This morning, William Reese was adjudicated guilty and sentenced to life in prison, for Second Degree Murder with a Firearm. He was sentenced as a prison releasee
reoffender. He was convicted of the Cape Coral murder earlier this month, following a trial in Lee County.
Assistant State Attorney Andreas Gardiner, of the State Attorney’s Office Homicide Unit, and Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney Paul Poland, prosecuted the case.
The crime was discovered on September 13, 2021. The Cape Coral Police Department responded to a residence after a woman came home and found her father dead, from apparent gunshot wounds. She then waited outside for the police.
When police arrived, the defendant, walked out of the home and said, “I got a body in there.” He was immediately detained in a patrol car. The victim was found on the living room floor, covered with a blanket. He had been shot five times.
The defendant had been staying with the victim and claimed to have no knowledge of what happened. A search warrant was executed at the home and a Taurus .38 revolver was found. It was sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for DNA analysis and the defendant’s DNA was found on the gun. The bullets matched the bullets used to shoot the victim.
The investigation determined that the defendant was unemployed and began to cause problems for the victim, including taking his car, which led to arguments, prior to the murder.
Samantha Syoen – Communications Director, State Attorney’s Office