Saturday, August 17, 2019

The Disappearance & Murder of Kayla Reed


Kayla Reed was last seen at her family’s home in Livermore, California on December 2nd, 2005. According to her mother Angel Sheets, Kayla, then 15, was a habitual runaway— and on the evening of December 2nd, Kayla allegedly was last seen with a full face of makeup on right before she told her mother she was going sleep. Due to this, Angel suspected that Kayla was going to sneak out to meet her friends that night. The following morning, Angel called the police around 10:30 AM to report that Kayla was gone.

Detectives showed up at Angel’s home shortly after she called to report Kayla missing, but when they knocked on the door, Angel did not answer. She later stated that she fell asleep and did not hear the detectives knocking on the door. Angel waited two more days before contacting the police again on December 5th, 2005. This time, she successfully filed a missing person's report for Kayla. However, Angel told detectives about her suspicions about Kayla sneaking out the night she vanished; due to this, Kayla was classified as a runaway.

Detectives initially focused on Kayla’s MySpace page in the early stages of the investigation, as it was theorized that Kayla might have met up with somebody she met on the site. That theory never panned out, as investigators could not find any evidence that Kayla was corresponding with somebody she did not know on MySpace. 

Then, on January 10th, 2006, the investigation took an unexpected turn: Kayla’s body was found floating in the Delta Mendota Canal. An autopsy was unable to determine her cause of death, but it was reportedly clear that she had been murdered. Additionally, the autopsy revealed that Kayla had been dead for over a month by the time she was found—the same amount of time she had been missing. 

A year and a half after Kayla’s body was found, investigators announced that Kayla’s mother, Angel, was a person of interest in Kayla’s murder. Angel’s friend, Dennis Murphy, was also declared a person of interest.


Angel Sheets & Dennis Murphy

Throughout the investigation, detectives learned that Angel and Dennis were the last known people to have seen Kayla alive. Both Angel and Dennis also gave conflicting stories to detectives as well. Angel originally stated that she was the only other person in the house on the evening of December 2nd. Later, she admitted that Dennis had come over that night to do meth. Angel said that before she went to bed that night, she asked Dennis to keep an eye on Kayla in case she tried to sneak out. 

When Angel woke up the next morning, she said that both Kayla and Dennis were gone. Dennis, on the other hand, admitted to going to Angel’s house on the evening of December 2nd, but he told police that he left when Angel and Kayla began to argue. He said that he returned to Angel’s house the following morning, and at that time, Kayla was gone, and Angel seemed upset.

Despite their conflicting statements, neither Angel nor Dennis have been charged with anything related to Kayla’s death. Many of Kayla’s other family members believe that Angel knows exactly what happened to Kayla and that her “lifestyle” is likely what lead to Kayla’s death. The investigation into Kayla’s case is still ongoing today. If you have any information that could lead to an arrest, please contact the Livermore Police Department at (925) 371-4900.

16 comments:

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  2. Kayla reed was a good kid her mom is a liar and thought kayla was in her way for the lifestyle she wanted. Kayla was at my house and me and my mother and another friend of ours dropped her off at 8pm at her house. She never ran away and i knew that she had gotten rid of her moms stash down the toilet. kayla wanted to see her mom do well but her mom got pissed and between angel and dennis they slammed her killed her dumped her to cover it up i have lost my best friend to this i was only 14 years old going to junction when her and my other friend went to livermore high. her mom should pay for what has happen. -A very sad friend to this day 1/16/2020 it's been 14 years 1 year off of how long she lived for and still no arrest...

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    1. Thank you for the information. I'm so sorry you lost your best friend. Kayla deserves justice and I hope she can one day get it.

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    2. I have been following this for years. I knew her and her brother Im so sorry for your loss. I keep hoping to see an arrest has been made. This was terrible.

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    3. I went to school with her too. Although I wasn’t close with her she was the sweetest person I ever met. I sat behind her at Christensen in class. Those eyes are literally burned into my memory. This has haunted me since she was found dead. I can’t get her out of my mind. I think about her all the time. I wish I could’ve done something. I will never stop thinking of her. Especially until someone is charged and convicted! RIP Kayla! We miss you have not been forgotten 🥺

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  3. I believe Dennis did it. The dude was a perv going to swing partys and a meth head. Kayla was found where Dennis used to fish. I think he raped her and killed Kayla.

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    1. Please call the police and mention that he is accessing child pornography. He shouldn't be on the streets if this is true. I hope you are safe.

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  4. Is anyone reading these? Looks like they need to re open this case..

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    1. I am. At least someone else here is, too. Glad she hasn’t left our hearts.

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    2. I'm here too. This case isn't closed. It's just gone cold. I still have hope that one day Kayla will have justice. She was so young.

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    3. this is crazy. hopefully something is done

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    4. A story was recently posted about her on Fb. See #ripkayla #kaylareed

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    5. I am here! Praying they arrest who is knowingly involved. It’s ridiculous that there’s been no justice for her.

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    6. Shes a family member and i want responses.

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  5. Pretty wild comments section. RIP Kayla.

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  6. I went to school with Kayla, she was the sweetest soul with an amazing laugh. I hope she gets the Justice she deserves!!! Rest in peace beautiful.

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