A couple's first date ended in horror after both were shot; only one survived.

3 hours ago 3

On the day of Thanksgiving Day 2021, Nanette Stuiber sat successful her car and watched anxiously arsenic EMTs and Montgomery County Sheriff Deputies descended connected a location successful the tiny colony of Farmersville, Illinois.

Nanette Stuiber: I was rather upset and kinda going brainsick successful the car.

Stuiber had been incapable to scope her bully person Leslie Reeves. Stuiber knew Leslie had gone to that location the nighttime earlier to spell connected a archetypal day with Chris Smith, a antheral she had met online.

Nanette Stuiber: She was highly excited. She thought it mightiness beryllium a truly bully transportation …

But present Stuiber was worried. She had called 911 to petition a payment check. She'd seen Smith get taken distant successful an ambulance but determination was nary motion of Reeves.

Nanette Stuiber: I kept hoping … bring Leslie out, delight …

Finally, a detective approached and asked Stuiber for a photograph of Reeves. She showed him her telephone and helium gave her the horrible news.

Nanette Stuiber: "I'm atrocious to person to archer you this … your person has, um, been murdered," you know, shot, helium said. He didn't archer maine where, but helium did say, "I privation you to cognize that she went precise quickly."

EMTs had recovered Smith hardly conscious and incapable to accidental thing astir the shooting. They rushed him to the infirmary and deputies searched the house. Later that day, transgression country researcher Josh Easton of the Illinois State Police was called to the country and helium began cataloging the mayhem inside.

Erin Moriarty: What bash you spot erstwhile you archetypal attack the door?

Josh Easton: I announcement that the … broadside doorway of the location … the solid successful the doorway has been breached out.

Josh Easton: The refrigerator was pulled distant from the partition … room array was pushed … the — the chairs were knocked implicit …

No limb was found, starring investigators to fishy that a 3rd idiosyncratic was involved. Easton took enactment of each detail, including the burnt pizza successful the oven.

Josh Easton: I presume that possibly they were cooking … a pizza for the nighttime and the fishy shows up astatine the doorway … they some tried to combat him disconnected and erstwhile Chris was shot, Leslie went to the surviving country … to effort to effort to hide.

Erin Moriarty: How galore times was she shot?

Josh Easton: She was lone changeable 1 time.

Erin Moriarty: In the head.

Josh Easton: In the head.

Reeves' assemblage was successful the surviving country portion Smith had been recovered successful the kitchen. Easton said, of the 1,800 transgression scenes he'd been to, this was 1 of the astir horrific.

Josh Easton: There was humor everyplace … The cabinets, the refrigerator, the countertop, determination was humor from country to country successful the kitchen.

Easton spotted 2 silver-colored slug casings from a 9 mm weapon — 1 successful the room and the different adjacent Reeves' body.

A DEADLY FIRST DATE

As Easton processed the scene, detectives began learning astir the victims. Smith was a 48-year-old divorced begetter who worked for a excavation contractor.

Dena LeGrand: Chris was a bully guy. He would bent retired present frequently, was friends with astir of the radical successful town. Everybody knew him.

Bartender Dena LeGrand says Smith was good known successful municipality arsenic the feline who grew banana trees and elephantine pumpkins.

Dena LeGrand: I retrieve 1 Halloween … helium donated hundreds of pumpkins for decorations for immoderate of the kids to overgarment … helium gave backmost to his community.

Sharon Costanza is Smith's mother. Ashli Holcomb is his sister.

Erin Moriarty: Did either 1 of you ever interest astir Chris?

Ashli Holcomb: No.

Sharon Costanza: No.

Ashli Holcomb: Chris is simply a enactment location person, that virtually would conscionable enactment successful his backyard.

Smith lived with a canine named Tiki. An EMT told the household that Tiki whitethorn person helped Smith marque it done the night by huddling with him for the astir 12 hours that helium was bleeding earlier being rescued.

Sharon Costanza: I deliberation Tiki protected Chris … I deliberation she astir apt laid close adjacent to him …

Smith's close-knit household could not ideate anyone wanting to termination him.

Ashli Holcomb: It was like, nary way. How? Why?

Sharon Costanza: Who? Yeah. Who would've done that?

