Kriti Mehrotra
On February 18, 2015, 40-year-old Michael Reese was shot to death in the back of the head, execution-style, by his wife Cindy Kaye Henderson Reese, as they returned to their Banks Street, Morris, home in Alabama after attending church and getting dinner from Milo’s. According to the police, she was not the only one behind this heinous crime and had the full support of her then-lover.
Michael’s wife committed her husband’s murder with the help of her then-boyfriend, a Baptist preacher named Jeffrey David Brown, so that they could be together. All this and much more is detailed on NBC’s ‘Dateline: Even the Devil Went to Church,’ as they chronicle the story of this gruesome murder. But we bet, that like us, you’re curious to know where he is today, right? So let’s find out.
Who Is Jeffrey Brown?
Jeffrey David Brown became a senior pastor at Sardis Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2013, and that’s where he met and fell in love with Cindy Reese, the minister of music there. Soon after, even though both of them were married to different individuals at the time, they began an affair. This was while their families became close friends, hanging out, helping each other in times of need, babysitting for each other, etc. Though Jeffrey and Cindy, unbeknownst to their spouses, apparently even planned for a future together by mixing their finances and signing their names on asset documents.
The truth is Jeffrey and his wife soon filed for divorce, with Cindy helping him out every step of the way. But she herself never indicated that she’d be leaving Michael. Instead, what she did talk about was getting rid of him entirely, saying on multiple occasions that she’d either shoot or poison him and plead insanity if she was ever charged in his death. According to Jeffrey, Cindy wanted him to hire someone to do the dirty work for her, so he asked two of his co-workers, but they refused. In the end, when Michael was slain, the two lovers were arrested for it within a month.
Jeffrey Brown is Still Imprisoned
Jeffrey Brown and Cindy Reese were both indicted on the charge of murder, but in 2016, just before his case was set to begin a trial, the former struck a deal with the prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter and agreed to a 20-year prison sentence. As per the agreement, he also testified against Cindy when she went to court.
When Jeffrey took to the stands at her trial, he explained their relationship and claimed that after Cindy killed Michael, she gave him the murder weapon and the jewelry she had taken from their home to stage the robbery, asking him to get rid of them. Jeffrey said that he dumped the .38 revolver on Highway 75 in Pinson and gave the accessories to another woman. Cindy’s 911 call was played in court as well, and it revealed that she was talking to another person when it connected, telling them that her phone was about to die.
According to the prosecution and the phone company records – GPS and tower pings – Cindy was talking to Jeffrey. Records also show that he called her seven times the morning after. With all this, it’s quite evident that Jeffrey had a major role to play in Michael Reese’s death. Therefore, today, he is detained at the minimum-security North Alabama Community Work Release Center in Decatur, Alabama. According to state records, Jeffrey can be considered for parole as early as July 2023, but if denied, he will be released once his sentence is served in full.
Read More: How Did Michael Reese Die?
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