Different views of Carson murder-suicide
Deputies are still investigating what happened, but believe Meriwether shot Reed and then killed himself to culminate a troubled domestic situation.
I spoke to Amrys Magee, a 38-year-old man who intended to marry Reed next week. In a soft voice, he said he had dated Reed about seven years ago and fathered a now 6-year-old son with her.
They broke up, he said, and she started her relationship with Meriwether. When that ended, she reunited with Magee.
"We were going to get married in my pastor's office," Magee said.
He described Reed as a Christian woman and devoted mother to her three children.
(I learned later she had a previous husband who committed suicide.)
Magee said he did not know why Meriwether was with Reed in Carson, but said he was abusive to her.
"He was pretty possessive in the relationship and he was pretty much in the stalker mode," Magee said.
He presented a completely different view. He said Reed was stalking Meriwether. She was angry, he said, because he helped to cost her her job with the Sheriff's Department in Phoenix and had withdrawn about $10,000 from his bank accounts.
He called her a "deputy," but she was actually a custody assistant, a civilian position.
Meriwether worked for a construction firm at a site in Long Beach and was trying to start a new life, he said.
"He was doing really good," the friend said, not wanting his name published. "This company gave him credit cards for gas, for food. He had no reason to stalk her and kill her."
Terese Meriwether, his sister, told me it wasn't true that Reed planned to marry someone else. Her brother told her that he and Reed were still in contact with each other.
"She was upset with him because he moved out here to accept a job," the sister said. "She would call him going off in rages. He played it for me. I don't know what's going on with her. She was having problems at her job. She's didn't feel he was backing her up there."
The sister was surprised when I said I had just spoken to her fiance.
Basically, the message I received was Meriwether's relatives and friends believe her actions drove him to kill Reed and kill himself.
I don't know what to make of it, whether that's accurate or whether they aren't taking responsibility for Meriwether's actions.
Lt. Dave Coleman at the Sheriff's Department told me his investigators believe Meriwether followed Reed to California from Arizona.They have heard all the same issues I heard this morning and are trying to sort them out. They never will know exactly what went on outside that McDonald's before Meriwether chased Reed inside and killed her.
"They are dead and they can't tell us," Coleman said.
In the end it doesn't matter. The reasons are irrelevant. Meriwether, who had three children of his own, ends his life as a murderer. Reed, who had three children, dies as a victim.
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About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
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About the Blogger
Denise Nix knew as young as grade school, when she spent every summer working on the camp newspaper, that she wanted to be a journalist. Denise has spent most of the last 12 years of her career in the courtroom. She joined the Daily Breeze in 2001, where she tracks and reports on hundreds of cases at every level of the justice system. And she's never, ever, seen a judge use a gavel.
E-mail Denise at denise.nix@dailybreeze.com.
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I spent more than enough hours on the phone with my old friend Steph.. He did explain to me that she had stolen the money out of his account... but they were not in a current relationship.. You can verify with the hotel that this individual was not a frequent visitor... He had several female friends with much more going on that her... I honestly believe what ever they were talking about was not good.
Doesnt it make you wonder what type of female she was when her last boyfriend committed suicide ALSO... what's up with that... Does she do Vooooodoooooo....
Lt. Coleman is very misinformed. Steph has been in California raising his boys for well over a year. While Ms. Reed continued to live in Phoenix until very recently.
I don't know what happened, but I do agree with last paragraph of the article. Whatever the "reasons" none of them justify either murder or suicide. Six children are now without at least one parent and 2 of them are without either parent. I have also heard that the grandparents of those 2 children believed that Ms. Reed "drove" their son to commit suicide. I guess I just can't understand how these people can be so selfish. That their "feelings" matter more than their own children. I remember when being a man meant taking care of your responsibilities despite what you were feeling. And loving your children more than yourself. Both of these men took the selfish, coward's way out. And there is no way to repair it in these children's lives.
It's a very sad day for both sides of the family. No one will ever know what actually took place but Stephen, Krystina and witnesses. My heart goes out to Stephen's 3 kids and Krystina's 3 kids, who are suffering from this tragic incident! I hope and pray if there are witnesses out there who know the truth to what happened, that you may have the courage to come foward and speak the TRUTH. Keeping silence is only hurting the situation!
