Lawrence Reynolds

Other details

• Lawrence Reynolds Jr. was an alcoholic who was out of work and needed money for booze.
• Loretta Mae Foster was a 67-year-old widow who baby-sat children in her neighborhood and lived three doors down from Reynolds in Cuyahoga Falls near Akron.
• Reynolds forced his way into Foster's house, strangled her with rope, and left with $40 in cash and a blank check from her purse.
• Foster was later discovered beaten, tied up, and almost naked in the living room of her home.
• Bloodstained clothing and the blank check were later recovered from Reynolds's bedroom.
• On the evening of the murder, Reynolds bragged to friends about killing Foster and took his brother to the home before the body was discovered.
• About a month before her murder, Foster hired Reynolds to paint her basement. Reynolds claimed he was promised $300 but only got $100.
• Reynolds harassed the widow for weeks by knocking on her door after dark, hiding outside, and jumping out to scare her.
• Reynolds went to the widow's house on January 11, 1994, wearing camouflage clothing and carrying a wooden tent pole, which he used to beat Foster when she reached for a phone and tried to call for help.
• Reynolds strangled Foster and removed her clothes.
• At a bar later that night, Reynolds told a group of friends what he had done; unsure whether to believe him, two friends went to Foster's house and saw her body lying on the floor.
• Two friends went to police; police officers were dispatched and found Foster's body in her living room.
• Foster's body had been beaten about the head and strangled.
• Her bra was cut in the front, and her 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 Foster's purse were found in the dining room; her checkbook was removed from her purse.
• After the police initiated a homicide investigation, they obtained an arrest warrant for Lawrence Reynolds Jr.
• Officers went to the Reynolds home and arrested Reynolds.
• While officers were at the Reynolds home, Lawrence Reynolds Sr., Reynolds's father, consented, verbally and in writing, to a search of the house, including Reynolds's bedroom and the basement.
• Reynolds was 27 years old at the time of his acts and continued to live at home.
• The search revealed items later used against Reynolds at trial: gloves and a camouflage jumpsuit smeared with blood of the same type as Foster's and containing fibers matching those from a red jacket found in her bedroom; a piece of rope identical to that used on Foster, stained with blood of Foster's type and containing human hair matching her own; a section of a tent pole consistent with what Reynolds told his friends he brought to Foster's house; and a blank check drawn on Foster's account.
• An autopsy concluded that Foster died from strangulation; she was also subjected to blunt force trauma.
• Based on the color of the bruises on her wrists, the coroner testified that Foster was alive when tied up.
• The coroner was unable to find 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 and at times conflicting details.
• Reynolds told the inmate that he had “tried to stick his meat in her,” but when the inmate questioned Reynolds specifically, Reynolds denied trying to rape her.
• In the late afternoon or early evening of January 11, 1994, Reynolds assaulted, robbed, and killed his neighbor, Loretta Foster, in her home.
• Reynolds took $40 in cash and a blank check from Foster's 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 friends.
• Reynolds told two friends, Brian and Jim, that it 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.
• Reynolds had rope and a tent pole with him.
• Foster opened the door and a struggle began; Reynolds hit Foster and she fell to the floor; a clump of hair was ripped from Foster's head.
• Reynolds began to rummage through Foster's 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.
• Reynolds tried to strangle Foster with his hands but was unsuccessful.
• During the struggle, Reynolds received a rope burn on his hand and showed it to his listeners.
• Reynolds told them he left Foster lying naked in the living room and that he took $40 in cash and a blank check from her checkbook before leaving through a back door.
• After leaving the bowling alley, the group proceeded to the Rainbow Bar where Reynolds continued to discuss how he had killed Foster.
• Uncertain whether to believe him, the two friends left the bar and went to Foster's house, looked through the living-room window, and saw Foster's nude body lying on the floor.
• Reynolds and his brother Jason also went to Foster's house after leaving the Rainbow Bar; Jason was stunned to see Foster'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.
• Afterward, Reynolds and Jason returned to their home.
• Brian and Jim went to a friend's house because they knew his father was a police officer, and they told Officer Joe Orsine what Reynolds had told them and described what they had seen at Foster's house.
• They later went to the police station and made a statement.
• Foster's sister-in-law Norma Haubert took Foster to a doctor's appointment; Foster told Haubert that a neighbor had been acting “weird,” meaning he would knock on the door, hide, and then jump out at her.
• Foster told her doctor and her doctor's office manager about Reynolds to explain why her blood pressure was elevated.
• After the visit to the doctor, Foster withdrew fifty dollars at her credit union.
• Haubert dropped Foster off at home around 3:00 p.m.
• Foster had complained to her son Michael earlier that a neighbor, Reynolds, had been knocking on her door after dark.
• Reynolds had recently painted Foster's basement and claimed that he needed to put a paint can in the basement.
• Foster told her son she was scared of Reynolds.
• Reynolds sent a letter threatening sexual violence and murder if his demands for naked pictures were unmet while he was confined on death row.
• An obscene letter was also sent to the victim of his prior telephone harassment requesting naked photographs.
• ClarkProsecutor.org listed Inmate#: OSP #A296-121 and the inmate as Lawrence Reynolds Jr. with DOB: June 2, 1966.
• Reynolds had an unsuccessful legal challenge of Ohio's new execution method when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene.
• Reynolds had filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to postpone his execution after prison guards found him unconscious in his cell.
• Reynolds had attempted suicide by overdosing on prescription medication in his death row cell, leading to a postponement and rescheduling of his execution.

