08.25.07
13-Year-Old Kayla Reynolds Shot by Father
Teen Shot in the Head…
Kayla Paige Reynolds,
Spotsylvania,Virginia-
Kayla was about to start the 8th grade at Post Oak Middle School this past week. Now her closest friends and relatives are trying to cope with a life cut short tragically way too soon. On August 22, 2007 13-year-old Kayla Reynolds was involved in an argument with her father Earl Wayne Reynolds (44) about his drug use and bad checks. (Kayla lived with her father and an elderly relative there-her mother died 3-4 years ago).
Earl Reynolds-father of Kayla Reynolds
Crime Scene & Home of Kayla
A few minutes later, Kayla was shot in the back of the head and fell near the front porch of her home on 11909 Belfonte Road.
She was dead from a gunshot wound-her half-sister was shot and bleeding. The 19-year-old pregnant step sister had also been shot in the chin and was first taken to Mary Washington hospital in Fredericksburg, then flown to VCU Medical Center in Richmond. She is recovering from surgery and the wound is reported to be non life-threatening.
The girls’ uncle,who witnessed the deadly shooting, rushed and called 911. What did the father do, you ask? Did he hurry to his daughter’s side and check wheather she was still breathing? or run around hysterically in regret? No, Earl Wayne Reynolds “sat down and drank a couple of beers.”
I can’t hardly come up with words in response to this…at all. I know about drugs and how they can make you do some off-the-wall things, but to shoot your own daughter in the head and all because you got annoyed with her when she disagrees with your crack habit?
This is truly evil and devestatingly horrid. Why couldn’t Mr. Reynolds have just turned the gun on himself and saved society from the results of his drug use? According to neighbor Martha Schatz, who lived down the street, she had been worried about Kayla’s conditions at home and the family in general.
She said Kayla would come to her and tell stories of abuse and neglect . Schatz told the FreeLancer Star:
“I called Social Services about 3 weeks ago
and Friday they called Butch [Kayla's father]to investigate..I called them and begged them to help Kayla.“
So heartbreaking to hear that. The neighbor did the right thing to call social services-still it was too late. Maybe if they would have came out a month ago, Kayla Reynolds would still be here.
Instead she was buried today. May she rest in peace as an angel,as she is reunited with her mother Cynthia in heaven.
I continue to wonder when social services and child welfare agencies will do their job to keep the children safe first and investigate all referrals and reports to the fullest extent.
Without a doubt, we’ll have more Kayla’s in the future because they truly aren’t doing their jobs and the children are the ones dying and suffering, unsafe at home.
Kayla’s Notebook
Sources
geminigirl07 said,
August 26, 2007 at 12:37 am
Post on Sunday 8-26-07: If Kayla did have a “dark side” it certainly is understandable to me… Post Poem here She wrote in the notebook pictured the following poem:
Shoot and end me now
Don’t ask why and don’t ask how.
Shoot me dead, that’s all you have to do.
Someone’ll do it, so why not you.
Big words for a girl of thirteen,
But it’ll surprise me if I turn eighteen.
It is eerie that she wrote this poem, just before she had her short life ended by her father.
Seems like she was in alot of pain, dealing with alot of anger and maybe even depression due to the traumatic events in her life, the biggest was the loss of her mother at a younger age, and then having to live with “that” as a father. Makes my heart ache for her and all the other kids out there in the same or similar situations. The notebook was a cry for help, and its tragic that neighbors heard that cry and tried to get Kayla help thru CPS-but she was still failed.
R.I.P Kayla Paige Reynolds.
amber said,
January 29, 2008 at 8:43 am
I am the sister of Kayla Reynolds who was shot and killed by my stepfather and i am in search of any friends she had at school to talk to to get some closer. Please email me at amberlhs@yahoo.com
geminigirl07 said,
January 29, 2008 at 10:20 am
I am so sorry about your sister Kayla,Amber. Please accept my condolences.I do hope you are doing well now because I know you also were shot by him. Maybe one of Kayla’s friends will post on here and leave contact info for you. I really hope they will. Take care,
katie said,
May 7, 2008 at 8:29 pm
wow how could someone do this???
that creep!!
geminigirl07 said,
May 12, 2008 at 8:56 am
I still don’t know what caused this father to go off like that and shoot at his own daughters, seriously injuring one of them and killing the other one. They say drugs were a factor, but there must have been something more, I was thinking a mental illness of some type that went undiagnosed for years and years. I am not excusing him in the least, he should pay for what he did.