Whether each of us want to pass blame is a choice that we have to make.
Truly understand, they are both back with their Heavenly Father now, which is something greater than all of us here. Let's all pray that God comforts us and provides us with the strength to handle this loss.
Lastly, My prayers go out to the Meriwether family and Reed family. Each person grieves in their own time and own way. The grieving process is stressful for everyone. Only time will heal the broken heart and help to pass the pain.
I knew and worked with Officer Krystina Reed. Yes, she was an honorable Detention Officer, who worked for the Sheriff's Office in Phoenix Arizona. She was an outstanding Officer for the Sheriff's Department. And it was not a civilian position, she worked custody, Law Enforcement. She was an Officer! She graduated from a really tough Academy to become an Officer and it was NOT A CIVILIAN'S POSITION. She was very pretty and always presented a professional apperance in her uniform. She was very intelligent too. She was very well liked by all of her peers and Supervisor's. She properly left a two week notice upon leaving the Sheriff's Office in Arizona, to move her children closer to family. She left with an outstanding work record and was always welcome back, if she wished to return. Her last night with the Sheriff's officer, we held a wonderful pot luck dinner for her outstanding service. It was a lot of fun but we were sad to see her go. Her supervisors and fellow officer's have much respect for her. She was a wonderful Mother and not one day passed by without Officer Reed telling many kind stories about her 3 children. She adored her children and lived for those kids! She always put their needs before hers and being a single mom is difficult, but she made sure her children came first! Always! They were her pride and joy! Each of them, in their own uniuque way, she talked about. And you could see the sparkle in her eyes as she spoke of them. I am so saddened by Officer Reed's untimely passing as are many other Detention Officer's who worked with her. I am so sorry for her 3 children that their wonderful mother was taken from them in this manner. Officer Reed was an outstanding citizen too. Most importantly, she was a woman of faith. She believed in God and taught her children to love the Lord. She will be missed my many, many people, family, friends and the Law Enforcement Community in Arizona. Many Angels are surrounding her in Heaven right now and her children will be cared for and loved the way she wished for them to be. She will always be their Mother too! Nothing can ever take that away! She will always have us too! We will continue to talk to her and pray for her. She will live on in the hearts of many! God bless you Officer Krystina Reed! My prayers and thoughts continue for you and your children! Rest well with the Lord. Amen.
Officer Y. Davis
I asked you to print facts. My statement's were not fact nor are the other statements you used . The only fact are gone with both victims . You forget all 6 children have to live trough the after math of this mess . Thank you for your compassion towards the family's Mr. Altman .
Stephen Lee Meriwether is a COLD BLOODED KILLER! No, worse...he is Satin himself!!! And you are Satin's brother!!! How dare you try and defend that evil monster after he beat the he** out of Kristina and put her in the hospital! That's why he was in trouble in Arizona...Tell the truth you BIG LIAR!!! It's public record, look it up, if you even have the smart's to do the bookwork. How dare you try and hide the fact of why he was in trouble in Arizona...(that he was in BIG trouble)...He brought on himself!!! Krystina did not make him assault her!!! That evil, wife beating, high on alcohol DEVIL, chose his own path!!! Steven Meriweather is an abusive, wife beater!!! And a convicted Felon!!! And Kristina was a Christian, who loved and believed in the Lord, who tried to give him a new chance, tried to forgive his past and make a new future with him. She got sucked into his lies too and after all that abuse he put her through, she tries (like 3 out of every 10 women) accrossed this globe, to leave this abusive relationship and he hunts her down and MURDERS her!!! HOW DARE YOU!!! YOU BIG CREEP!!! HOW DARE YOU try and tarnish the good name of such a wonderful person as Kristina Reed. I'm not surprised that you were a close friend of Steven Meriweather's, you are just like him!!! YOU ARE JUST AS EVIL AS Steven Meriweather!!! May God forgive you both, because many will not forgive you!!!
What more facts do you need? This creep, Steven Meriwether, abused and murdered Krystina Reed, a beloved Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend and Officer for the Sheriff's Department in Arizona.
This has gone extremely too far. Has everyone forgotten that two people died? It's not about who was right vs. who was wrong. Six children are left without a parent. Two families are grieving the exact same way. Name calling and finger-pointing aren't going to bring neither Stephen or Krystina back.
