Cherlyn Reyes

Cherlyn Reyes

Boyfriend arrested in South Bend woman's death

By ALICIA GALLEGOS and MARY KATE MALONE, Tribune Staff Writers

By WSBT 24/7 News

Story Created: Oct 9, 2009 at 1:16 AM EDT
Story Updated: Oct 20, 2009 at 12:29 AM EDT

SOUTH BEND — A man accused of murdering his girlfriend had abused her in the past, according to court documents, including a February incident where he allegedly struck the then-pregnant woman in the stomach.

On Friday, police charged 25-year-old Brice L. Webb in the shooting death of his 21-year-old girlfriend, Cherlyn Reyes.

Police found Reyes dead on her bathroom floor just after midnight Friday in the apartment they shared on Lincoln Way East. Reyes died of a single gunshot to her head, police said.

Webb faces one count of murder for Reyes’ death. Police believe he killed the woman during a heated argument late Thursday or early Friday.

Friends and court documents paint a violent picture of Webb and a cycle of ongoing abuse surrounding Reyes.

In February, Webb was charged with two counts of battery against Reyes, according to court documents, but the charges were dropped after Reyes recanted.

In that case, Mishawaka police were dispatched to a home after a reported domestic dispute where a man had punched his girlfriend in the face, according to court documents.

When they arrived, officers reportedly found Reyes crying in a field across from the home with a visible red mark on the left side of her face. Reyes, who was pregnant, told police Webb had struck her during an argument and pushed her by the throat.

According to probable cause documents, Reyes said Webb also punched her in the stomach with a closed fist telling her, “ I’m going to kill this … baby. I don’t even want it.”

The state charged Webb with battery and issued a no-contact order against the man, but Reyes later took back her statements and asked that charges not be pressed against Webb.

A notarized letter signed by Reyes and her brother – who had reportedly been a witness – called the confrontation a “misunderstanding.”

“He did not hit me in my face or in my stomach,” Reyes wrote. “He just wanted to leave and I was afraid for him. We are pregnant and I would just like for him to be home. I’m sorry this all got taken way out of proportion.”

The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s office said they could not move forward after Reyes rescinded her report.

“Without Ms. Reyes’ cooperation in testifying, the State could not prove the elements of the crime,” according to a statement sent by the prosecutor’s office after an inquiry.

Red flags

Friends said Friday they knew Reyes was in an abusive relationship.

“He hit her a lot,” said Angi Northern, Reyes’ former co-worker at Burger King. “I’m surprised this didn’t happen sooner.”

Northern, 29, said Reyes had given birth last month, but the baby was put up for adoption

A neighbor who asked not to be named added that Reyes, who was petite, often seemed scared.

According to a charging affidavit, witnesses who were present the night Reyes died told authorities that Webb and his girlfriend had been arguing throughout the evening on Thursday.

The group had been handling a handgun, and later in the evening Webb took Reyes into the bathroom with it, according to court documents.

Webb and Reyes argued in the bathroom, and seconds later a gunshot sounded. Then Webb came out of the bathroom and said, “I just shot her,” a witness told police.

A friend then drove Webb to a second residence while another witness called police. Webb was later arrested at that residence.

Webb reportedly told police he was not at the apartment when Reyes was shot and that he had not hit her during the evening.

But police said Webb’s hand was “swollen and discolored as though he had punched something or somebody,” according to a police affidavit.

Two neighbors also said they heard gunshots around 9 p.m., which would have been more than three hours before police were notified.

Neither the police nor the county coroner’s office would disclose the time of Reyes’ death, stating only when police were called to the scene by the witnesses.

Webb’s criminal history also includes a criminal confinement and attempted burglary from 2002. In that case, he accepted a plea agreement and was sentenced to 18 months probation.

Webb will be arraigned Tuesday at 1 p.m. in St. Joseph County Superior Court.

Cherlyn's MySpace tribute page here.

A woman was shot in the head early Friday morning while in an apartment at this building in the 700 block of Lincoln Way East in South Bend. WSBT-TV Photo