brazoria counties to murdering Laura Smither, Jessica Cain and Kelli Cox, 25 years after they were killed.

Subject: William Lewis Reece
Recorded: June 29, 2022
Runtime: 2:40

Content warning: Concerns the murders of a 12-year-old girl, a 17-year-old girl and a 20-year-old woman; no graphic detail.

The Report

This is a KHOU 11 report from the evening of June 29, 2022, the day William Reece pleaded guilty in two Texas courtrooms to three murders committed in 1997. Reporter Xavier Walton describes the hearings in Galveston and Brazoria counties and returns to the original disappearances with archive footage from 1997. The report includes brief courtroom footage, including Reece being brought into the Galveston courtroom, and remarks by the mothers of two of the victims. Reece himself is not heard.

Historical Context

In 1997 three young women and girls disappeared in Texas. Laura Kate Smither, 12, vanished while jogging near her home in Friendswood in April; her body was found in Pasadena. Jessica Lee Cain, 17, a La Marque high school student, disappeared in August after a theater cast party; her vehicle was found on Interstate 45 near Tiki Island. Kelli Ann Cox, 20, a University of North Texas student and the mother of a toddler, disappeared in Denton in July. The cases went unsolved for years. Reece led investigators to Kelli Cox's remains in Brazoria County in April 2016; the report says he led them to the bodies of Cox and Cain that year. In 2021 he was convicted in Oklahoma of the 1997 murder of Tiffany Johnston, 19, and sentenced to death.

Circumstances of the Hearings

On the morning of June 29, 2022, in the 405th District Court in Galveston County, Reece pleaded guilty to the murders of Laura Smither and Jessica Cain and received two life sentences. That afternoon, at the Brazoria County Courthouse in Angleton, he pleaded guilty to the murder of Kelli Cox and received a third life sentence. Relatives of the victims gave victim impact statements.

What the Report Covers

The report recounts each case and shows a 1997 recording of Laura's father, Bob Smither, saying his daughter had gone for a run and had been gone longer than he expected. It recalls the prayer vigils held for Jessica Cain. Kelli Cox's mother says the official record will now show that Reece was convicted of taking her daughter. Laura Smither's mother speaks of the long wait for justice and of forgiveness as a way of freeing herself from anger. The report ends with the Texas prison system's statement that Reece would return to its custody while he awaits execution in Oklahoma.

What Makes the Recording Significant

It records the day three families' cases were closed in court, a quarter century after the murders, and joins it to the families' own words from 1997 and 2022.

Archival Importance

The pleas resolved three long-unsolved Texas cases. This report preserves how they were closed, with archive footage of the original searches set beside the families' response.

Important Caveats

Reece is not heard in this video; the judge's question "Guilty or not guilty?" is audible in the captions, but his answer is not. This is a short news report, not a record of the full hearings. The narration says Jessica Cain was from Tiki Island, as the Associated Press also reported; KHOU's own article describes her as a La Marque high school student. Her vehicle was found on I-45 near Tiki Island. The mothers are not named in the video; the attributions come from press reports of the day.

Anchor: [...]night, justice for three families, 25 years after their loved ones were murdered by a man who is now a convicted serial killer. William Reece pleaded guilty today to killing three young women and girls in Galveston and Brazoria counties back in 1997. Xavier Walton is in the newsroom tonight. Xavier, it was definitely an emotional day for these families.

Narrator: Oh, Mia, absolutely. And considering everything that these families have been through, how could they not be emotional today? Though they face the man they have been waiting to see punished for decades, limping into a Galveston courtroom. William Reece pled guilty to murdering 12-year-old Laura Smither and 17-year-old Jessica Cain.

Laura Smither'S Mother: 25 years is an awfully long time to be waiting for justice.

Narrator: The murders took place in 1997.

Bob Smither: My daughter went on a run this morning, and she's been gone a lot longer than I expected.

Unidentified Voice: And what's your name, please, sir?

Bob Smither: Bob Smither.

Narrator: That was the last morning Bob saw his 12-year-old daughter, Laura. Days later,

Archive News Report: the young woman found off Beltway 8 is Laura Kate Smither.

Narrator: In August of 1997, Jessica Cain's family felt the same pain. They released this video, hoping it would help bring her home. They held prayer vigils on Tiki Island, where the 17-year-old was from.

Speaker At A Prayer Vigil: [...] and He can heal a broken heart.

Narrator: Prayers from that day now answered decades later. That includes in Brazoria County, where Reece pled guilty Wednesday to murdering 20-year-old Kelli Cox of Denton.

Kelli Cox'S Mother: Now the official records will show he was found guilty and convicted of taking my daughter away from us.

Narrator: All of these cases remain cold until Reece confessed in 2016, when he led investigators to the bodies of Cox and Cain. Wednesday,

Judge: Guilty or not guilty?

Narrator: healing for families trying to mend their broken hearts.

Laura Smither'S Mother: Losing a child, or any loved one, it never goes away. I mean, it doesn't fix anything, but it, it puts you into, it's like, "Okay, I got over this hump now." Forgiveness [unclear: "was" / "is, was"] really for me, to let myself out of the, I was in such a prison of anger and rage.

Narrator: And a spokesperson for the Texas prison system says Reece will now return to their custody. The state will work with authorities in Oklahoma to figure out where Reece will serve his life sentences as he awaits the death penalty in Oklahoma. [02:39 to 02:40: clip ends.] ---