Snapped: Women Who Murder - Cindy Reese

Episode Date: March 28, 2021

A small town church is stunned when a parishioner is murdered; in a shocking twist the suspect pool is drawn directly from the church walls.Season 23, Episode 17Originally aired: June 3, 2018See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wonder East Podcast American Scandal. Our newest series looks at the story of OxyContin, a popular painkiller that helps spur an epidemic of addiction and drug abuse, in which prompted a broad campaign to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable. Listen to American Scandal on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. They were the quintessential small town couple who were devoted to God and to each other. Cindy and her family were at the church. Basically every time the church doors were open.

I thought this marriage here was going to last forever. But on a cool February night in 2015, that forever was severed in an unspeakable act of violence. It was really nothing short of an execution. The whole community was turned upside down. Things like this don't happen in Morris. Was this the work of a stranger? Or did this Christian community have a wolf among its devoted flock?

I think the parishioners of the church were so appalled that what was happening. We have a jilted lover that is controlling manipulative. I want our city to reach you. He approaches these two individuals and gives a description of someone that he wants to kill. With a population of less than 2,000 people, Morris, Alabama is a small, tight-knit community. It's the kind of place where roots run deep,

and violence often seems like a world away. But when a call reaches area dispatchers just after 8 p.m. on February 18, 2015, it sparks a horrifying chain of events no one in this town will ever forget. And now one? Oh, yeah, I just got home and... No one in this town will ever forget. And now one? Oh, yeah, I just got home and stuff has been kind of

doctor down in the house, and I can't find my husband. She sounded emotional. She sounded worried about her husband. Her house was in disarray, and it appeared somebody had broken in. Within minutes, police are on the scene. They arrive to find Cindy Reese appearing to be shaken and upset standing out in her front yard.

Officers enter the home with guns drawn. They went into the house not only looking for Michael Cindy's husband, but also looking for someone who may be a potential intruder. The living room was disturbed. Some furniture have been overturned. It looked like the herd had been a struggle. These officers are not prepared for what they find next.

We walked to the back, and that's where you see the pool of blood were mocked as file. He was slumped over. There was a bullet wound to the back of his head. There was blood on the floor. It wasn't just a break in. It had turned into something much, much bigger. Born and raised just outside Morris, Alabama, Michael Reese always considered himself a

small town kind of guy. He liked being on the outskirts of hustle and bustle of a busy city or town. He liked simple things in life. While fishing was Michael's main hobby. His passion had always been computers. If any of us had a problem with a computer, we just called Michael. He'd come in and it'd take him five minutes to fix something that one of us had been looking at for two hours

and couldn't figure out. I was very proud of Michael of what he had done because he went to college, he went to do what he wanted to do, being a computer technician. of what he had done because he went to college, he went to do what he wanted to do, being a computer technician. After college, Michael returned to Morris and got married. But just after five years of marriage, Michael's wife filed for divorce. It was really rough on him.

He just didn't like to live by himself and he wanted to be married, he wanted kids, he wanted a family and he wasn't getting no younger. He was ready to find that woman that would make his life complete, possibly children, a good loving marriage, and a good Christian home. That's what he was looking for. So at age 33, the divorcee reached out to his friends for help.

Michael had made a suggestion to his friend, Jennifer, that if you know any single ladies, send them my way. She had seen Cindy at one of my children's birthday parties and talked to her before and thought that maybe Michael and her would possibly make a good match. Like Michael, Cindy Henderson had a solid Christian upbringing and deep roots in the area. Cindy and her family were at the church.

Basically, every time the church doors were open. Her father was the associate pastor at Springville Baptist Church. I think most of Cindy's childhood and teen life was centered around her family and the church more than anything. She didn't party. I don't know that Cindy has ever taken a drink before. She was a good girl. After earning a degree in accounting, Cindy married her college sweetheart, Mike Tillery, in 1995,

under pressure from her conservative father to settle down quickly. But I think that her family probably influenced her to go ahead and get married maybe before she would have done it on her own. But the marriage was troubled. Mike had a difficult personality. I don't think that she was happy. She was more moody and withdrawn. A lot of times.