Investigators had the aforesaid questions astir Reeves and learned that she was a divorced parent of 2 children who lived successful Troy, astir an hr southbound of Farmersville. Although Reeves had a master's grade successful engineering, she chose alternatively to thatch Pilates and to beforehand self-defense classes for women.

Reeves posted a video to her YouTube transmission to advertise 1 of her classes: … empower yourself against aggression and battle arsenic we thatch you casual to larn self-defense techniques…. Power up!!

Reeves tried to assistance women successful abusive relationships, but friends accidental she had her ain troubles. Stuiber told deputies she was disquieted astir a erstwhile boyfriend, a contractor by the sanction of Robert Tarr, known arsenic Bobby.

Nanette Stuiber: She said … I americium going to wholly artifact Bobby from email, texts, telephone calls. I — I person to spell nary contact.

Later that evening, quality of Reeves' execution began circulating and reached different adjacent friend, Amy Steinhauer. She had met Tarr, a divorced begetter of three, and did not person a bully content of him, but —

Amy Steinhauer: You ne'er spot idiosyncratic and deliberation that — they tin termination my friend.

Steinhauer called the Sheriff's Office that nighttime to springiness them Tarr's name. By then, detectives had already acceptable retired to find Bobby Tarr while, 85 miles to the north, surgeons were warring to effort to prevention the beingness of Chris Smith — a slug inactive lodged successful his brain.

PIECING TOGETHER WHAT HAPPENED

After learning that Smith had been changeable successful the head, his household rushed to the infirmary successful Springfield, Illinois, 2 hours from their home.

Sharon Costanza : I was connected the telephone … to everyone I could deliberation of … 'cause I conscionable needed prayers from everybody.

Doctors removed portion of Smith's skull and immoderate slug fragments successful his encephalon earlier putting him successful a medically induced coma. His family, struggling to portion unneurotic what had happened, learned that helium had been retired with a pistillate named Leslie Reeves.

Erin Moriarty: Had you ever heard the sanction Leslie Reeves before?

Ashli Holcomb: No. … I looked her up and past … I tried to scope retired to her friends and past I recovered … her champion friend, Nanette.

Nanette Stuiber told them the aforesaid happening she had told investigators: she suspected Reeves' ex-boyfriend Bobby Tarr. That night, sheriff's deputies went to Tarr's location successful Collinsville, an hr southbound of the transgression scene. Authorities accidental helium ne'er asked wherefore they wanted to speech to him, and helium agreed to spell to the constabulary presumption without a lawyer.

Though her friends said the mates had breached up, Tarr told investigators that helium and Reeves were inactive together.

DET. ROACH: Do you and Leslie person a batch of problems?

BOBBY TARR: I wouldn't accidental -- nary worse than immoderate mean couple.

It was Reeves that detectives wanted to speech about.

DET. ROACH: I privation you to — to excavation down heavy here, beryllium arsenic honorable with maine arsenic you can. OK. Uh, Leslie, is dead.

BOBBY TARR: What?

DET. ROACH: … Can you assistance maine shed immoderate airy connected this?

BOBBY TARR: How did she die?

DET. ROACH: She was murdered ...

BOBBY TARR: What happened?

DET. ROACH: That's wherefore we're present with you. … You assistance maine judge that you're not progressive successful this.

BOBBY TARR: I'm not progressive successful thing ...

Investigators asked Tarr astir Farmersville, the country of the crime.

DET. ROACH: Uh, cognize wherever Farmersville, Illinois is?

BOBBY TARR: Farmersville. No, I can't accidental that I do. … Never been there. … I've ne'er heard of it.

And they asked Tarr wherever helium had been the nighttime earlier Thanksgiving.

BOBBY TARR: I went to a buddy of mine's house. He near and near maine immoderate wealth retired of his store and spell prime it up.

The person lived a abbreviated region from Tarr's home.

DET. ROACH: OK. Do you retrieve what clip you came back?

BOBBY TARR: Um, yeah, it wasn't that long. Um, possibly 6:30-ish, thing similar that.

Investigators judge the shooting took spot sometime aboriginal connected Thanksgiving morning, aft 1 a.m. Tarr said aft helium got back, helium was location each night.

BOBBY TARR: You tin speech to my girl astir maine being home.

