TEXARKANA, Arkansas -A man who stabbed his girlfriend in the heart and buried her body on a remote hunting lease in 2017 was sentenced to life in prison Monday by a judge in Miller County.
Tony Earl Taylor, 61, entered pleas of "no contest" to charges of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence at a hearing Monday morning before Circuit Judge Carlton Jones in a courtroom at the Miller County Correctional Center. Taylor stabbed 35-year-old Crystal Reed to death March 6, 2017, in unit 127 of the Smith Keys apartments in Texarkana, Arkansas.
He thoroughly cleaned the apartment and buried Crystal Reed in a shallow grave on a remote hunting lease in Ogden, Arkansas. Taylor hid bloody moving blankets, a shovel, rubber boots and dirty gloves in a friend's backyard on Pine Street in Texarkana, Texas, which were recovered by investigators March 8, 2017.
Taylor made an open plea to the court, meaning Jones was left to determine what punishment Taylor should receive in the range of 10 to 40 years or life for murder; three to 10 years for abuse of a corpse; and up to six years in prison for evidence tampering.
After hearing from Crystal Reed's mother, Janice Reed, and her cousin, Anita Miller, the judge opted for the maximum sentence for each offense. There is no parole from a life sentence in Arkansas.
"We didn't get to have a funeral for her really. We had to go straight to graveside because of the way she was found," Janice Reed said. "I look at her pictures every day and say 'We're going to get you justice. We're going to get you justice.' She didn't deserve to be buried in a grave way off like that."
When Crystal Reed's body was unearthed, it was inside a bright orange plastic bag such as used by hunters for game carcasses.
Miller testified that she lived in the apartment above the one Crystal Reed and Taylor shared. She told the court that Taylor had threatened Crystal in front of her and others.
"He said he knew how to kill her where nobody would know. He said he would take her to one of his hunting places and nobody would find her," Miller recalled.
After Janice Reed reported her daughter missing, investigators identified Taylor as a suspect in her disappearance. In an interview with investigators, Taylor claimed he and Crystal Reed were fighting over a pocket knife when he stabbed her in the chest. Eventually Taylor led detectives to Crystal Reed's makeshift grave.
Jones told Taylor that he was dubious of Taylor's account as he suffered no injuries from the alleged struggle over a knife. Jones said the medical examiner's report led him to conclude that Crystal Reed was attempting to get away when she sustained a long lateral wound from a blade across her chest which went deep enough to pierce her heart.
Jones described his sentencing decision as "the only thing I can do that is fair and just."
Jones pointed out that Crystal Reed likely knew she was mortally wounded in the moments before her death and noted that Taylor's attempt to hide her body caused further pain to the family that mourns her still.
Taylor's case remained pending longer than most because of issues surrounding his competency and the COVID-19 pandemic. Early evaluations by experts at the Arkansas State Hospital found that Taylor's intellectual limitations made him incompetent to stand trial. A later evaluation by an outside expert found that Taylor was malingering in hope of avoiding prosecution.
Following a competency hearing before Jones last year, Taylor was found fit to proceed. He was scheduled to face a jury this month.
Taylor was represented by Managing Public Defender Jason Mitchell. Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell appeared Monday for the state.
"The family of Crystal Reed waited four long years for justice to be served in the death of their daughter, cousin and friend. We are very pleased with the court's sentence," Connie Mitchell said. "Mr. Taylor will serve the rest of his life in prison."