Then in 2007, after 12 years together, tragedy struck. Cindy had come home from work, and she noticed that Mike's vehicle was outside. She went downstairs looking for him and found him in a basement room with a gunshot wound to his head.

Her husband came to suicide with a shotgun. Mike's death sent Cindy spiraling into a depression for months. Cindy really didn't want to get out of bed very much. She didn't want to go do anything. She didn't want to get involved. She had just quit living her life. But when Cindy's cousin connected her to the modest country boy, Michael Reese, Cindy agreed to give him a chance. And when the pair met in person, Cindy's last bit of hesitation disappeared.

Michael was that type of person that you wanted in a husband, all around good guy, that you didn't mind taking home and introducing to Mama. Michael Reese charmed her. He opened doors for. He was kind. He was gracious.

After the first time she went out with Michael, she said, I had no idea that it could be like this. For Michael, the feeling was mutual. When I started dating, I could tell Michael was just head over heels for Cindy. Michael was excited. You could tell that he was acting a little different right after he met Cindy. I think that he saw someone in her that he thought that he would be with for the rest of his life. that he thought that he would be with for the rest of his life.

After a year and a half together on September 5th, 2009, Michael and Cindy married at a small country church in their hometown. Michael and Cindy's wedding was traded just like a first wedding would be Cindy wore a white wedding dress. And you would never know that they had been married before. Everybody joked around, kiddled around and had a good time. It was a happy day. It was a good day for everybody. After a dream honeymoon at Disney World, Cindy and Michael settled into married life.

Michael worked as a computer tech at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, while Cindy was an accountant for the Jefferson County Courthouse. And like the devoted Christians they were, every Wednesday and Sunday, the Reese's could be found in the pews of Sardis Baptist Church. Cindy was already attending a church

and was also the choir director. They're at that church, so Michael started attending the church and he fell in love with the church. He was excited, you know, he worked the sound system there to church. Anything they needed done, he could do, he would do. Michael and Cindy even struck up a friendship with the church's pastor, Jeff Brown and his wife, Noel. Like Michael and Cindy,

Jeff and Noel were at church any time the doors were open. The Browns and the Reces were very close friends. Jeff and his wife had several children that the Reces would watch and babysit. The four would go out on double dates. They did a lot of things together, you know, as two couples would normally do.

When Michael decided to officially join the church in 2014, Cindy, Jeff, and Noel were by his side. To be a Baptist, you got to be a Baptist in the Baptist, so Jeff actually baptized him to join the church. Then in December 2014, after five years together, Michael surprised Cindy with a second honeymoon. And when they returned from their trip, Cindy and Michael started making plans for the future. Michael had always wanted kids.

They had discussed it with understanding that that would be part of their lives. They were making an addition, I think adding an extra bedroom in the back of that house. Michael had found the woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and she had found the man that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, and that they would just grow old together. I thought this marriage here was going to last forever. Unfortunately, their blissful future comes to an abrupt end on February 18, 2015,

when Morris Police responds to a 911 call from the home of Cindy and Michael Reese. That 911 call was made by Cindy Reese and what she said to the 911 operator was that someone had broken into her house and that her husband was missing. That is when officers make a gruesome discovery in the couple's brand new edition. What was originally a simple burglary call quickly turns into something much more serious. You kind of cocked your head and it looks suspicious. Coming up, investigators speak to Michael Reese's bereaved widow.

I couldn't get Michael to answer me. It just scared me. And investigators zero in on a potential suspect. She had said that there had been a unknown male walking around in a dark hoodie. In 2015, after almost seven years together, Michael and Cindy Reese had never looked more in love. She would always have that gazing, loving look at Michael, and Michael would have the same look back to her. We knew that this kind man was going to take good care of her

and we knew that this kind man was going to take good care of her and we knew that this kind man was going to take good care of her looking at Michael and Michael would have the same look back to her. We knew that this kind man was going to take good care of her and we felt like that she was probably going to be happy from now on. Then came the events of February 18th, 2015. Police Department, I just got home and walked in the front door, and I don't know if the house has been broken too, or what, the tables been knocked over. But when Michael's body was found in an unfinished addition of the couple's Morris, Alabama home,

officers realized this was no ordinary break-in. MUSIC Michael was laying on his knees, leaning forward, just outside the back door in the new room. There was blood pulling him beneath him. Someone shot him from behind. He was shot in the back of the head, and it was really nothing short of an execution. This was definitely treated as an active scene. The officers moved pretty quickly to place a Cindy into a patrol car.

