A Jefferson Parish judge has sentenced Mishanda Reed to 11 years for prison for her involvement in the kidnapping of her extramarital lover in Kenner, a week after her husband Malcom Reed was sentenced to 13 years for the same crime.
Malcom Reed, 42, and Mishanda Reed, 45, both of Durham, N.C., were convicted of second-degree kidnapping and attempted second-degree kidnapping, respectively, by a Jefferson Parish jury on Sept. 28.
Mishanda Reed and the victim, now age 47 and living in Houston, Texas, attended Xavier University in New Orleans together in 1995 and dated for about five years. They had had a sexual encounter in recent years, after she was married.
In 2021, they communicated, and she told the victim – falsely – that she was divorced. On June 27, 2021, after the victim traveled to the New Orleans area to meet her, he drove to an airbnb that she rented with her credit card in the 1300 block of Lloyd Price Avenue in Kenner.
Inside, the victim walked to an upper-level loft. There, the victim said, Malcom Reed suddenly appeared, carrying a silver semiautomatic pistol in his left hand and an aluminum bat in the other. He ordered the victim to get on his knees. When the victim refused, Malcom Reed beat him with the bat.
Malcom Reed ordered Mishanda Reed to retrieve zip-ties, which he had in a bag. She did, and she used them to bind the victim at the wrists and ankles.
Malcom Reed then got the password to the victim’s cell phone and scrolled through the text messages between the victim and Mishanda Reed. Malcom Reed interrogated the victim about his intentions with his wife. Malcom Reed also pointed the pistol at the victim and threatened to kill him. Malcom Reed also cut the victim’s face during the interrogation.
Several hours later, the Reeds left the airbnb in separate cars, taking the victim with them. The Reeds removed the zip-ties from the victim’s wrists and ankles and left him in the 300 block of Alliance Street. The Reeds then drove to North Carolina.
A bystander saw the victim bleeding in the street and called 911. The Kenner Police Department arrived soon after, and the victim was rushed to a hospital for injuries that included a broken leg.
Police officers who searched the airbnb found blood spattered on the stair railing, a mirror, bed sheets, a door and elsewhere. Detectives identified the Reeds and obtained arrest warrants. The Reeds surrendered on Aug. 1, 2021.
The couple additionally was charged with aggravated battery. But jurors convicted Malcom Reed of the lesser misdemeanor charge of simple battery and acquitted Mishanda Reed of that crime altogether. Malcom Reed was sentenced to six months in jail for that offense.
Although the Reeds were tried and convicted together, they were sentenced separately.
During Malcom Reed’s sentencing hearing on Oct. 13, he expressed remorse but minimized his involvement by telling the court that he learned only that day that his wife was having an affair. He said he hid outside the Airbnb for 1 ½ hours and then, armed with the bat, confronted the victim inside. He said he was defending himself when explaining why he struck the victim with the bat.
The victim, in victim-impact testimony on Oct. 13, described the entire incident as “a premediated ambush” that included Mishanda Reed’s participation. He said he suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome because of the kidnapping and beating he received.
On Friday (Oct. 20), Mishanda Reed testified during her request for a new trial, presenting herself as a victim as well and saying she was not a willing participant in the kidnapping because she was frightened of her husband. From the witness stand and with her husband looking on, she admitted being an adulterous wife but asserted she loves both men. Mishanda Reed also complained that her trial lawyer, whom she has fired since she was convicted, steered her away from testifying.
In rejecting the new-trial request, Judge Shayna Beevers Morvant of the 24th Judicial District Court described Mishanda Reed’s testimony given Friday as “theatrical and full of hysteria.” Judge Beevers Morvant said Mishanda Reed had numerous opportunities to flee from her husband if she was, in fact, not a willing participant in the crime.
“I do not think she wants to face liability for the jury’s verdict,” the judge said in denying the new-trial motion.
Assistant District Attorneys Matthew Whitworth and Blaine Moncrief prosecuted the case.