Timeline

• January 11, 1994 — Reynolds assaulted, robbed, and killed Loretta Foster in her home.
• March 7, 2010 — Reynolds attempted suicide by an overdose of prescription medication; the attempted suicide was unsuccessful.
• March 16, 2010 — Reynolds was executed by lethal injection in Ohio.
• June 15, 1994 — The sentencing occurred.
• March 16, 2010 — Gov. Ted Strickland rescheduled the execution for March 16 after a seven-day reprieve.
• October — Reynolds was scheduled to die but the execution was delayed so the state could review its lethal injection procedure.
• 1999 — Ohio reinstated capital punishment.

The offence

• Reynolds entered Loretta Foster's home, forced his way in, and strangled her with rope.
• Foster was beaten, tied up, and left almost naked in the living room.
• Reynolds took $40 in cash and a blank check.
• Foster was found with her bra cut in the front and her bra and t-shirt above her breasts.
• There was blood and a large clump of hair by the rear door.
• The victim's body was discovered in her living room.

Investigation

• Police initiated a homicide investigation after finding Foster's body.
• Police obtained an arrest warrant for Lawrence Reynolds Jr.
• While officers were at the Reynolds home, Lawrence Reynolds Sr. consented, verbally and in writing, to a search of the house including Reynolds's bedroom and basement.
• The search revealed gloves and a camouflage jumpsuit, both smeared with blood of the same type as Foster's and containing fibers matching those from a red jacket found in her bedroom.
• The search revealed a piece of rope identical to that used on Foster, stained with blood of Foster's type and containing human hair matching her own.
• The search revealed a section of a tent pole consistent with what Reynolds told his friends he brought to Foster's house.
• The search revealed a blank check drawn on Foster's account.
• An autopsy concluded Foster died from strangulation and had been subjected to blunt force trauma.
• The coroner testified Foster had been alive when tied up based on the color of the bruises on her wrists.

Arrest

• Officers arrested Reynolds at the Reynolds home after obtaining an arrest warrant.
• The search included Reynolds's bedroom and the basement based on consent by Lawrence Reynolds Sr.