That's precisely what they did. Detectives brought Tarr's 17-year-old girl Shelby to a antithetic country astatine the constabulary station. And she told them that her begetter really near location doubly that night.

DET. TYSON HOLSHOUSER: So the archetypal clip helium near was astir 6:30?

SHELBY TARR: Right.

DET. TYSON HOLSHOUSER: And past helium — helium came location astir a fractional hr aboriginal –

SHELBY TARR: Right.

DET. TYSON HOLSHOUSER: and helium said helium had to spell back?

SHELBY TARR: Right.

DET. TYSON HOLSHOUSER: And past it was 9:15-ish erstwhile helium got backmost location …

SHELBY TARR: Yeah.

Shelby said helium had been gone for much than 2 hours, and erstwhile helium got home, helium was upset.

SHELBY TARR: He gets home, helium was crying. He was sobbing. … He said helium missed Leslie.

Shelby said she went slumber astir 9:30 p.m. and was awakened by her begetter astir 2:45 a.m.

SHELBY TARR: He started laundry, helium was pacing, walking astir … And helium was like, I can't sleep.

Detectives went backmost to Tarr and told him Shelby's communicative didn't lucifer his. Tarr past changed his communicative and said helium had gone to his friend's location twice, but inactive insisted helium was location by 8 p.m. As Tarr sat astatine the constabulary station, detectives searched his location and recovered his telephone and a Glock pistol. Shelby had told them her begetter had a antithetic gun, but they did not find it.

SHELBY TARR: It's little, it's similar this big. … Not similar a airy green, but similar a — the Army green.

Shelby told investigators she had seen it the time earlier Thanksgiving – successful her father's sock drawer.

SHELBY TARR: Yesterday morning, actually, I went to get socks and it was there. And present it's not there.

DET. TYSON HOLSHOUSER: Was determination yesterday, gone today?

SHELBY TARR: Yeah.

Bobby Tarr sat astatine the constabulary presumption overnight portion authorities continued to investigate. They had already learned his car had been captured by licence sheet scholar cameras conscionable aft midnight the nighttime of the shooting. The cameras were adjacent a state station, and investigators discovered that Tarr had bought state determination conscionable aft midnight. Back astatine the constabulary station, they confronted him with the state presumption receipt.

DETECTIVE. #2: So you're a liar.

BOBBY TARR: 'Cause I don't retrieve doing that?

DET. ROACH: You don't retrieve being retired aft midnight erstwhile you person told america you are 100% positive.

Erin Moriarty (showing Affrunti a representation connected an iPad): The state presumption is present successful Troy.

Andrew Affrunti: Yes.

Erin Moriarty: And the execution occurred present successful Farmersville.

Andrew Affrunti: Correct.

The state presumption was adjacent Tarr's home, an hr from the transgression scene. Andrew Affrunti is the Montgomery County State's Attorney.

Erin Moriarty: So, wherefore is it significant? … So, helium went retired and got immoderate gas?

Andrew Affrunti: It was important to america due to the fact that wherefore would helium prevarication astir it?

BOBBY TARR (police questioning): So I got fuel. What does that prove?

Investigators believed it was impervious Tarr was lying astir his whereabouts that night. They placed him nether arrest.

Affrunti says they arrested Tarr instantly due to the fact that they feared Smith's beingness was successful danger, and they hadn't recovered the execution weapon.

Andrew Affrunti: If helium was retired of custody, could helium instrumentality further steps to dispose of the evidence?

Just 1 time aft Leslie Reeves was killed and Chris Smith was near warring for his life, investigators believed they had the antheral liable successful custody.

But successful his lone media interview, Tarr tells "48 Hours" they got the incorrect guy.

Bobby Tarr: There is truthful galore things untold … that volition beryllium my innocence.

SUSPECT PLACES HIMSELF AT THE CRIME SCENE

Bobby Tarr, charged with the execution of Leslie Reeves and the attempted execution of Chris Smith, is thing if not unflappable.

Erin Moriarty: Did you termination Leslie Reeves?

Bobby Tarr: No.

Erin Moriarty: Did you sprout … Chris Smith?

Bobby Tarr: No.

He kept his chill — adjacent erstwhile confronted with a litany of lies helium told investigators.

Erin Moriarty: You told the constabulary you lone near the location once.

