"I'm just glad it's behind us"
Family members mourn while police work to close case
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| ELIZABETH A. LEHNERER PHOTO Illinois State Police Lt. Mark Bramlett and East St. Louis Police Chief Michael Braxton during a press conference on Friday where they announced that Kevin J. Reid of State Park Place has been charged with murder. |
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In the midst of the commotion was a calm Gregory Parker, the East St. Louis man who has been looking for his 19-year-old daughter since she went missing with her 4-year-old cousin on Nov. 6, 2005.
"We didn't know where they were for so long," he said. "We know exactly where they are now. I'm just glad it's behind us."The Illinois State Police held a press conference at its Collinsville headquarters on Friday to announce an arrest in the missing-persons-turned-murder case of Anquiaette Parker and Cermen "C.J." Toney Jr.
Kevin J. Reid, 51, of State Park Place was charged Friday with the deaths of Toney, Parker and the unborn child Parker was carrying.
"Reid was taken into custody on March 28 and remains incarcerated at the Madison County Jail. He is being held without bond," said Lt. Mark Bramlett of the ISP.
Police said Reid was one of 200 people in State Park Place that were interviewed after Parker's car was discovered abandoned in the parking lot of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8996.
According to police, Reid and his brother Frank lived in the two-story white home at 9261 Collinsville Road at the time of the disappearance. ISP Master Sgt. James Morrisey called the property "the Reid family home" and said that investigators combed the wooded area and fields near the home with cadaver dogs and high-tech equipment "numerous times" but no bodies were found and no charges were ever filed.
In December 2007, the Reids sold the home and the new owners began clearing the land. Last week, investigators got another call to the property.
"I don't know how many times (investigators) actually went out to excavate (that) area," Bramlett said. "The agents went out this time just like they had many other times and were able to find the evidence to help us break this case."
A six-foot-wide, brick-lined underground cistern was found buried under railroad ties and dirt. Inside the cistern were human remains that investigators have tentatively identified as those of Toney, Parker and her unborn baby.
Morrisey said it could take months to process all of the forensic evidence and identify, without a doubt, that the remains are those of the cousins.
Gregory Parker said that without the new landowner, the remains of his loved ones may never have been found.
"Without the purchase of that property we'd still be wondering where they are," he said. "I thank God for (the property owner), whoever he is."
Officials refused to discuss the circumstances surrounding the deaths, the motive or any relationship between the suspect and victims.
Bramlett and Morrisey said that the charges issued by the State's Attorney's Office were the "most appropriate for the information we have at this time. Those charges can be amended or changed in the future."
As of Friday, no one else was charged in the case and no one was in custody pending charges.
"This is an ongoing investigation. If we receive additional information that other parties were involved of course we'll provide that to the State's Attorney's Office," Morrisey said.
East St. Louis Police Chief Michael Braxton and State Park Place Fire Chief Terry Guffey, who assisted with the investigation, both said they were glad to bring closure to the family.
"I'm happy for the family that we were able to put a light on the situation," Braxton said.
While he prepares to put his loved ones to rest, Gregory Parker is asking for the death penalty for Reid.
"If you take a life, you don't need to be part of this Earth," he said.
Reid was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of concealment of a homicidal death and one count of intentional homicide of an unborn child.
First-degree murder is punishable with up to 60 years in prison but death or natural life sentences can be imposed under certain circumstances. There is currently a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois.
Concealing a homicidal death is a class 3 felony, punishable with no more than five years in prison.
