Witnesses Testify On Day 2 Of Murder Trial For Suspected Serial Killer William Reece

The second day of William Reece's murder trial began Wednesday morning. The jury heard from two of the four women who survived encounters with Reece.

The first witness of the day, Sandra Sapaugh, is the reason Reece is serving a 60-year rape and kidnapping conviction in Texas. She was abducted in May 1997 at knifepoint. She only escaped after she jumped out of Reece's moving truck on a Texas expressway.

The second witness and her friend were taken by Reece from a Houston area diner late on July 3, 1997. They were 16 and 17 years old at the time, Reece offered them a ride home. He instead took them to his house where he attacked both and allegedly sexually assaulted the woman on the stand. 

The witness said after she realized he was stronger than them, she bargained for what she said was their lives. She promised Reece she wasn't mad and said their parents would look for them since they were out so late. She even told him; he could take them to the mall the next day. He agreed and drove them home. It wouldn't be till October that the crime would be reported.

Tiffany Johnston's husband, Ryan then took the stand. Prosecutors had him retrace his steps the day he realized his wife went missing. 

Ryan said he saw Tiffany at noon when she locked herself out of her car, he then went to work. He got home around 11:30 p.m. to an empty home. Ryan assumed Tiffany went out, but thought it was odd she didn't page him or leave a note. He went out looking for her, but no one had seen her. 

Police then paged him. When he called back, he learned her car was found abandon at the Sunshine Car Wash in Bethany.  

He was called the next day to identify Tiffany's body from pictures taken at the dump site. He also had to describe to detectives what her wedding ring looked like. They had been married for only 3 months and one day.

Officials also testified, with one being the first officer to find Tiffany's abandoned car at the Sunshine carwash. In the testimony, the now chief of Bethany PD described a scene that looked like Tiffany left in the middle of washing her Dodge Neon. The keys were still in the ignition, car doors unlocked, and floormats were still hung on the carwash wall to dry.

The crime scene technician, who processed both the carwash and the place where Johnston's body was found took the stand.  

Prosecutors showed the jury pictures the tech took of Johnston's body and her injuries. Johnston was completely nude except for a floral bikini top. She was face down in tall weeds off of Gregory Road in Yukon. She had red marks across her neck, wrists, and back of her legs. The right side of her head was bloodied, and the left bruised.  

The defense focused on other evidence found near Johnston's body, two food wrappers and a beer bottle. The crime scene tech was able to pull six fingerprints off one of the wrappers. None were found on the beer bottle. The bottle was also not swabbed for DNA. The CSI added that she believed the bottle had been there for some time and described it as "weathered."

Prosecutors will continue to present their case Thursday morning.