GREENACRES, Fla. — The suspect, a 74-year-old man from Greenacres, was taken into custody for murder when deputies discovered the body of the suspect’s roommate at the apartment that they shared a few days after the suspect told them that he had poisoned the roommate.
When deputies from Palm Beach County, Florida responded to a house on March 28 and 31, 2022 in response to a request for a welfare check, they were told that no one was there. When they got to the residence on March 31, 2022, at 1:08 p.m., they discovered that the door had been left unlocked and that the deceased individual was lying in bed.
According to the report, John Reeves was discovered dozing off on the bed in the same bedroom where the body of the deceased had been discovered. He was said to be “disoriented and intoxicated” when he was transported to a nearby hospital for a medical checkup.
During the course of the questioning, Reeves disclosed to the deputy that both he and the victim were big drinkers who used around one bottle of vodka on a daily basis.
He said that the victim “was drunk, making noises, and would not shut up,” so he gave the victim tablets to keep him quiet twice during the night along with vodka to wash it down after they had been drinking for more than 24 hours. He stated that the victim “was drunk, making noises, and would not shut up.”
Because of his part in the victim’s death, Reeves had expressed to the nurses that he want to end his own life by taking his own life. In addition to that, he made a number of off-the-cuff remarks, such as “I poisoned him and I poisoned the dogs.”
The investigators also contacted with Reeves’ sister in the United Kingdom. She said that she had spoken with Reeves, who informed her that the victim was not breathing throughout their conversation. She instructed Reeves to place the individual in a posture conducive to recovery and to contact an ambulance.
According to the deputies, a search warrant was carried out on the property, and a number of pill bottles and vodka glasses were discovered there as a result.
The poisonous effects of many drugs prompted the medical examiner to conclude that the death was the result of murder on November 14, 2022. The completed report was brought to my attention on March 8th, 2023.
A conversation with Reeves took place in a hospital on April 1st, 2023, during which he was given a copy of his Miranda rights.
He said that he poisoned the victim by making him take tablets at nine o’clock at night and twelve o’clock in the morning so that he wouldn’t find out that he accidently poisoned their dogs, which contributed to their deteriorating health. He did this so that the victim wouldn’t find out that he poisoned their dogs.
Reeves claimed that while he was aware the individual had passed away, he did not call emergency services because he wanted to maintain the appearance that they were still alive for a few more days.
“Reeves explained that from Sunday until Thursday, he drank and smoked all day, pretending that ‘it never happened,'” the report added.
The accusation against Reeves is murder in the first degree.