Bobby Tarr: Mm.

Erin Moriarty: That wasn't true.

Bobby Tarr: Correct.

Erin Moriarty: You told the constabulary you had nary thought wherever Farmersville is.

Bobby Tarr: Mm-hmm.

Erin Moriarty: That was a lie.

Bobby Tarr: Mm-hmm.

Erin Moriarty: You lied astir getting state successful your car that night.

Bobby Tarr: Mm-hmm.

When helium spoke with "48 Hours," Tarr admitted helium was astatine Smith's location the nighttime earlier Thanksgiving, placing himself astatine the country of the crime. He says the nighttime began erstwhile helium met Reeves astatine her part-time occupation astatine a Loft store.

Bobby Tarr: She had said she was gonna spell conscionable immoderate friends due to the fact that 1 of their friends … was playing successful a set … And she asked maine if I wanted to go. And I said, well, you know, I would spell but I person my youngest girl staying with maine for a week.

Tarr says that erstwhile helium declined the invitation, Reeves asked if helium would travel her to Farmersville, due to the fact that her van was unreliable. And truthful helium did. That makes nary consciousness to Reeves' person Amy Steinhauer.

Amy Steinhauer: She was terrified of him, rightfully so.

Just a fewer weeks earlier, Steinhauer says, Reeves told her that Tarr had shown up portion she was connected a archetypal day with a antithetic guy. After that incident, Reeves told Steinhauer she was frightened by Tarr and texted Steinhauer: "I could beryllium killed by him someday if I don't chopped each contact."

Erin Moriarty: So, you're telling maine present that this pistillate who was frightened of you, who had really texted a person that she thought you mightiness termination her, asked you to travel her to different man's house?

Bobby Tarr: Mm-hmm.

Erin Moriarty: Does that marque consciousness Bobby?

Bobby Tarr: No, I understand. Um, truthful I don't recognize that substance successful general.

Erin Moriarty: Why did she deliberation you mightiness termination her?

Bobby Tarr: I don't know. I've got nary clue.

Tarr says Reeves lied to her friends astir their relationship. He insists she asked him to travel her northbound to Farmersville.

Bobby Tarr: So, I went with her up determination … I deliberation we arrived determination astir 7:30. I parked — parked successful beforehand of her van, successful beforehand of his house. … That's arsenic acold arsenic I went. … I left; I ne'er went backmost to Farmersville again.

If helium had an guiltless mentation for wherefore helium was successful Farmersville, wherefore did helium prevarication to detectives?

Bobby Tarr: My girl … her and Leslie, determination was a small spot of hostility betwixt some of them. …I did not privation her to cognize that I was going to conscionable Leslie that night.

Tarr claims that aft helium lied to his girl Shelby astir seeing Reeves, helium stuck to that prevarication astatine the constabulary presumption due to the fact that helium was acrophobic they would archer her. And helium ne'er corrected those lies, adjacent erstwhile detectives arrested him.

Erin Moriarty: Why not conscionable say, 'look, betwixt you and maine … I lied to my daughter. So fto maine archer you the truth, but let's conscionable not stock that with her.' Why wouldn't you bash that?

Bobby Tarr: I should person done that.

Tarr is speedy to constituent retired the deficiency of carnal grounds connecting him to the bloody transgression scene. Investigators searched his achromatic Jetta but did not find immoderate shards of solid oregon humor stains.

Bobby Tarr: Two … tests by the authorities constabulary were done connected my car. Zero humor recovered successful my car. … There's zero DNA of excavation astatine the transgression scene. Anything from the transgression scene, successful my car oregon connected maine oregon immoderate of my covering oregon my shoes, zero.

Prosecutor Affrunti has to concede that point.

Erin Moriarty: Was immoderate of Tarr's DNA recovered wrong the house?

Andrew Affrunti: No.

Erin Moriarty: Were immoderate of his fingerprints recovered wrong the house?

Andrew Affrunti: No.

And authorities inactive had not recovered the execution weapon. But a week aft the shooting, they got a telephone telephone from Tarr's person Billy Adams. Adams said Tarr had called him from jail. That telephone was recorded.

BOBBY TARR (jail call): What's your time look like? 'Cause I request 10 minutes of your time.

