Family of man killed in shooting says his wife tried to frame it as a suicide
By DeAndria Turner
Click here for updates on this story
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — A 33-year-old woman is facing a murder charge in connection with a deadly shooting on Sept. 7 in Louisville’s St. Denis neighborhood.
Police say Alishia Reed killed her husband, Shawn, after saying he committed suicide.
“For the last month, we’ve been in, like, a hurricane, basically kind of hoping that it goes away,” said Reed’s sister, Lola Morris.
It’s a storm that’s shaken this close-knit family, siblings that call themselves Five Heartbeats with One Mic.
But in the last month, they’ve lost two of their heartbeats.
“We lost Ray August 28th. Eight days later, she called us and told us we lost Shawn,” Morris said.
Shawn Reed’s wife, 33-year-old Aleshia Reed, was arrested and charged with murder on Oct. 10.
His sisters say she told them Shawn had taken his own life, that he shot himself with a 12-gauge shotgun after learning about Ray’s death.
But investigators say the evidence told a different story.
Police found broken items scattered around the bedroom, signs of a fight. A shotgun was discovered in the corner of the room.
Detectives say Reed was the only other person home that night.
And according to the medical examiner, Shawn’s wound was not self-inflicted.
He never even got the chance to make it to his baby brother’s funeral.
“You had us to bring our brothers together to do a service — that you did this,” said Morris.
Court records show Reed had a history of abusing her husband, including violating a protective order out of New York, where his sisters say she allegedly stabbed him.
None of them knew the extent of the abuse until after his death.
“My brother was the victim of domestic violence, and he was suffering in silence, because he never said anything to us about it,” said Morris.
Even after the murder, his family says Aleshia kept up the act.
She talked to his sister every day. She sat in the front row at his funeral.
“He said, ‘I wanted to be the first person to tell you, before the streets start talking, she’s been formally arrested for murder.’ I just started screaming,” Morris said.
Through all the pain, they hold onto who Shawn was: a man who served his country, loved his family, and deserved more time.
“He was a good person, a good man, a good child, a good brother, a good uncle. Our family is hurt, our children are torn,” Morris said.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.