At this point, they're looking at her as someone with the most viable information in this investigation. She was obviously upset and almost stricken by what was happening. It was, I can't believe that this is really happening in moment for her. And Cindy's not alone. In a small town like Morris, word travels fast of the unfolding tragedy.

I tell you there was an office feeding around across me if any time in my life. It's nothing like having to catch your dad in your arms because he's as gone numb. And the only thing daddy could say was, this is gonna kill your mother. This is gonna kill your mother. The whole community was turned upside down.

Things like this don't happen in Morris. As loved ones begin to gather outside the Reese's home, among the mourners that night is Michael and Cindy's close friend and pastor, Jeff Brown. Jeff Brown paid for all of that. And he said, we're saying to you, I said, she's in a cop car right, John. But nobody talked to her.

And he says, well, I need to talk writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, I'm not a writer, Port Cindy's initial 911 call. When you walked through the front door, it appeared that there had been some sort of scuffle or someone had down in and turned over things like a table and papers were on the floor. They were looking at that initially as that's a possibility that a break in a burglary of some sort had occurred. What was apparent is there was no weapon. There was no shell casings, but if they used to revolve off her,

the empty shell case stays inside the cylinder and would not be on the floor. The primary investigators were inside the home looking and seeing if there was anything left that you know would give them a clue as to how this had happened and maybe who they'd done it. Detectives take Cindy to the Morris Police Department to get a formal statement. Cindy tearfully recounts the events leading up to her 911 call. The two of them had gone to church, had gotten something to eat at a fast food restaurant, and then come home.

They're the drive-thru and got to the house cause he had to bring Lucy, my dog, and cause it was a piece of cold. Cindy says when she and Michael arrived home, she realized she'd forgotten a few items from the grocery store and needed to go back out. She says she sets the food down and hollers at Michael, going to the pig, pigly-wiggly,

and I'll be back in a few minutes. She did leave and Michael went on into the house. His mission was to let the dog in, and which was at the back of the house, where he was found. Cindy says that she finished her grocery run and returned home around eight o'clock. The minute she walked in her front door, she knew something was wrong.

She walked in and immediately saw that a table had been turned over and that, you know, stuff was on the floor. She said that she hollered Michael, Michael, where are you at, Michael? I couldn't get Michael to answer me. But Cindy says that she didn't dare go inside due to a tragedy that left her traumatized years earlier. I didn't feel like she'd been my first one shot herself. I understand that. It just scared me. It scared me.

It flooded back memories of coming in and finding her first husband deceased. So she backed out and called 911 immediately. As for the possibility that Michael may have been intentionally targeted, Cindy finds that scenario hard to believe. They ask a lot of questions of his wife, but he just seems like a good guy. That was nothing more than a husband and a hard work

in a citizen. Michael wasn't the type of person that anybody would want to hurt for any reason. He didn't have any enemies. He didn't have people that were upset because of a bad business dealing, or because he had done something to them, or their family, or anything like that.

There was anybody that knew Michael that would want to do him any harm. I did ask if there had been anybody around the scenes that looked odd or, you know, things like that. And she had said that there had been a unknown male walking around in a dark hoodie. As Cindy's interview continues, she also mentions what could be another important clue. We've got some people walking around the house.

There was construction going on at the time. As investigators know, a construction worker would know the layout of the Reese's home and might even have a key. Here's the reality of violent crime in America, in Alabama, particularly. Murder cases rarely involve a stranger. Almost all of the time, the victim and defendant know each other in some form of fashion. Everybody I talked to felt like, from the very very beginning that this was not a random act. But if one of these individuals had been involved, what could they have been after that night? Besides jewelry, Cindy has an idea.

