Woman Charged in Fatal Stabbing of Pregnant Teen, Unborn Baby Denied Bond

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Raise your right hand.

[00:00:17]>> You sure any testimony you give the truth, the whole truth about the truth should help you guys.

[00:00:26]>> Governor, before you is Jacqueline Reed.

[00:00:28]She is charged under indictments 24 GS06, 0000227, and 228. Those charges are murder and causing uh death to a fetus during the commission of a violent crime. This is the defense's motion for a bond. Um, and I'm happy to defer to Mr. Hayes or give the court a few background facts if you would like.

[00:00:52]>> All right. All right. Mr. Mr. Hayes, I'll hear your motion, but I'm going to get some background from the solicitor.

[00:00:58]>> Thank you, Judge. May I please the court? Um, this incident happened in February of 2024.

[00:01:05]And judge, honestly, it it's kind of a long story, but it it can best be described as a tragic end to what was a tragic life. The victim in this case was a 17-year-old girl who was 40 weeks pregnant. She lost her mother. She's living with her grandfather and her uncle.

[00:01:23]and she was due to give birth like any day now when this when this happened, which we believe was on February the 8th of 2024. That's the last day that she was seen. She was seen on that day leaving well she left her boyfriend's house at an apartment here in Barl um and walked through Fuller Park here and the cameras you have captured her as she leaves the park walking towards her home. Uh, and that's the last time that anyone saw her alive.

[00:01:55]And then she was missing. About a week later, I want to say I can double check.

[00:02:02]It was 10 days later, her aunt reported her missing. She hadn't given birth. She hadn't gone to the hospital. She was scheduled to be induced. She hadn't shown up for that appointment. And no one knew where she was. So, they started looking for her. Well, they didn't have any pings from her phone. Um, they knew that the boyfriend texted her later in the day and he had never heard back from her.

[00:02:27]Her aunt did say that she had given her these AirPods and that the last ping on the AirPods was at I believe 29 um Perry Street. So Perry Street Judge is she had to pass by that location on her walk leaving the park. Um, and so on the 19th of February when they searched that area, which it's a house, it's a sort of a um there's a sideby-side duplex, a multif family unit um outside of the park. Behind it, there's like this big wooded area with a ditch and they located this victim's body um and that of her unborn child. She had been stabbed to death, judge. She was stabbed to death 50 times.

[00:03:14]She had stab wounds in her head and her neck and her back and her torso. Her baby had stab wounds. Um, and her baby died as a result of the stab wounds and of the death of the mother. Um, >> law enforcement during the course of their investigation, uh, the defendant, Jacqueline Reed, was identified as someone that had had a prior what they described as an ongoing thief with the victim. So, apparently the defendant used to hang out at the home the victim shared with her grandfather and uncle, and they had gotten into some altercations. Um the the victim had some issues um certainly, but uh they they were known to have disagreements. But what they learned is that on the day the victim went missing, the defendant went to the hospital because she had almost severed her pinky on her right hand. Um when they interviewed her, she admitted that she knew the victim. She said she had seen her on Wednesday the 7th. She went to the hospital on the 8th. Um, she said she was in the hospital for a couple of days. She said after that she was uncomfortable staying at her house and bounced around between a friend and a nephew's house. She did have a boyfriend who usually lived with her judge, but he was in jail in Richmond County and Augusta. And there are some jail calls from them. Um, in the morning of the 8th, she said she was going to Dollar General to put minutes on his phone. And then a couple days later, she told him she cut her finger while cutting chicken. And later, when she's explaining on a different call, she's recounting these events again. And she tells him it was her right hand that she cut the finger. And he's like, "Well, how would you do that? If you're cutting this chicken, how are you cutting the chicken with your left hand? That don't make any sense, right? She's right-handed." Well, her finger had to be amputated, judge. Um, in another call, she mentioned that she didn't want to stay at home by herself. She mentioned buzzards in the area and something must be dead out there. Later, she told him that the victim had been found and he said something to the effect that somebody would have had to bring the victim in the fence. And again, she said she didn't want to stay at home. They got a search warrant for her house judge. Um, and she showed up at home while this search warrant's being executed. She was voluntarily interviewed by police again. She denied that the victim had ever been inside of her house. And there are three locations where the victim's DNA was found inside of her home. Um, and judge when they and originally when they were canvasing the area while they were looking for the victim, they talked to her the first time. Then later they came back and noticed that there were big rugs laying over like the edge of her porch that had recently been cleaned and rigged with bleach and they were wet. Um I said judge she had 50 stab wounds, most of them to her head and her stomach. Um she had multiple incisions on both of her hands that were consistent with defensive wounds.

