Interracial Couple Shot to Death in Woods.

Stephen Reid, 67, and his wife Djeswende Reid, 66, were found dead on the 21st of April. The elderly couple was brutally murdered in April 2022 in New Hampshire while taking a hike in their neighborhood.

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What happened

Most people don't know that what started as a missing persons' investigation turned into a hunt for a killer!

After being reported missing by family members, their bodies were found on Thursday the 21st of April, in a wooded area near their neighborhood in Concord, New Hampshire. Concord Police are still investigating, but they still do not have any answers to give to the family about the murder of Stephen and Djeswende!

Timeline

The couple left their home on Monday afternoon to go on their daily walk toward the area of the Broken Ground Trails.

But when Stephen and Wendy did not show up for a planned family event on Wednesday, a reported unusual behavior for the elderly couple, a family member decided to call in a missing person report.

After combing the area, investigators found their bodies on Thursday evening. Stephen and Wendy were found in a wooded area near the Broken Ground Trails off Portsmouth Street.

Law enforcement is still searching and investigating the area to find any clues as to what happened to the couple.

Autopsy Results

The autopsies were concluded by Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Mitchell Weinberg, who determined that the cause of death of Stephen Reid and his wife Djeswende Reid was multiple gunshot wounds. The MD also concluded that the incident was a homicide.

Who were Stephen and Wendy?

Djeswende and Stephens' children gave a very emotional interview to the press, which broke the hearts of everyone reading. According to their children, The couple retired back to Concord in 2019. Stephen Reid was a Concord native who worked for a federal disaster relief agency USAID for over 30 years.

The family said that Stephen's projects as a humanitarian could not have been possible without the love, care, and support of his wife, Wendy. The latter also helped in resettling refugees in the United States.

Stephen also spent four years in West Africa serving in the Peace Corps after finishing college, that is where he would meet his future wife and soulmate Wendy. Even though Wendy was from West Africa, she studied in Washington D.C. on an athletic scholarship.

It was said to be love at first sight, and they bonded over their shared hobbies such as adventure and fitness.

An unusual homicide shocks Concord, NH

Many area residents speak up and state that such an event is strange since the neighborhood is tranquil and peaceful. Their statements speak of a community where most residents sleep with their doors unlocked! Concord Police is now urging residents to lock their doors and be alert as the killer is still on the loose.

Concord Police Chief Bradley Osgood, and Assistant Attorney General Geoffrey Ward, declined to answer questions about whether the shooting was random.

Public's Help

Investigators urge people to come forward with any information about the couple's disappearance or violent death. It was also reported that the FBI is currently helping the local police force with this investigation.

Was this a race crime?

One can't help but wonder if this heinous crime was isolated or propagated by racist intent. Between 2000 and 2018, the number of people of color in New Hampshire roughly doubled, according to a research brief by the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire, growing from 61,600 residents to about 136,000. Moreover, non-Hispanic whites now make up about 89.8% of the state's population, compared to about 95% at the start of the millennium, according to 2019 census estimates.

One of the most infamous hate crimes that happened toward an interracial couple was that of Kelly Ann Jaeger and Jeffry Wellmaker, a white woman who was in a relationship with a black man.

One fall day in October 2009, while the couple was taking a walk in a Phoenix park, Travis Ricci noticed Jaeger, approached the couple, and started yelling racial slurs at Jaeger's boyfriend, Jeffery. Then, prosecutors say, "a shirtless Ricci directed a racial slur at Wellmaker and yelled, "What are you doing with a white girl?".

Ricci did not like the image of a white woman dating a black man. As a result, Travis Ricci left the couple, returned later with a friend, and started shooting at the couple from a car. It is said that Ricci went to get a shotgun and told people that he saw a black man hitting a white woman. Reports show that Ricci fired with intent to shoot Wellmaker, but he hit Jaeger in the stomach.

Interracial relationships and marriages are growing in the U.S. Research from the University of Washington proposes that these relationships' public acceptance rate is not increasing. In fact, people express feelings of discomfort and even disgust toward interracial couples.

"Interracial couples are more likely to be dehumanized than same-race couples. Previous studies have shown that people tend to exhibit more antisocial behavior and are more likely to use aggression and even violence toward interracial couples" (Bach, 2016).

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