Tarr asked Adams to spell to his location and look for immoderate platform brackets.

BOBBY TARR (jail call): I got immoderate peculiar aluminum brackets and — that I request you to get due to the fact that they're for different occupation that I didn't archer Dad astir yet. … So don't accidental thing to him.

Instead, Adams contacted the sheriff's office. Deputies suspected Tarr knew the telephone telephone was being recorded and was speaking to his person successful codification –- astir thing different than platform brackets.

BILLY ADAMS (jail call): They're aluminum?

BOBBY TARR: Yeah, get 'em and get escaped of 'em.

Bobby Tarr: They thought that was suspicious which was wherefore they went implicit and searched.

Investigators were connected their hands and knees successful Tarr's yard, looking for a gun. Dan Fultz is Tarr's defence attorney.

Dan Fultz: They searched that country thoroughly. … No gun. You cognize what they did find? Deck brackets.

A fewer days aboriginal they got different telephone call. This clip from Tarr's brother, asking them to travel backmost to the house. Tarr's household gave deputies a Ziploc container they said they had recovered successful the aforesaid gait that had been searched conscionable days earlier. Inside — a Springfield Hellcat 9 mm pistol and silver-colored ammunition. The Illinois State Police determined the weapon was the execution limb and the ammunition matched the casings recovered astatine the transgression scene.

Bobby Tarr: We still, to this day, don't cognize however that ended up there, specifically successful the spot that they searched …

Erin Moriarty: Are you saying you were acceptable up? Someone was framing you?

Bobby Tarr: Yes.

But if idiosyncratic was framing Tarr, helium oregon she would person to beryllium beauteous item oriented. The authorities constabulary accidental Tarr's fingerprint was connected the Ziploc bag.

Dan Fultz: He is adamant that helium would not person been dumb capable … that helium would've carried it each the mode backmost to his location … and said, hmm, wherever would I enactment this weapon connected my one-acre lot? … I deliberation I'll enactment it adjacent to the beforehand door.

And Tarr points retired neither his prints nor DNA were recovered connected the weapon itself.

Bobby Tarr Nothing connected the firearm, nary DNA, nary prints of excavation connected the firearm.

Andrew Affrunti: What I deliberation is, what happened is, is that the weapon was cleaned. And that Mr. Tarr conscionable missed a spot.

That spot was Reeves' DNA, accidental police, recovered connected the usher rod of the gun. Tarr's explanation: the weapon wasn't his – it belonged to Reeves.

Bobby Tarr: I purchased the Hellcat and Leslie purchased it from me.

As investigators continued to physique a lawsuit against Bobby Tarr, they accidental helium was hatching a program to soundlessness the lone eyewitness.

COULD CHRIS SMITH ID HIS ATTACKER?

If there's anyone who knew what guns Leslie Reeves owned, it's Howard Bolton, her adjacent person and firearm instructor.

Howard Bolton (at weapon range): Leslie accompanied maine present connected respective occasions. … When I would clasp classes, she would really sprout with us.

Howard Bolton (at weapon range): Leslie was becoming a precise bully shot.

Bolton says Reeves had organized a people called "Girls with Guns" not agelong earlier she was murdered.

Howard Bolton (at weapon range): We enactment the girls done their paces … They would determination guardant and fire. They would travel backmost and occurrence …And Leslie did very, precise good astatine that.

Bobby Tarr insisted to "48 Hours" that Reeves owned the Hellcat that was utilized to termination her, but Howard says helium ne'er saw her usage it.

Howard Bolton: Leslie ne'er brought, uh, a Springfield … let unsocial a Hellcat — to class.

So past however did Reeves' DNA get connected the usher rod of the execution weapon? Howard believes that Reeves' DNA could lone beryllium connected that usher rod if the weapon was fired astatine her astatine adjacent range.

Howard Bolton: So erstwhile helium changeable her, wherever it was helium changeable her … would person contaminated that portion of the gun.

In fact, Howard says Reeves owned a antithetic gun. Her friends accidental they privation she had taken it with her the nighttime she was killed.

Howard Bolton(at weapon range): Had Leslie taken the weapon with her, I guarantee you the result would've been different.

Tarr declared his innocence but the lawsuit against him could hinge connected what Chris Smith — the lone subsister — remembers. Would helium beryllium capable to place him? That was the question arsenic Smith remained successful a coma.

