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Daughter of murdered Tividale mum recalls haunting call from killer after garden stabbing
The daughter of a murdered mum has spoken out over the haunting moment the killer called her and declared “she’s dead”. Shanalee Thompson was lying in bed when a “cold and chilling” voice at the end of the telephone confessed to murdering her mum Cynthia Turner.
The caller was Legitte Reid – Ms Turner’s husband-of-five years who had just moments earlier stabbed his wife to death in the garden of their Black Country home. She had attempted to escape from his clutches by scrambling over a fence but he dragged her down and killed her.
The mum-of-two – who was naked as Reid had ripped off her clothing – was left for dead in her garden. Daughter Ms Thompson recalled the traumatic telephone call “devil” Reid made after his violent killing.
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She told Wolverhampton Crown Court it was about 11pm when she saw her mum’s smiling picture pop up on her mobile as she received an incoming call. In a “cheery” voice she answered the call, believing it was her mum contacting her, but “the voice that replied was not her”.
Reid then said: “I have killed her. She’s dead, she’s dead, she’s dead”. The murderer then went on to send Ms Thompson a voice note with the same chilling message.
Ms Thompson told the court: “He wanted to be heard.” Dad Reid was locked up for life on Thursday, June 22.
He must spend a minimum term of 15 years behind bars for murdering his wife at their home in Hilton Road, Tividale, on December 8 last year. Taking to the witness box to read her statement, Ms Thompson said her “life changed forever” when her mum died and said the ordeal had caused her mental health to deteriorate.
She has been forced to take time off work, now suffers panic attacks and experiences nightmares which see her try to save her mum. Devastated Ms Thompson described her mum – who worked in the care industry for more than 20 years – as her “best friend”.
She said: “She was a very kind person who only wanted to live a happy and humble life with her friends and family. Who would have known that the same caring nature would lead her into the path of the devil.
“Every time I see a knife, I think about what happened to my mum.” “Coward” Reid “betrayed” his 55-year-old wife, who he had met in Jamaica before they married, the daughter continued.
Ms Thompson said: “He wormed his way into her heart and into her family on the basis of lies covering up who he really was and the life he had lived. That day, my family lost a piece of themselves.”
The court heard how Reid used a knife from the couple’s kitchen to deliver 19 injuries, including eight stab wounds. The couple’s marriage was “unhappy and volatile”, with Ms Turner confiding in others about her husband’s controlling and jealous nature.
In the days before her death, Ms Turner jetted off to Portugal with a friend to “get away from” Reid. She returned from the three-day trip on the day of her murder, with Reid slaughtering her just a few hours after she arrived at Birmingham Airport.
Sentencing, Judge Michael Chambers KC said Ms Turner “needlessly died” at the hands of her husband. He said: “The attack was brutal and sustained.
“There is no doubt that you intended to kill her. There is also no doubt that she must have suffered and no doubt that you left her for dead.
“There must have been significant physical suffering before death.” Reid, of Hilton Road, Tividale, admitted murder and possession of a bladed article.
The court was told how the 55-year-old was deported from the USA to Jamaica after committing a number of crimes between 1987 and 1994. Read more on the case here.
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