Trial

• Reynolds was convicted of aggravated murder (death).
• The convictions included aggravated robbery, kidnapping, aggravated burglary, and attempted rape.
• The jury also found four death penalty specifications attached to the aggravated murder.
• The defense did not deny that Reynolds was responsible for Foster's death.
• The defense attempted to show Reynolds was drunk and had not gone to Foster's house intending to kill her.
• The trial involved voir dire issues concerning prospective juror John Vanhyning.
• Vanhyning was a part-time police officer for the city of Rittman and had been involved in law enforcement for forty years.
• During voir dire, Vanhyning disclosed knowledge of various state witnesses and indicated he had always found “the gentleman that I knew,” presumably Detective Michael Gay, to be truthful.
• The trial court excused Vanhyning for cause after further questioning and deliberation.
• Seven photographs taken at the crime scene were admitted into evidence and fourteen slides were used by the coroner during his testimony.
• Reynolds argued the photographs duplicated coroner slides and that readmission of two photographs in the penalty phase was error.
• The appellate court found no abuse of discretion in admitting the photographs because they had probative value.

Sentencing

• The jury recommended death.
• The trial court sentenced Reynolds to death and also imposed prison terms on other counts, with sentences set to run consecutively.
• The sentencing date was June 15, 1994.
• The presiding judge was Ted Schneiderman.
• The prosecuting attorney was Michael Carroll.
• The sentencing included:
  • Count 1: Aggravated Murder (Death)
  • Count 2: Aggravated Robbery (10–25 years)
  • Count 3: Kidnapping (10–25 years)
  • Count 4: Aggravated Burglary (10–25 years)
  • Count 5: Attempted Rape (8–15 years)
• The jury sentenced for all counts to run consecutively.
• In the sentencing hearing, the judge filed a written decision before the conclusion of the sentencing hearing.
• Reynolds indicated he had nothing to say before the court pronounced sentence for those crimes.
• The court did not ask Reynolds if he wished to address the court concerning the aggravated murder count.
• The lead counsel stated that Reynolds had addressed the court previously by way of a letter.
• In later proceedings, it was held that the premature filing was harmless and that the error in not asking about allocution was not prejudicial because Reynolds had already made an unsworn statement during the penalty phase, sent a letter, and counsel had spoken on his behalf.

Appeals

• Direct appeal: the Ohio Supreme Court affirmed each conviction and the death sentence in State v. Reynolds, 80 Ohio St.3d 670, 687 N.E.2d 1358 (Ohio 1998).
• Habeas: Reynolds v. Bagley, 498 F.3d 549 (6th Cir. 2007) affirmed the district court’s denial of the habeas petition.
• The parole board declined to recommend clemency by a vote of 6 to 0.
• Reynolds had sued the state over the alleged lack of correction regarding access to inmates’ veins before the single drug is injected.
• Reynolds lost his final court battle when the U.S.
• Reynolds was supposed to be executed a week earlier but was found unconscious in his cell at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown just hours before he was to be transported to Lucasville.
• After the overdose, Reynolds was returned to the Youngstown prison and placed under a suicide watch involving round-the-clock observation and limited privileges.
• Reynolds was transferred to the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility early Monday after the overdose.

Outcome

• Reynolds was pronounced dead at 10:27 a.m. at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville.
• Reynolds asked for and was given anti-anxiety medication on three occasions during his 24 hours at the Lucasville prison.
• He was strapped to the execution table and the drug began flowing into his veins at 10:19 a.m.
• Within two minutes, Reynolds’ eyes closed and shortly after that he lay motionless on the lethal-injection table.

Aftermath

Final words and reactions

• Reynolds’s last words were: "I came in like a lion and go out like a lamb."
• In his final statement, Reynolds said, "Erin and Emma will forever and always hold the heart of the lion. To my brothers, I hope they will never have to walk these 15 steps I walked today. I have tried to bring attention to the futility and flagrantly flawed system we have today. Stop the madness."
• Denise Turchiano replied in the witness room: "It's going to stop right now."
• Patty Solomon, Foster's granddaughter, said afterward: "The law has been upheld and justice has been served. ... It is time to put this behind us and move on with our lives. "