There should have been a 38 sitting on the gun rack in the bedroom. OK, we didn't know. We didn't see that. Should have been wanted to put a pair. on the gun rack in the bedroom. Okay, we didn't know. We didn't see that. We've been wanting to put a pair. That was the only other hand gun on your belt. So where exactly would that be? You walk into your bedroom,

you've got the dresser to the left, the computer, you got your bed in front. The gun rack behind the door, it should have been sitting tight on the... I'll say the gun, I didn't see it. Twist, I see, you can't, I didn't see you. Just, I said, I'm alone, right? I said, first. I should have been pissed off.

And since no shell casings were found at the crime scene, detectives know that the missing 38 revolver might very well be their murder weapon. That night, as detectives begin to work their initial two leads, Cindy is escorted to the police station lobby. There, Cindy's friend and pastor, 36-year-old Jeff Brown, is waiting for her with open arms. Jeff immediately presents himself as not only a pastor of

Cindy's and Michaels, but as a friend. When Jeff went to leave with Cindy, she walked out the door. He put his arm on her back. MUSIC Coming up, police worked to find a killer. Deputy's canvas to the neighborhood taught to the neighbors see if they heard anything

and a scandalous revelation rocks a quiet country church. The parishioners of the church were so appalled that what was happening. Ladies and gentlemen, get ready and buckle up. We've got the one and only Conan O'Brien, making a legendary appearance on Smartless. Picture this, the iconic Conan O'Brien, Puffy Red Hair and all, joining forces with me

and Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes. It is just, it's a recipe for podcast perfection exclusively on One Re plus. We're taking you on an unforgettable journey behind the curtain. We're pulling back the veil on the world of late night and giving you an inside look into the mind of a true legend.

Our episode with Conan is the second of 10 special episodes exclusive to One Re plus. These episodes are the full recorded interviews from our smart list tour that was filmed in front of thousands of our biggest fans from Washington, D., DC to Los Angeles. You're not going to want to miss this conversation with Conan. You can listen to these episodes exclusively and add free with Wondry Plus.

Find Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts. In Morris, Alabama, Michael and Cindy Reese thought their marriage was the start of a beautiful, long-lasting life together. But on February 18, 2015, that dream ended when Michael was found dead in the couple's home. Police have yet to identify a suspect, but are following two solid leads thanks to Michael's bereaved wife. Cindy gives us a description of a possible suspect that may have been wearing a dark hoodie. Also, Cindy brought up the fact that they were doing the construction in the back area of the house and that there were different people in and out of her house

during this time. That night and the next day, police work these two leads. We spoke with the contractor and the electricians and the workers to try to see if there was any connection. As it turns out, the Reese's contractor is also a member of the same church that Michael and Cindy attend. The main contractor was at church that same night. And again, the other subcontractors, one of them was actually a deputy sheriff. Detectives also inquire about the suspicious man,

Cindy reported seeing in the vicinity of her home. To my knowledge, there wasn't anything going from the canvas of the area. None of the neighbors saw anyone or anything unusual happening on that street that night. Nothing was actually panning out. Just as it seems investigators are at an impasse, they receive a call from Cindy's best friend,

Lauren Kellham, who stuns everyone with a bombshell revelation. The information that we got was that Cindy and Jeff brand were having an affair. For investigators, it's a twist they didn't see coming. On February 19, they confront Cindy Reese about the allegations. She was very open. I did ask her about how they met,

and she openly gave a timeline. According to Cindy, the affair began in late 2013, when Jeff was the pastor at Sardis Baptist Church and Cindy, the music director. To be honest, when I first met Jeff, I was a to him. They worked close together in the church, because she would talk to him and ask him what his sermons were

going to be for that Sunday, so she could, you know, get songs to go along with his sermons. Cindy admits at the time her four-year marriage to Michael had hit alone. It just got to where we would come home and he would sit on one end of the couch and play on his phone and would sit on the other end and watch TV. It was like we were eight years old.

That's why Cindy says it felt so exciting to spend time with her charismatic pastor. Soon they started going to trips to different Christian bookstores looking for music. They started working together to plan the service for Sunday. She had started calling Jeff her best friend, and it just seemed like they were inseparable. But like Cindy,, was married. It's from an office, you know, an affection or whatever, a puppy love, a product.