I am a first cousin of Stephen, and I'm saddened and heart-broken by this tragedy. The facts are irrelevant at this point; it happened and we can't change that.
The two people who are now dead are the ONLY people who knew the "truth" about their relationship. Stephen told his version of their relationship, and Krystina told her version. We on the outside looking in, don't really know what led to this tragedy. So everyone please stop passing judgment, and let them rest in peace. It's not solving anything, and it's not going to bring them back.
I would like to send my apologizies and deepest sympathy to the family of Krystina. Let's please move on and put an end to this for once and for all.
It's typical how people, especially cops, protect their own and THINK they know what is going on in other people's houses. If she was such a good, Christian woman, what was she doing shacking up with both Meriwether and her youngest child's father and God-knows who else? Parading a stream of men in front of her children? Committing adultery on her first husband? Stealing over $10,000? Stalking Meriwether even after he left the state. These don't sound like the traits I've been taught are Christian values. And abusive? Why don't you ask her children how abusive SHE was? Just the fact that she let this, so called "Satin Himself", "liquored up", "evil" man around her children shows what a selfish, self-serving, uncaring woman she was who didn't care about her children's feelings or well-being. You should ask her children and Meriwether's what kind of woman she was to them before you go talking about things you obviously have no clue about. Did that give him the right to kill her or himself? NO!!! But sometimes when you do things you are not supposed to like stalking and stealing from people, they get desperate or they just snap and horrible things happen. Things that should never happen to anyone have happened to all of those children.
I also noticed that for someone who is supposed to be such a good friend, you didn't even spell her name correctly. Nor did you know how Steph pronounced his name so I doubt you even ever talked to her about him and are just making things up after the fact.
I would like to copy and past this from another page within Larry Altman's blogs as follows: (Author unknown)
In search of the truth said:
I agree that no one will ever truly know what happened between Krystina and Stephen.
HOWEVER, I find it kind of funny that Stephen's family now wants everyone to stop posting comments. Could it possibly be because the truth about their beloved murderer is finally coming to the light.
I also find it funny that Stephen's family think that the facts are irrelevant....could it be that his family wants us to forget that STEPHEN KILLED KRYSTINA?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
And lastly.....I would just like to say that Stephen does not deserve to rest in peace.....he is a murderer and because of him three children are without their mother!!!!!!!
First, let me start off by saying that I express my sincere condolences to both family and pray God's peace for the children and families left behind.
My family and I witnessed the unfortunate and unecessary altercation outside McDonald's on our way home from church. The was an apparent argument loud enough to grasp our attention. As we looked over, it was apparent that the man and woman were having heated words. Rather quickly, the young man started chasing the woman who let out a heart-wrenching scream that I have never ever heard in my life as he started aggresively chasing her through the parking lot. She (the woman) had a gun in her right hand and the young many chased her to the door of the McDonald's grabbing her by her hair and her left arm trying to get the gun away from her. After a very short struggle, they both somewhat stumbled to the ground and the woman threw the gun away from them both and ran into the McDonald's. At that point, the young man got to his feet ran to where the gun was thrown (we were praying and assuming that he was running away from the scene). But no, infact, he picked up the gun and ran into the McDonald's after her. That's when we saw employees, customers running out of the establishment -- never knowing he apparently went in and shot her and them himself (according to news, newspapers, etc.)
I have read many of these comments and know that both families love each of these people, respectively. I don't know either of these individuals, nor do I know the history of their relationship or the lack there of but what I do know is that this young man had the opportunity to handle this situation a different way.
Again, my heart and prayers go out to these families and I hope that this little information will at least answer some of the unanswered questions about what happened on Father's Day.
Thanks silent witness
Finally (The families)get some light to the matter. We are heartbroken behind it all. We thank you for stepping up and giving your statement to officers and also sharing it on this site.It adds light to this situation and LORD knows we wish we had a different outcome. GOD BLESS!!!
