Todd Alan Reed

Last updated
Todd Alan Reed
Born
Todd Alan Thomas

(1967-05-22) May 22, 1967 (age 57)
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Other names"The Forest Park Killer"
EmployerRinella Produce
SpouseGail Bennet (1988-1997)
Children2
Parent(s)Ronnie Thomas

Marine Sgt. Alfred Thomas

Robert Reed
Conviction(s) Murder x3
Criminal penalty Life imprisonment x3
Details
Victims3–5
Span of crimes
April –June 1999
(possibly 1987)
Country United States
State(s) Oregon
Date apprehended
July 18, 1999

Todd Alan Reed (born 1967), known as The Forest Park Killer, is an American serial killer and sex offender who raped and strangled three homeless women in Portland, Oregon between April and June 1999, later dumping their bodies in the Forest Park reserve. He was convicted of these deaths and received three terms of life imprisonment, and remains the sole suspect in two similar murders that occurred in nearby Gresham, in 1987. [1]

Contents

Early life

Reed was born Todd Alan Thomas on May 22, 1967, in Portland, Oregon, to Ronnie Thomas and Marine Sgt. Alfred Thomas, who had married nine days prior. [2] They had another son prior to their divorce in 1971. His mother Ronnie Thomas would subsequently remarry Robert Reed, who adopted Reed and his brother, and the two later divorced when Reed was 12. [2]

By the age of 14, Reed was a registered sex offender and was put in a residential program for his crimes, but, as he wasn't considered dangerous, he was released. In the following years, Reed met Gail Bennett in 1986, whom he would later marry in 1988. [2] Reed and Bennet had two children, and, after Bennet divorced Reed in 1997, [1] Reed was ordered to pay child support and granted visitation. [2]

Reed worked at Rinella Produce, where he was described as a diligent worker who never made any trouble. During this time, several homeless women from around the city began disappearing.

Murders

Confirmed

Suspected

According to the Gresham Police Department, the suspect in both of these cases was described as a white male in his late teens to early 20s, with very dark, short hair, thick eyebrows and little beard hairs along the chin line. He wore military-type glasses with metal frames and a stud-type earring in his left ear, and apparently drove a car described as a metallic blue-colored 1970s model Dodge Charger. Capt. Gerald Johnson noted in a written statement that the man was likely acquainted with the girls or their circle of friends, as he was seen calling out to Tchir by name at a convenience store on the day of her disappearance. [7]

Arrest, trial and imprisonment

On July 7, a female police officer who matched the then-unknown killer's physical preferences posed as a prostitute in an attempt to lure him out. Reed was observed stalking the officer, and one of the lookouts recognized him from an earlier conviction for burglary and assault, from which he spent 2.5 years behind bars. On July 18, Reed was arrested at his job in Rinella Produce for the murders of Moler, Russell and Ison, after his DNA was matched to the crime scenes. [8]

On February 23, 2001, he pled guilty to the murders in order to avoid the death penalty, and was sentenced to three consecutive life terms. Reed was questioned about the two 1987 Gresham murders, as he met every criterion for the suspect's description, but to this day, he has yet to be charged with either of them. [8] As of June 2020, Reed is housed out of state in New Jersey State Prison.

See also

Bibliography

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References

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