Who was Michael Reese and what happened to him?

A SETTLING real crime story of a church woman who killed her husband was the inspiration for the latest Dateline episode.

On February 18, 2015, Michael Reese was murdered by his wife, Cindy Henderson Reese.

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Who was Michael Reese and what happened to him?

Michael was 40 years old when he was shot by his wife, Cindy, at their home in Morris, Alabama.

On the night of the murder, the couple allegedly went to church and then ate at a restaurant called Milos.

When they got home, Reese fatally shot her husband in the head.

Cindy then left the house and went shopping, per AL.com. When she got back home, she attempted to stage a robbery by turning over a coffee table before calling the police.

Cindy Reese reportedly had an affair with Jeffrey David Brown, who was both her love interest and her pastor.

Investigators confirmed that Reese and Brown were having an affair, but both gave conflicting testimonies about the case.

Brown claimed Reese asked him to hire a hitman to kill Michael, according to AL.com.

It continued: “Brown tried to hire two of his associates for the murder, but they refused. Brown also said Reese had spoken of killing Michael on numerous occasions and said she would claim insanity if charged in his death.”

The publication also notes that Brown said that after Reese shot Michael, she gave Brown a gun and jewelry that she took from home. She then asked Brown to dispose of it.

What were Cindy Henderson Reese and Jeffrey David Brown accused of?

Reese and Brown were both charged with murder.

In 2017, Cindy was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

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Jeffrey was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

When was Michael Reese’s case featured on Dateline?

On February 4, 2023, a Dateline episode shed light on the details behind Michael’s case.

Dateline’s Twitter account tweeted a program preview.

Previously, a Dateline episode titled Even the Devil Went to Church, which premiered in October 2020, also focused on the same case.