Woman killed by man who mistook her for a witness in his sex crimes trial

A man who fatally shot and killed a 26-year-old woman he mistook for a witness in his sex crimes trial was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole – after he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, court officials said on Monday.

According to Fox 8, Quintia Miller was shot and killed by Harold Reid Jr. at an apartment complex in Mocksville, North Carolina, on October 3, 2022. The victim was said to be staying in the complex with her family when Reid went there and killed her, officials said. 

Officers with the US Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force and the Davie County Sheriff’s Office had gone to the complex for a different case when the shooting occurred. Reid was shortly arrested on the scene by the law enforcement officials after the gunshots were heard.

The actual target Reid had gone to the building to look for was identified as Shavonne Barnes. The convicted man was scheduled to appear in court for a sex crimes case that week and had gone to the location with the intent to stop Barnes from taking the stand in his trial. However, he fatally shot Miller after he mistook her for Barnes, Fox 8 reported.

“I saw Quintia lying face down, and…Reid Jr. laying on top of her,” Barnes said after the incident. “The attack should have never been her. The bullet was meant for me.”

Barnes told the news outlet that she was molested by Reid when she was a child, adding that she wanted to bring her story to light to prevent other people from falling prey to him. 

“I knew from the point of his release, his goal was to kill me, and he made that very clear. I also watched him lay on the ground, and his words to me were…’I was coming for you,’” she recalled. “Not only did he violate me, but he’s also taken an innocent life because he’s a coward.”

Besides entering the guilty plea for first-degree murder, Reid also pleaded no contest to a first-degree sex offense, statutory sex offense, and two counts of indecent liberties with a child.