On this date, 16 March 2010,
Lawrence Reynold Jr was executed by lethal injection in Ohio for the 11 January
1994 murder of Loretta Mae Foster.
Loretta Mae Foster
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In
early January 1994, Loretta Mae Foster, 67, complained to her son Michael that
a neighbor, Lawrence Raymond Reynolds, Jr., had been knocking on her door after
dark. Reynolds had recently painted Loretta's basement and claimed that he
needed to put a paint can in the basement. Loretta told her son that she was
scared of Reynolds.
On
January 11, Loretta's sister-in-law Norma took her to a doctor's appointment
and Loretta told Norma that a neighbor had been acting "weird"; that
is he would knock on the door, hide, and then jump out at her. Loretta told her
doctor and her doctor's office manager about Reynolds in an effort to explain
why her blood pressure was elevated. After the visit to the doctor, Loretta
stopped at her credit union and withdrew $50. Norma dropped Loretta off at home
around 3 pm.
In
the late afternoon or early evening of January 11, 1994, Lawrence Reynolds
assaulted, robbed, and killed his neighbor, Loretta Foster, in her home. He
took $40 in cash and a blank check from her purse, and left her almost-nude
body lying on the living room floor. Around 7:30 that evening, Reynolds and his
brother Jason went to a bowling alley to shoot pool with some friends. Upon
arriving, Reynolds told two friends, Brian and Jim, that this would be his last
night to party with them because he had killed someone and was leaving town the
next day. Reynolds told them that he had knocked on Loretta's door and told her
that he had a letter to give her from his sister, showing her an envelope. He
had rope and a tent pole with him. Loretta Foster opened the door and Reynolds
forced his way in and a struggle began. Reynolds hit Loretta and she fell to
the floor. A clump of hair was ripped from Loretta's head. He began to rummage
through her purse. When he realized she was attempting to reach for the phone,
he cut the phone line, tied her up, and hit her once or twice with the tent
pole. He tried to strangle her with his hands but was unsuccessful. At some
point during the struggle, Reynolds received a rope burn on his hand, which he
showed his listeners.
Reynolds
told them he had left Foster lying naked in the living room and that he had
taken $40 in cash and a blank check from her checkbook before leaving through a
back door. The group proceeded to the Rainbow Bar where Reynolds continued to
discuss how he had killed Loretta. Uncertain whether to believe him, the two
friends left the bar and went to Loretta’s home, looked through the living-room
window, and saw Loretta's nude body lying on the floor. Reynolds and his
brother Jason also went to Loretta's house after leaving the Rainbow Bar. Jason
was stunned to see Loretta's body. Reynolds picked up a glove and a tent stake
that he had left and attempted to brush off the purse. A milk jug of water was
used to rinse the blood from the area around the body. Then they returned to
their home.
Brian
and Jim went to a friend's house because they knew that his father was a police
officer. They told the officer what Reynolds had told them and described what
they had seen at Loretta's house. They later went to the police station and
made a statement. Police officers were dispatched to investigate. They found
Loretta's body in her living room. She had been beaten about the head and
strangled. Her bra was cut in the front and the bra and her t-shirt were above
her breasts. Her pants and pantyhose were laying near the body, in a rolled
down position. By the rear door of the house, there was a quantity of blood and
a large clump of hair. Broken eye glasses and one earring were found in the
kitchen and the other earring and Loretta's purse were found in the dining room
as was her checkbook which was removed from her purse.
After
finding Loretta's body, the police initiated a homicide investigation and
obtained an arrest warrant for Lawrence Reynolds, Jr. They went to the Reynolds
home and arrested Reynolds. While they were there, Lawrence Reynolds, Sr.,
Reynold’s father, consented, verbally and in writing, to a search of the house,
and specifically to his son’s bedroom and the basement. (Reynolds was
twenty-seven years old at the time of his acts, and continued to live at home.)
The search revealed several items of physical evidence later used against
Reynolds at trial: (1) gloves and a camouflage jumpsuit, both smeared with
blood of the same type as Loretta’s and containing fibers matching those from a
red jacket found in her bedroom; (2) a piece of rope identical to that used on
Loretta, stained with blood of her type and containing human hair matching her
own; (3) a section of a tent pole, in keeping with what Reynolds had told his
friends he brought to Loretta’s house; and (4) a blank check drawn on Loretta’s
account.
An
autopsy concluded that Loretta had died from strangulation. She had also been
subjected to blunt force trauma. Based on the color of the bruises on her
wrists, the coroner testified that Loretta had been alive when tied up. The
coroner was unable to find any physical evidence of sexual conduct.
While
in jail, Reynolds told a fellow inmate essentially the same story as he had
told his friends, but with more, at times conflicting, details. For example,
Reynolds stated to the inmate that he had taken off Loretta's blouse to enable
him to see her hands at all times. The inmate asked him about news reports that
the victim was found with her pants off. Initially, Reynolds claimed that her
pants had come off in the struggle, but he later told the inmate that he had
“tried to stick his meat in her,” and yet when the inmate questioned Reynolds
specifically on the matter, he denied trying to rape her.
During
the trial, Jason Reynolds avoided eye contact with his brother as he told the
jury how he went to the Foster home with his brother about 1:30 a.m. Jan. 12 to
check out the story his brother had told during a night of drinking. "I
went in, me and my brother," Jason Reynolds said. "I saw her lying
there. That's all I needed to see."
An
Ohio jury needed only an hour and a half to decide that Reynolds was guilty of
aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, kidnapping, and attempted rape, as well
as aggravated murder (of the felony-murder type) with four death penalty
specifications attached. He was sentenced to 38-to-90 years’ imprisonment and
death. While confined on death row, he sent a letter threatening sexual
violence and murder if his demands for naked pictures were unmet. A separate
obscene letter was sent to the victim of his prior telephone harassment
similarly requesting naked photographs.
Kelly
Redfern, Dona Papp, Patty Solomon and Gail Hand, great-nieces and
granddaughters of Loretta Foster, testified at a clemency hearing for Reynolds.
Each shared their memories of Loretta Foster and the exceptional kindness and
generosity she shared with both family and neighbors. Each was nurtured by
Loretta Foster and attribute to her many positive influences that have shaped
their lives and the lives of their children. Dona Papp said, ''That was 15
years ago. He is still guilty. My aunt is still dead." The parole board
declined to recommend clemency for Reynolds by a vote of 6 to 0. Reynolds originally
had an execution date set for March 9, 2010 however he attempted to kill
himself by overdosing on prescription medication so the execution was delayed
by one week.
Patty Solomon
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QUOTE: Patty
Solomon, Foster's granddaughter, read a statement afterward that said, in part,
"The law has been upheld and justice has been
served. ... It is time to put this behind us and move on with our lives. It is
now our time to heal."
AUTHOR: Patty Solomon is the granddaughter of Loretta Mae
Foster who was murdered by Lawrence Reynold Jr on January 1994. He was executed
by the state of Ohio on 16 March 2010.
It is July 15 th 2018. My Aunt Loretta is the best Aunt that anyone could have ever been Blessed with... Still missing her,my Mom, Aunt Mildred too!!
ReplyDeleteUncle AJ asked me to never stop the fight to get Larry...his due. I did exactly what ," my family " asked of me. My love was for this woman who had no voice. It was for her siblings that were elderly and were in shock.....
I did what my side of my family wanted. Thet EXPECTED the family to be behind them. I guess "The family figured they will go to Hell if they stand for Aunt Loretta"....
I guess I'm damned to hell.
.I'll go to hell for her..... I'll go
Many years later. Whoever you are, I appreciate your support... With Respect and Appreciation... Denise
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