A convicted serial killer is eligible for parole in Texas next month, 30 years after he was sentenced for two counts of murder.
Jack Wayne Reeves, who is serving sentences of 35 years and 99 years in the Wallace Pack Unit, is eligible for parole on February 6, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records.
Reeves was convicted of killing a man in Italy, his second wife, Sharon Vaughn, and his fourth wife, Emilita Villa.
Reeves's case has received attention from the media and the public. His case was featured on several television shows, including "Exhumed" on Oxygen and "Forensic Files." He was also the subject of a 1999 book titled Mail Order Murder.
Pam Morgan, who teaches at the College of Education and the Graduate School at Midwestern State University, has studied Reeves and presented his story to a recent forum at the Museum of North Texas History. She spoke to Newsweek about the details of the case.
After Reeves' first marriage was annulled, he married Vaughn and had two children with her, Morgan said.
Morgan said the relationship was "abusive" and Vaughn fell in love with another man stationed nearby with the military while Reeves was overseas. In an event unrelated to Vaughn, while in Italy, Morgan was convicted of manslaughter in 1967 after supposedly chasing a peeping tom and shooting him in the back, the Times Record News reported.
While he was still overseas, Vaughn sent Reeves divorce papers, Morgan said.
"He made a surprise visit home, and she was dead the next day," Morgan said.
Her 1978 death was initially ruled a suicide, The New York Times reported.
The drowning death of Reeves' third wife was ruled accidental, Morgan said. He was never charged in connection with her death.
Reeves' fourth wife, Villa, was reported missing in 1994, The New York Times reported.
"She had a very vocal friend group, and they were hammering the police that she would not have left her son," Morgan said.
Authorities exhumed Vaughn's body, and Reeves was charged with her murder in 1994, Wichita Falls Times Record News reported.
Wes Ball, who served as Reeves's attorney in his two murder trials and on direct appeal, told Newsweek that the defense believed the evidence in Vaughn's trial was "insufficient."
Reeves was sentenced to 35 years in prison in connection with Vaughn's death in 1996.
Ball said the defense "fought hard" in Villa's case, but Reeves was ultimately convicted.
"The problem with Jack was, he would talk, and he would say things that didn't sound like something an innocent person would say, I guess, and there were many instances of that, which added up," Ball said.
Reeves was sentenced to 99 years to run concurrently later that year for the killing of Villa.
Wes Ball, who served as Reeves's attorney in his two murder trials and on direct appeal, in comments to Newsweek: "Texas' parole authorities don't tend to lean favorably to granting parole in this type of a case, and that's been my experience over decades of criminal law practice in Texas, but each case is unique."
Neama Rahmani, former federal prosecutor and the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, in comments to Newsweek: "I would be surprised if the Texas board deemed him parole eligible. I mean, they look at the nature and circumstances of the offense. Killing your wife or killing multiple wives, that's pretty egregious and heinous."
Reeves is eligible for parole on February 6, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records.