Photo Courtesy of GoFundMe / Valerie Junius
A man has been charged with murdering his wife, Valerie Junius, after fatally shooting her on July 29 in a Katy, Texas apartment. He also opened fire on two of her children.
People Magazine reported Lawrence Reed and Junius had ongoing issues with domestic violence. The domestic violence situation escalated to Reed shooting and killing his wife. Junius’ mother, Gloria, heard her baby girl’s final moments. The two women had been talking on the telephone.
“My Auntie, Gloria, was on the phone with her daughter, Valerie, while she could overhear her husband, Lawrence Reed, telling Valerie that he was going to kill her and her kids.” Stacey Terry, Junius’ cousin,
expressed.“Gloria then had the horrific experience of having to hear Lawrence shoot her daughter Valerie a total of 7 times, ultimately taking her life.”
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Reed later shot Junius’ 16-year-old son and her 20-year-old daughter as they tried to escape his violent wrath. Her children survived the attack.
The victim reportedly returned to her hometown Chicago to escape Reed’s violence and only returned to Katy to retrieve her personal belongings.
Junius’ cousin, Treshawnda Junius, spoke to ABC13 about the shooter not wanting to end the relationship with Junius.
“He knew it was over– when she stayed in Chicago for as long as she stayed. He killed her. He didn’t give her a chance,” she said.
A fundraising page was set up to raise $50,000 to help with funeral and service costs for Junius’ mother, who is left to raise her six grandchildren ages 4-20. The total raised so far is under $10,000.
Her cousin also said that Reed ransacked the home and stole his deceased wife’s money and vehicle.
In addition to murder, Reed is facing two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.