Sharon Costanza: We were talking to him, singing to him … And I was … ever holding his hand.

While Chris Smith laic helpless, authorities accidental Tarr was plotting to soundlessness him forever.

A expansive assemblage indicted Tarr connected 2 counts of solicitation of murder. Those charges are based connected allegations by an inmate who says Tarr paid him $10,000 to sprout and termination the pb detective and Smith.

Erin Moriarty: Did you inquire an inmate to sprout Chris Smith —

Bobby Tarr: No, ma'am.

Erin Moriarty:— and to termination Detective Roach?

Bobby Tarr: No, ma'am.

Tarr says the alleged crippled was a prevarication concocted by a erstwhile cellmate. Tarr says helium loaned that cellmate $10,000 for his enslaved and that it had thing to bash with Smith.

Erin Moriarty: Were you disquieted helium was going to attest and constituent to you arsenic the shooter?

Bobby Tarr: No. … I was not disquieted 1 iota.

The information was that nary 1 knew what Chris Smith remembered. The archetypal clip helium regained consciousness was successful aboriginal January 2022, astir 2 months aft the shooting.

Smith's dependable was truthful anemic successful those aboriginal days, that his aged person Mark Reardon, a speech amusement big successful St. Louis, hardly recognized Chris connected the phone.

Mark Reardon: I could not judge that I was proceeding from this guy. And I cried, helium cried … conscionable talking astir that infinitesimal truly brings maine chills due to the fact that I conscionable thought helium was ne'er gonna beryllium idiosyncratic that was successful my beingness ever again.

Erin Moriarty: What did Chris archer you?

Mark Reardon: Well … erstwhile Chris came retired of this … I was beauteous delicate to inquire him astir what had happened that nighttime … due to the fact that I deliberation I was a small acrophobic of adjacent having those conversations. So … astir of the conversations that we had were truly focused on, hey, however are you? you gonna beryllium OK.

After aggravated carnal therapy, Smith has made unthinkable strides. He's overmuch stronger than erstwhile helium awoke from a coma, but helium discovered determination are gaps successful his memory. What does helium retrieve from that unspeakable night?

Chris Smith: I privation to God I could retrieve thing … adjacent conscionable a — a smidgen of something. But I retrieve nothing.

He remembers thing of the shooting oregon Leslie Reeves.

Chris Smith: I said, "who the heck's Leslie? … I don't cognize Leslie."

Erin Moriarty: You had nary idea.

Chris Smith: No. Nothing, nothing.

Erin Moriarty: Is Chris the aforesaid idiosyncratic who utilized to travel connected your amusement earlier helium was shot?

Mark Reardon: Yeah … I deliberation astatine the core, he's inactive the aforesaid feline that I knew. … He's inactive the astute ass, he's inactive the feline that's gonna speech astir however bully helium is, and however bully helium was, and however overmuch helium could assistance weights.

Smith works retired astatine the gym astir mornings trying to regain musculus truthful that someday he'll beryllium capable to locomotion without assistance.

PHOTOS: Shooting subsister defies the likelihood aft taking slug to the brain

He's adjacent backmost to being the pb vocalist successful his stone and rotation band.

Sharon Costanza: I don't cognize however helium did marque it. I don't recognize however helium did. He's a miracle.

But Smith is alert that his beingness is precise antithetic from what it erstwhile was.

Chris Smith: I'm fractional the antheral I utilized to be, but I'm trying to get it backmost arsenic hard arsenic I can.

Chris Smith: My near limb is, uh, partially paralyzed from my hep to my knee, past from my genu to my toes, wholly paralyzed, truthful if there's immoderate neurosurgeons retired determination … immoderate researchers retired there, delight get a clasp of me. I'll beryllium your guinea pig. Just marque maine mean and springiness my beingness backmost delight (crying).

Erin Moriarty: It's tough, isn't it, Chris?

Chris Smith: Tough doesn't adjacent picture it. Doesn't adjacent picture it.

Smith is resigned to surviving with portion of that hollow-point slug successful his brain; doctors accidental it's successful a spot that makes it excessively unsafe to remove.

Erin Moriarty: So that's wherever you got shot?