And when we talk, the more we just kind of fell in love with each other. So you did fall in love with Jeff? And he? Yeah. Cindy admits in time, her and Jeff's feelings for one another sparked gossip amongst their fellow parishioners. You know how girls get that little school girl, green and giggly and all that.

That's how she was when ever you mentioned Jeff. So that led to individuals within the church beginning to ask certain questions. I think the parishioners of the church saw this affair happening right before their eyes. People were so appalled at what was happening. There was the assumption that they were too close and they were asking for Jeff's resignation. The more we tried to fight it, the more sick I had. So I just resigned. I did not realize he was going to do a rap harmony. I mean, we had talked about both of us resigning,

but I didn't realize. Cindy says in the aftermath of the fallout, she made a confession to her husband. I don't want to guilt. I told Michael I had an affair. So you did tell him, um, I just? Yeah. Yes.

Those of truth hurt Michael. Cindy says it didn't push him away. And while Cindy admits she still has feelings for Jeff, she also acknowledges that she and Michael had been working on their relationship. Were you wanting to stay? I mean, were you wanting to work it out with Michael? What was your failing?

I really didn't know. To be honest, I didn't know. Oh, I didn't know. I wanted to be with Jeff. I just... I was torn. I was... What was Jeff's intentions? Um, yeah, he wanted to be with me.

Was he wanting to leave his wife at that point? I'm so y'all could be here. He was wanting to leave Noel. You know, I was just still trying to figure things out. While it sounds like Cindy genuinely loved Michael, these new revelations lead to an obvious question. Let me ask you something. And I'm going to ask you straight.

Did you shoot Michael? No. I would not be able to do that. I can't use you. And I'm on his side. After concluding their interview with Cindy, Detective Sitdown was Jeff Brown. Like Cindy, Jeff admits to the affair, but he also adds a stunning Jeff admits to the affair,

but he also adds a stunning new twist to the story. The story was that Michael had abused Cindy and that Jeff Brown came to her rescue. According to Jeff, once he and Cindy had begun their affair, he had noticed something disturbing. She had bruises on her head or Thomas. Where did she say she got them? She wouldn't admit it.

She just said that she had run into something. Jeff says in time, he eventually coaxed what he believed was the truth from Cindy. She had related to him some situations that were sexually violent from Michael. I'm glad you're sending Rachel. Jeff says that he begged Cindy to leave Michael. I'm not going to lie to you. It's sick of me.

They have touched her. Seeing that bruising and hearing what Cindy told Jeff, really angered Jeff, and created this passion in him to protect her. Fearful for Cindy's safety, Jeff says he convinced Cindy to confess their affair to Michael in the hopes that he would leave her. Jeff in turn did the same with his wife.

How you wife feel about it? Just a watchman. Pretty upset about it. Oh, yeah. Jeff's plan at this time was to wait for Cindy and Michael's marriage to dissolve. And once that happened, he believed that he and Cindy were going to get married. But Jeff claims that instead of leaving Michael, Cindy forgave him. Cindy's main hold up and going through with instead of leaving Michael, Cindy forgave him.

Cindy's main hold-up in going through with a divorce with Michael oddly enough was religion. Jeff had left his wife, Noel, and once he started talking about the fact that Cindy would not leave Michael for him, so they could be together. He was visibly agitated. Now, did it bother you at all that you were actually you following through with your divorce

and Cindy was not? They conserved me. Did you shoot Michael and A. No, I do not. You know if Cindy shot Michael and A. I do not have a clue. I don't have a clue. You didn'tate or collaborate or talk to or have any conversations about killing Michael.

In fact, Jeff says that he was nowhere near Morris, Alabama when he heard about Michael's death. Jeff had told the investigators that he had driven to another town on IANA, which was actually almost an hour away from the crime scene. And though investigators continue to press Jeff for the next hour, he remains emphatic about one thing. He had nothing to do with Michael Reese's death. I'm a preacher with two kids, right?

