Article
•
•
1 min read
Fugitive's Capture Stuns Community: What Led to This Moment?
A 23-year-old man wanted in the fatal shooting of a Tennessee teen was caught in Europe after spending three years on the run, according to authorities.
Seth Walls was arrested in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in connection with the killing of 15-year-old Haley Reedy, the U.S. Marshals Service announced in a Wednesday, September 16, news release.
Walls had given a fake name during his arrest on Saturday, September 12, but his fingerprints confirmed his true identity, according to the agency.
Walls is accused of shooting Reedy to death at a home in Millington, Tennessee, on September 11, 2022, almost exactly four years before he was caught.
The Shelby County medical examiner eliminated the possibility that Reedy’s death was self-inflicted, finding that she had been shot in the head at a downward angle, per WMC-TV.
Walls was first charged with reckless homicide, then second-degree murder and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. Afterward, he posted a $10,000 bond and never returned to court, resulting in an arrest warrant, according to the TV station.
A year after Reedy’s death, the U.S. Marshals Service began investigating Walls as a fugitive.
“Walls’ trail led out of state and eventually out of the country,” the agency said.
The International Criminal Police (Interpol) became involved in the search for Walls by making sure law enforcement in other countries would keep an eye out for him, according to authorities. Interpol ultimately helped confirm Walls’ identity by sharing his fingerprints with Slovenian authorities.
Reedy’s mother, Brandee Jones, told The Tennessean that Millington city officials informed her on Tuesday, September 15, that Walls had been arrested.
“I’m very shocked and relieved at the same time,” Jones said. “I don’t have to worry about him harming anyone else.”
Though she expressed her relief, Jones also shared her disappointment in how local law enforcement has handled her daughter’s case.
“I feel as if the local judicial system has let me down, as well as my daughter, for the last four years,” Jones told the newspaper. “They have put us on the runaround since the beginning. Never being able to get them on the phone, or answer questions pertaining [to] the case. It’s all been such a tragedy to us, and we only want justice for Haley.”
Walls is expected to be extradited to the U.S. from Slovenia, where he’s still detained, according to the Marshals Service.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether he had retained legal counsel.
In a statement, Millington Mayor Larry Dagen said, “The tragic murder of Haley Reedy has deeply affected her family, friends and the whole Millington community.”
“We recognize that no action can undo that loss, but we hope this significant development in the case provides an opportunity for justice to be done and brings the family, and our community, closer to healing,” Dagen added.