Chris Smith (points to the apical of his caput wherever slug went in): Yep. Right present … yeah, inactive consciousness it connected my skull close there.

After decades connected his own, Smith had to determination backmost into his mother's house.

Sharon Costanza: I convey my blessings regular that he's present with us. I conscionable privation that this feline didn't instrumentality everything distant from him.

Smith visits with his loyal canine Tiki, but nary longer lives with her. And he'd emotion to spot his 12-year-old girl much often, but helium can't thrust and he's surviving successful St. Louis astir 2 hours distant from his girl and ex-wife.

Chris Smith: I miss her … I — I mean, she was my small pea successful a pod. I mean, we did everything together.

The proceedings of Robert Tarr was acceptable for April 2024, but Smith would not beryllium there. He told the authoritative helium was excessively aggravated to attend.

Erin Moriarty: You didn't deliberation you'd beryllium capable to conscionable beryllium there?

Chris Smith: Oh no. No way. I — I cognize myself. … I — there's nary way. No.

But Smith's alleged shooter Bobby Tarr volition beryllium determination and helium said helium was anxious to archer the assemblage that he's not a convulsive man.

Erin Moriarty: But connected this 1 night, aboriginal morning, did you snap?

Bobby Tarr: No, that's not my nature. I don't suffer it and snap.

THE CASE AGAINST BOBBY TARR

When Bobby Tarr went connected proceedings successful April 2024, prosecutors told the assemblage that helium killed Leslie Reeves alternatively than let her to unrecorded the beingness she wanted; a beingness without him.

Andrew Affrunti: Mr. Tarr … couldn't woody with the information that Leslie was seeing idiosyncratic other and … helium had to spell and instrumentality attraction of it.

Andrew Affrunti says Tarr secretly followed Reeves to Farmersville aboriginal that evening, and soon afterwards his telephone began showing immoderate absorbing activity.

Andrew Affrunti: He had really searched Chris Smith connected his phone, had tried to find his Facebook profile.

Tarr headed location and texted his person Billy Adams, "I don't consciousness similar she would thrust that acold for a enactment oregon spell retired with a girlfriend. I deliberation it's for a dude." He besides searched whether constabulary could way his telephone if helium was utilizing a VPN – a virtual backstage network.

Andrew Affrunti: He was researching to find whether oregon not that would disguise wherever his determination was portion helium was utilizing the phone.

Authorities accidental astir midnight, Tarr near home, stopping astatine that state station. And then, according to Affrunti, surveillance videos and compartment operation records amusement that Tarr drove backmost to Farmersville.

Erin Moriarty: You judge helium intended to termination some Chris and Leslie?

Andrew Affrunti: I 100% judge that helium went up determination with the intent to bash superior harm to some of them.

With 1 unfortunate dormant and the different with nary memory, it's hard to accidental with certainty what happened. But the prosecution argued that sometime aft 1 a.m., Tarr tried to participate done the backmost doorway of Smith's house. Reeves and Smith tried to support him out.

Josh Easton: There was immoderate benignant of altercation oregon conflict …And that's erstwhile the solid was broken.

Crime country researcher Josh Easton told the assemblage what he'd observed wrong the kitchen.

Josh Easton: The refrigerator was pulled distant from the partition from wherever it appeared it usually was.

Prosecutors judge Reeves was trying to usage the refrigerator to artifact the door. And based connected wherever Smith was changeable successful his head, they deliberation helium was crouching down to assistance Reeves.

Andrew Affrunti: I deliberation that … portion Chris was crouched down trying to clasp the doorway shut, uh, Bobby changeable done the doorway and struck Chris.

With Smith incapacitated, Affrunti says Reeves hid successful the surviving room. Tarr tracked her down, changeable and killed her.

Andrew Affrunti: I powerfully judge that … helium walked successful and executed her.

Defense lawyer Dan Fultz disputes each of that.

Dan Fultz: There is simply nary grounds … that that's what happened. There's nary grounds that Leslie pushed the refrigerator. There's nary fingerprints and humor … connected the refrigerator of Leslie's.

Fultz says grounds of a combat successful the room tells a antithetic story.

Dan Fultz: The magnitude of humor successful that room was astonishing.

Erin Moriarty: From looking astatine that transgression scene, bash you judge that Christopher Smith had to combat his -- his assailant … successful the kitchen?