Two kids in one of the way. You're pretty sure you're two kids, you're also having a preacher with two kids, right? Two kids in one of the way. You're pretty sure we're two kids. You also have a foul with Mary one, right? That's your absolute right. I have to say it soon. As investigators wrap up their interview with Jeff Brown, one question remains, could either Jeff or Cindy

truly be capable of taking someone's life? I had some suspicions in the interview, but nothing that could say or prove that she or Jeff Brown had anything to do with Michael's death. Coming up, police uncover another possible motive for Michael's murder. He approached two individuals, asking them if they would be interested in ending someone's life.

In the aftermath of Michael Reese's slaying, police in Morris, Alabama, have uncovered a shocking affair between Michael's wife Cindy and their former church pastor, Jeff Brown. Detectives also must contend with a new allegation levied by Jeff Brown about Michael's treatment of Cindy. Cindy had been telling him for months and months and months that Michael Reese was incredibly abusive

that he had raped her. But when investigators speak to Michael's family, they find Jeff's story hard to believe. His personality, his mannerisms, his character, I just don't think he would have it in him to possibly be that way. I don't even think he could be cruel. Instead, they say that if anyone was abusive,

it was Jeff Brown. According to family members, Michael had taken the news of Cindy's affair better than even Cindy had expected. Michael loved Cindy dearly that, regardless of the affair that he was aware of, he wanted to fix it. He was willing to fix whatever was going on. He thought that they could get through anything

as long as they come clean to one another and recommitted themselves to one another. So family members say two months earlier in December of 2014, Michael had taken Cindy on a second honeymoon to Disney World. I know that Michael's thinking was that we'll get down here to the happiest place on Earth and maybe it'll make her see that this is what we can have together. The Disney World trip was by all accounts great for Michael and Cindy Reese.

They enjoyed every minute of it. They really bonded. They rekindled their relationship while in Disney World. But apparently, there was one person who wasn't happy with the reconciliation. I know when they came back from their Disney trip, Jeff was actually sitting and waiting for them to arrive back home. He was mad that Cindy did not call him and tell him that they were back in town and just got really aggressive with Cindy from what Michael had said.

Michael told me that he had told him to leave her alone and to leave him alone. Had Jeff finally decided to get rid of his rival for good? We have a jilted lover that is controlling manipulative and was not happy that the woman was getting back with her husband. Jeff Brown looked pretty good for the martyr, just because of all of the elements that were coming together. Then there's a break in the case

when a woman named Carla Serhan contacts investigators. Carla explains that she and Jeff Brown had worked together after he left his pastor position at Sardis Baptist Church. According to Carla, Jeff was abruptly terminated in January of 2015 after a disturbing incident. It was during what I would call a water cooler conversation that he approached two individuals asking them

if they would be interested in ending someone's life. He used the story that this man was abusing his wife, had possibly raped his wife, and that he needed to be handled. He described the person that he wanted killed as working at St. Vincent's Hospital driving a white Honda Accord. Then that's what Michael drove. He didn't never name Michael Reese by name, but he essentially described him to a tee.

Jeff had promised to compensate these two individuals, and he spoke to them more than one time. But apparently Jeff's plan backfired. These two guys were taking a back. They were offended that he approached them. When they realized that he was serious, and this man really was trying to hire them to kill another man, they said no, and they quickly walked away,

and they later filed a police report about it. While there hadn't been enough evidence at the time to press charges, Jeff Brown's alleged solicitation gives investigators probable cause to secure a search warrant for his car and apartment. We were definitely looking at Jeff as the main suspect in this homicide. When police search Jeff's apartment and car, they find his car title, bank statements, and police contract.

And Jeff Brown's name isn't the only one listed on these documents. They had a bank account together at the same credit union that we have here for our county. She had purchased the car for him. She had had the credit to be able to get an apartment where his Jeff Brown didn't. And she got the apartment for him. That is how investigators learned that Cindy Reese was funding Jeff's lifestyle. Cindy was building a life for Jeff Brown.

I don't believe Michael had any idea about any of that. Based on this new evidence, investigators subpoena Jeff and Cindy's phone records for the day of Michael's murder. On the day that Michael was killed, there were something over a dozen calls or voicemails and just connections throughout the day between the two of them.

