By Fox23.com News Staff
OKLAHOMA CITY — Death row inmate William Lewis Reece has been returned to Oklahoma to face execution for the 1997 murder of 19-year-old Tiffany Johnston.
In July 1997, Johnston’s body was found in a remote location west of Yukon after she’d been abducted from a car wash in Bethany.
Her case remained unsolved for nearly two decades.
According to the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, Reece confessed to the murder of Tiffany Johnston while being interrogated by Texas Rangers related to the murder and sexual assault of women in both Oklahoma and Texas.
Authorities said Reece’s confession was able to be confirmed using DNA evidence from Johnston’s body. Reece was then convicted by a jury and sentenced to death for Johnston’s murder in 2021.
Following his 2021 conviction, Reece stood trial in Texas where he pled guilty to the murders of 12-year-old Laura Smither, 17-year-old Jessica Cain and 20-year-old Kelli Cox.
Reece received life sentences for the murders of all three women.
“This predator has left a trail of devastated families across two states,” said Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond. “Tiffany Johnston was a young bride with her whole life ahead of her when he violently ended it. I am grateful to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections for its work to bring back this predator so he can face the punishment a jury determined he deserves.”
The Attorney General’s Office said Reece is still moving through the appeals process.
However, the Attorney General’s Office said it intends to oppose all appeal attempts and will be requesting an execution date if Reece isn’t able to receive an appeal to his conviction.
