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The Arkansas Supreme Court has affirmed the conviction of Lazarus Reaves, who was found guilty of capital murder and tampering with physical evidence in the fatal shooting of his girlfriend, Shaletian “Shay” Larry, in December 2020. Reaves had argued on appeal that the trial court wrongly denied his motion for a directed verdict on the capital murder charge, claiming the evidence didn’t prove he acted with premeditation and deliberation.
The Supreme Court disagreed, concluding that the evidence presented by the State was substantial enough for the jury to find that Reaves intentionally killed Larry after weighing his actions.
The Violent Background
Reaves and Larry moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, from Georgia shortly before the murder. Their relationship, according to testimony from Larry’s sister, Sharocka Waters, and Reaves’s cousin, Dawand Wallace, was marked by abuse.
Evidence presented at trial painted a grim picture of escalating violence. Text messages revealed Reaves had previously hit Larry with a gun, and he had never denied it. In one chilling exchange just before the murder, Reaves texted Larry, “I’ll shoot you in front of the police IDGAF right now.”
Wallace confirmed the volatile atmosphere, noting an incident where a bathroom door was knocked off its hinges, and both Reaves and Larry had scratches following a domestic disturbance call answered by Fayetteville police weeks before the shooting. Larry’s sister testified that Larry frequently had bruises from Reaves, and her nose was bruised—possibly broken—the day before she died.
The Day of the Shooting
On December 26, 2020, the tension peaked. Larry had told her sister that Reaves became enraged after seeing a message from another man on her phone. He took her black BMW, leaving her locked outside the apartment in the cold.
The couple eventually went out, supposedly to buy a new purse, but Larry was not allowed to drive. As they drove south on Interstate 49, multiple witnesses observed the BMW being driven dangerously, speeding and swerving. Critically, witnesses reported seeing a woman—presumably Larry—open the front passenger door and attempt to jump out, only to be pulled back inside by the man driving. Another witness saw an attempt to exit the rear driver’s-side door.
The ordeal ended near Exit 67A. Witness Jose Rivas saw the BMW parked abruptly. A woman was lying face down on the ground, and Reaves was sitting in the driver’s seat with his leg outside the car. Rivas testified that Reaves looked at him before speeding away.
Forensic Evidence Connects Reaves to the Killing
Emergency personnel found Larry on the roadway shoulder. She died from a single gunshot wound to her back, and an autopsy also revealed a large laceration suggesting she was struck with a blunt object, possibly the gun itself.
Law enforcement recovered crucial evidence suggesting the murder occurred inside the vehicle: Larry’s blood was found inside the BMW, and a washcloth with her blood was found in the shared apartment. Furthermore, 40-caliber ammunition was found in a duffel bag in their closet. A 40-caliber shell casing and a bullet fragment recovered near Larry’s body matched a handgun found discarded in a nearby dumpster. Records indicated Larry had purchased the gun, and it was missing one bullet when recovered.
The timeline was tight. Around 3:39 p.m., Larry sent her sister a picture of a contact on Reaves’s phone. The sister called the number immediately after Larry and Reaves left for the store and a woman answered. Minutes later, at 3:50 p.m., a three-minute voicemail was inadvertently recorded on Larry’s phone during the altercation in the car. The recording captured a distressed female voice pleading, “stop the car,” followed by an aggressive male voice, concluding with the male voice saying, “Bitch, you ready for what?” The first 911 call reporting Larry on the road came just three minutes after the voicemail ended.
Reaves later called Wallace, stating he had “fucked up” and was preparing to flee town.
The Directed Verdict Challenge
At trial, Reaves’s defense was primarily focused on attacking the element of premeditation required for capital murder. A motion for a directed verdict challenges whether the State has presented enough evidence—direct or circumstantial—to support the conviction beyond mere suspicion.
Arkansas law defines capital murder as causing death with the “premeditated and deliberated purpose.” While Reaves conceded he shot Larry, he argued the chaotic events on the interstate suggested a spontaneous act, not a planned one.
Justice Courtney Rae Hudson, writing for the Supreme Court, rejected this argument. The court noted that premeditation does not need to exist for a long time; it can be formed in an instant. The jury is permitted to infer premeditation from the circumstances of the crime.
The Court highlighted several pieces of circumstantial evidence pointing toward intent: Reaves’s history of abuse, his prior explicit threat to shoot Larry in front of police, and the fact that he shot her once in the back while she was apparently trying to escape the moving vehicle.
Reaves had also pointed out that Larry suffered only a single gunshot wound, contrasting with other cases where multiple shots suggested deliberation. The Supreme Court clarified that while multiple shots can be evidence of intent, a single shot is not automatically inconsistent with premeditation.
“On this record,” the opinion concluded, “the jury’s determination that Reaves acted with the premeditated and deliberated purpose of causing Larry’s death is supported by substantial evidence.” Consequently, the circuit court’s denial of the directed verdict motion was affirmed.
Reaves was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for the capital murder, with the six-year sentence for tampering running concurrently.