You could see that on that day, these two are in almost constant communication, leading up to the hour of Michael's death. While Jeff and Cindy were communicating, data from cell phone towers shows that Jeff was not an hour away in Anionta, Alabama, as he alleged. His phone was hitting off a tower that was within several hundred yards of Michael and Cindy's house. He was already in the vicinity of that house. But there are two specific phone calls that night that stand out to investigators.

At 703 p.m., Cindy calls Jeff, it's a 29-minute phone call, which didn't make a lot of sense to us because they had left the church at seven, which means that she had an open line inside the car. Who does that? I mean, why would you do that unless you needed to know where they were, what they were doing, and when they were gonna get home?

In fact, just before the open phone call, records show that Jeff sent Cindy a single text message at 6.57 p.m. Jeff sends Cindy a text saying, keep me posted. And that's all those three words, keep me posted. Then by 8 p.m. Cindy reports Michael dead. Keep me posted. It shows there's some plan or some incident that these two had expected to occur.

I think that really tipped police off to thinking Cindy might be more involved than she's admitted to us. Investigators are now convinced that on February 18, 2015, Cindy put a plan in motion to kill her husband of five years. I don't believe that Michael Everu felt danger. I don't think that he felt like when he walked into his home that night, he would be facing death.

She let Michael go in first and walked in behind him, and Cindy Walgrap behind him and did it. On March 11, 2015, Cindy and Jeff are arrested outside Cindy's office at the Jefferson County Courthouse. Cindy loved Michael. She's not this type of person that would commit this kind of crime. This is still hard for me to wrap it around my head. You go back and you think over and over again. If she do something that we missed, she was definitely not who anybody thought she was.

Coming up, when put to the test, will one of these lovers turn on the other? Jeff were tally-aided against her for abandoning him. Jeff was going to turn the tables on Cindy. -♪ -♪ -♪ In early 2015, friends and family thought that Michael and Cindy Reese

were the perfect Christian couple. But after Michael's brutal murder, investigators have discovered a much different side to the devout choir director, Cindy Reese. No one could really look at the totality of her involvement in this case and not think that she was responsible for it. She knew how and when Michael was killed. After her arrest, Cindy makes bail immediately

and is back to work that same week. Jeff isn't so lucky. There was several phone calls from Jeff to Cindy, saying, hey, get me out, get me out. Please, get me out. Why are you leaving me in here? Jeff Brown realized very quickly that Cindy had walked off and left him.

She would not take his phone calls. And so Jeff became increasingly angry at her over time. And that's when the prosecution offers Jeff a deal. Jeff would plead guilty to manslaughter. And in exchange, he would be sentenced to 20 years in prison. In an interrogation room, Jeff tells police that the murder was Cindy's idea. Cindy had said to Jeff before that she couldn't divorce Michael

because her family would not accept a divorce. He indicated that Cindy began talking to him very frequently about killing her husband. He indicated that it almost became an obsession with her. Jeff says that he had no idea that she was actually planning to go through with killing Michael until they were talking on the phone on February 18th, 2015. Cindy had her Bluetooth in and she called him and it was just kind of open and he could hear

Cindy and Michael talking. She and Michael were arguing that's when he heard Cindy say, quote, I'm so sick of this dumb nut. And then he heard a popping noise. She came back to the phone, and she said, I need to meet you now. Jeff says that the pair met at a service station near Cindy's home. He said that she gave him a gun, and said, you need to get rid of the gun.

According to Jeff heat through the gun out somewhere along the road between the crime scene and his apartment. When Cindy's trial gets underway in November of 2016, she takes the stand to refute Jeff's testimony. It's no surprise that she maintained her innocence through the trial. She wants to be perceived as a respectable Christian woman.

On December 2, 2016, an Alabama jury hands down its verdict. The jury came back pretty quickly. They convicted her of murder. She cried. And then she cried even harder, knowing that she was going straight to jail. At her sentencing hearing on January 11, 2017, Cindy is given 40 years in prison.

I understand the shame in getting divorced, but at the same time, I don't know how you can consider that a better alternative than murder. In 2016, the year prior to Cindy's trial, Jeff Brown married again while out on bond. He will be eligible for parole consideration in 2023. Cindy will be eligible for parole consideration in 2030. For more information on snapped, go to oxygen.com.