[00:06:35]Now we don't I mean we don't know why.

[00:06:37]We know that these people had had an altercation. We know that the victim is walking past this defendant's house on her way home. We know the AirPods pinged at that location. We don't think she ever got any further. Um, and I mean those are the facts, judge. I have no we have no idea why. Um, but we know that this poor 17-year-old girl and her baby ended up in a ditch right behind the defendant's home for several weeks before she was located. She does have a prior record, your honor. Um, it's not anything major. She's got some shopliftings and a marijuana out of Georgia probation violation at some point, but nothing since 2000. Um, and I can wait to speak, but but respectfully, judge, I think we would ask that her bond remain denied. I think that the stabbing of a 17-year-old girl and her baby that was viable outside of the womb had she been allowed to give birth certainly is something that presents a danger to the community and we would ask that everyone stay the night.

[00:07:48]>> Thank you, Madam Solicitor. U Mr. Hayes, I'll hear your motion, sir. Joy is 64 years of age. She does side jobs for cleaning. She's been on disability all of her life for mental health issues.

[00:07:59]She attended high school at New Jersey City at Snyder High School. She went through the 10th grade before she ended up dropping out. She has she had five grown children. Two of them have since passed and three of them are currently alive in Texas, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.

[00:08:18]and she has 13 grandkids. Judge, we're asking the court to consider setting a reasonable bond because she's been in jail for the last 695 days and she's having medical issues with her legs as well as her shoulders and doesn't feel that she is getting the necessary care at the jail. Um, judge, I think we're at the point in the case that we're really close to being ready for trial. I've got an expert that I've hired for the DNA because it was volumeless and I had it stored on a eight terabyte hard drive separate from everything else because it is so large. Um >> there is a lot judge and we to be fair Miss Ray and I are in agreement. I think we were waiting we we are ready for a trial date pending his outside analysis.

[00:09:10]>> I just going through it was so much and I couldn't make sense of it with the way they do it now. I need an expert to explain DNA. So I met with her last Friday. It was so blameless that she was like, "You've got to narrow me down. I'm going to spend all the money just looking at it." So she's We had a discussion about it for about an hour. I told her what I'm looking for and I expect to have a meeting on Friday.

[00:09:37]>> All right. And so short of that, that is the only thing. And obviously we'll allow your expert to do what needs to be done. But short of that, the state is prepared to then move forward with >> we are judge. Um the only scheduling hiccup that we may encounter is I believe the um is the sled agent, but I think she'll be back. She is in the Coast Guard reserves and so she occasionally has gone on trainings, but we can certainly schedule around that and um and we'll be ready to proceed.

[00:10:07]If based on what she tells me, I'm going to have a conversation with the solicitor. But the only other thing I would have is I'd probably need another order if we're going to trial for the expert for travel and expenses.

[00:10:21]>> Where is Where is she located?

[00:10:26]>> Okay.

[00:10:27]>> I believe.

[00:10:28]>> Okay. All right. And so what I'm trying to determine is is is this a summer case, a fall case?

[00:10:35]>> Probably fall. I think fall is probably safe to say, judge.

[00:10:39]>> At the early part, >> we have two terms in August here in Barnwell, your honor. Um, >> and then nothing until November.

[00:10:51]>> So, we may be looking at um I believe the likely the November term. Thank you, Kylie. Um, yeah, November 9th maybe.

[00:11:09]Right. November 9th is your last opportunity unless Bamberg is willing to Bamberg has a trial term in December, but unless they're willing to swap that.

[00:11:25]Well, and judge usually um and you know, madam clerk is always very helpful with us if we need to try to work something else in um and we're happy to have that discussion if it becomes necessary.

[00:11:37]>> All right. Very good. All right. Thank you, Madam Spicer. Thank you, uh Mr. Hayes as well. Right. So given the um nature of the alleged charges, um I do think that it is appropriate that Bon remain denied at this time. Um Mr. pace. Please keep the court ab breast of um where your expert is in terms of the timeline and then um obviously we'll work with you and the solicitor and the chief admin to get it tried as as soon as possible. If it's not able to be tried in 2026, we'll get it on as soon as possible for 20 27 that January. I believe y'all got >> Yes, ma'am.

[00:12:24]>> I believe we have a term in in Barnwell that term. But hopefully sooner than that than that.

[00:12:32]>> If it's not if it's not tried by say January, uh I know that would be within the I'd be right at the six month line where we be able to >> Well, I I'll allow for a motion a bond motion at that time.

[00:12:44]>> Thank you.

[00:12:45]>> Okay. All right. Very good. Thank you.

[00:12:47]>> Thank you, honor.

[00:12:49]>> At this time, we'll stand down for about five minutes.