THIS IS A TRAGEDY, A TERRIBLE SELFISH TRAGEDY THAT LEFT 6 CHILDREN
WITHOUT PARENTS. I FELL THAT THEIR RELATIONSHIP WASNT ALWAYS BAD,AND THAT THEY BOTH FORGOT WHAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT IN THIS WHOLE SITUATION, AND IT WASNT EITHER ONE OF THEM, IT WAS THE CHILDREN WHO ARE LEFT TO WONDER WHY. THE WORST THING OF ALL IS THE DAY IT HAPPENED ON, OF ALL DAYS FATHERS DAY. THEIR CHILDREN WILL GROW UP AND THAT WILL DEFINITELY BE ONE THAT WILL ALWAYS BE ONE NOT TO CELEBRATE. MY HEART GOES OUT TO BOTH FAMILIES, AND IN THE END NONE OF US REALLY KNOW WHAT DROVE THESE TWO TO SO MUCH SELFISH HATRED THAT WOULD TURN INTO SUCH TERRIBLE DEATHS. I HOPE THAT OTHERS WHO ARE GOING THROUGH A SIMILILAR SITUATION WILL THINK ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES THAT COME FORM SELFISHNESS, LIVE LIFE FOR YOUR KIDS, THEY DIDNT ASK TO COME HERE AND IT IS YOUR DUTY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE FIRST AND FOREMOST.....REST IN PEACE
To the "Silent Witness"
Oh, you need to be silenced!!!
You are the biggest LIAR!!! Krystina Reed was a trained Corrections Officer! You know she would not run into Mcdonals screaming "He's going to kill me" with a weapon in her hand. Then, throw the weapon for the suspect to grab. How dare you LIE like that! She was running for her life from someone who had a weapon and threatened her with it! I believe the police and investgative reports that advised she ran into McDonalds screaming "He's going to kill me!!!" The official reports did not state that she had a weapon in her hand. In fact, he followed her in there with a gun and shot her and then himself...How dare you lie like that!!! Shame on you!!! Truth be known, you are probably one of that crazy stephen meriwether's family or friends trying desperately to make Krystina Reed out to be the peretrator again...Please just stop your sick attempts because we all know Ms. Reed was abused over and over again by steven meriwether. She was always on the run from him. She lived in fear of him and you are just ONE BIG LIAR!!! It was probably you who wrote earlier, yes, it was probably you, that it was spreading false statements around that Krystine ran into McDonalds with a gun. But guess what DIP SH**, the police and investigative reports DO NOT STATE THAT!!! Because that is NOT true! Not one witness saw a weapon in Krystina's hand...only you are spreading that lie! And you were not there!!! YOU BIG LIAR! You can try all you want but we all know this poor Krystina Reed was in an abusive, distructive relationship and tried desperately to get away from this creep...God rest her soul! Stop trying to make what steven meriwether was about less than it was. He was evil and shelfish to the core!!! God, please forgive this "Silent Witness" for his/her desperate attempt to sugar coat stephen meriwether's existance on this earth. stephen meriwether was an abusive, shelfish, cruel individual and do not think we will sit back and believe a word you say...you were not there!!! HA! HA! HA! Your game is over!!! My prayers for both families, esecially the children. However, NO, absolutely NO prayers for that abusive, murdering, shelfish creep that murdered Ms. Reed.
To one of her stars-
Response from the "silent" witness: First, let me start by saying my heart broke as I read your response to me. My husband, my children and I witnessed this tragic event and I am very saddened to know that someone would even think I would lie when there are six innocent lives involved who deserve to have some answers. Let me clarify, the young lady DID NOT have the gun in her hand INSIDE the McDonald's - she actually had it outside in the parking lot when the young man started chasing her. When she got to the door of the McDonald's is when she threw the gun away from them both. She then ran into the McDonald's (with nothing in her hand because she has already thrown the gun). The young man then ran and retrieved the gun and followed her into the McDonald's. As stated in my earlier comment, I do not know anything about the relationship between the two individuals but what I do know is what my family and I saw that Father's Day afternoon. In fact, my son and daughter are still having a really hard time dealing with it. Your response is very offensive and inconsiderate. This shows why most people prefer to remain silent when all I was trying to do was hopefully answer some of the unanswered questions. Please let me say that I did not make this young lady out to be a perpetrator because if she really wanted to shoot this young man she had an opportunity to but chose not to. However, the young man had the opportunity and intentionally took it. God knows, I would never lie when lives are involved.