TEXAS – Texas serial killer, William Lewis Reece, continues fighting his death sentence in Oklahoma. Reece was recently transferred from a Texas prison back to Oklahoma.
Oklahoma court records show Reece’s appeal of his 2021 death sentence was denied in July 2025, and his request for a rehearing was also denied in Sept. 2025.
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Officials with the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office tell 2 Investigates Reece now has a direct appeal pending before the US Supreme Court and has other avenues of appeal at the state and federal levels. Officials with the AG’s office said an execution date will not be requested until all of Reece’s appeals have been exhausted.
Reece, 66, grew up in Oklahoma but visited Texas in the 80s. Reece served nearly 10 years in an Oklahoma prison after raping two women in 1986. After he was released from prison, Reece moved to Harris County.
In Apr. 1997, Reece kidnapped and murdered Laura Smither while she was jogging near her home in Friendswood. Smither’s body was found 3 weeks later in a Pasadena retention pond.
In May of 1997, Reece kidnapped Sandra Sapaugh from a convenience store in Webster. However, Sapaugh was able to escape by jumping from Reece’s truck as it barreled down the Gulf Freeway.
In July 1997, Reece kidnapped Kelli Cox from a gas station in Denton and killed her before kidnapping and killing Tiffany Johnston at a car wash in Bethany, Oklahoma, the same month. In August 1997, Reece kidnapped and killed Jessica Cain while she was driving to her home in Galveston County.
In Oct. 1997, Reece was arrested for Sapaugh’s kidnapping. He was then convicted and sentenced to 60 years in prison. He denied involvement in any of the murders.
In 2015, new DNA evidence linked Reece to Johnston’s murder. In 2016, Reece finally started talking to investigators and led them to where he buried Cain’s body in southeast Houston and Cox’s body in a field in Brazoria County.
Reece was then sent back to Oklahoma, where he faced trial in 2021 for Johnston’s murder. After his conviction and death sentence, Reece was brought back to Texas in 2022 and finally pleaded guilty to Smither, Cain and Cox’s murders. He received life sentences for all three murders.
Officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Reece was transferred back to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections on Dec. 29.