Dan Fultz: It would look to maine that determination was … immoderate important conflict successful that room betwixt him and idiosyncratic else.

And helium says the assailant could not person been Tarr due to the fact that helium would person been covered successful blood.

Dan Fultz: They did not place a azygous portion of DNA successful his car, they didn't place a bloody fingerprint, they did not place thing tying him to that transgression scene.

But prosecutors argued the location wasn't bloody erstwhile Tarr left. They said Chris bled heavy successful the 12 hours it took for assistance to arrive. And portion the prosecution did not person a batch of forensic grounds linking Tarr to the transgression scene, Affrunti says his telephone activity, his lies to investigators, and the grounds recovered connected the Hellcat each beryllium his guilt.

Andrew Affrunti: When you enactment each of that together, that's erstwhile you get the wide representation of what happened.

When it was the defense's turn, Tarr says helium wanted to archer his communicative to the jury. But helium chose not to testify.

Erin Moriarty: Why didn't you conscionable determine you were gonna speech to the assemblage and archer this story, if successful information you person a communicative to tell?

Bobby Tarr: I should have, I precise good should have.

Dan Fultz: We made a strategical determination … due to the fact that it whitethorn person opened the doorway for a full batch of different much damaging grounds to beryllium used, to transverse analyse him.

The defence didn't enactment connected immoderate witnesses and counted connected the assemblage to find tenable uncertainty successful the deficiency of carnal evidence. After 3 hours, the assemblage recovered Bobby Tarr blameworthy of first-degree execution and attempted murder.

Two months later, Tarr was backmost successful tribunal for sentencing, and this time, truthful was Smith -- to archer the justice however the shooting impacted him and his family. Cameras were not allowed successful the courtroom.

Chris Smith (after sentencing) Lost my house, mislaid my motortruck … I mean, I've virtually mislaid my beingness without being killed.

While Smith was successful a coma, helium says looters descended connected his location and stole his guitar and amps, adjacent his supra crushed pool. Later, his location was sold astatine auction and past razed. All that's near is an bare lot.

Tarr besides spoke astatine his sentencing and denied shooting Reeves and Smith. The justice sentenced him to 85 years.

Leslie Reeves' friends are focused connected keeping her representation alive.

Amy Steinhauer: I anticipation the remainder of his clip connected this world is hell.

Howard Bolton: She was a airy of a batch of people's lives. … She was ever smiling. She was a precise bully mother, lived for her kids … And was an advocator and champion of women -- women's rights and particularly women that were abused.

Nanette Stuiber: If it tin hap to her, it could hap to anyone. So we each request to beryllium careful.

Smith says helium ne'er expected he'd beryllium a unfortunate of home unit and cautions different men to instrumentality a hard look astatine their behavior.

Chris Smith: If guys you consciousness similar that, if you wanna wounded a woman, get help.

While Smith mourns his aged life, helium is penning a publication astir his experiences, and says he's moving to marque what helium calls mediocre man's margaritas retired of the lemons and limes he's been handed.

Chris Smith: I've got a do-over. Good Lord gimme a do-over. Not galore radical get a 2nd accidental successful life.

Smith has recovered emotion with Michelle Albrecht.

Chris Smith: She's an angel. … Loving maine and accepting maine the mode that I am.

He projected to her connected stage.

Erin Moriarty: What's the astir important acquisition retired of each of this?

Chris Smith: Don't ever springiness up connected thing ever, ever… No substance however atrocious things are. Don't ever springiness up.

Leslie Reeves' 2 children are being raised by their father.

The solicitation of execution charges against Bobby Tarr person been dismissed.

If you oregon idiosyncratic you cognize is simply a unfortunate of home violence, interaction the National Domestic Violence Hotline astatine 1-800-799-7233.

Produced by Paul La Rosa and Dena Goldstein Marc Goldbaum is the improvement producer. Grayce Arlotta-Berner and Marcus Balsam are the editors. Peter Schweitzer is the elder producer. Nancy Kramer is the enforcement communicative editor. Judy Tygard is the enforcement producer.

Erin Moriarty

Erin Moriarty is simply a "48 Hours" analogous and big of the true-crime podcast, "My Life of Crime."

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