NEW JERSEY – A woman awaiting trial in the death of her 17-month old son and her boyfriend have been charged in a murder-for-hire plot.
Heather Reynolds, 43, of Sicklerville and Jeffrey Callahan, 44, of Clayton, have been charged with one count of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder.
Reynolds is currently detained on multiple charges including first-degree Murder in the May 10, 2018, death of her son, Axel Reynolds.
“During the investigation into Axel’s death, detectives uncovered evidence that Reynolds and Callahan were allegedly conspiring to have another individual killed,” said Acting Camden County Prosecutor Jill S. Mayer.
The two were charged following an investigation into the reported plot, details of which were not made public.
Callahan was arrested on May 18 at his home in Clayton by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force – Camden Division. Reynolds was charged on May 19 at the Camden County Correctional Facility. Both are awaiting detention hearings.
According to NJ.com, Reynolds “suffocated her toddler by holding a cleansing wipe over his nose and mouth a year ago because she felt the 17-month-old boy was getting in the way of her extramarital affair.”
“He had bruises around his mouth and nose, but she told EMTs he smelled like rubbing alcohol and said maybe he drank something poisonous, [Assistant Prosecutor Peter] Gallagher said. She also said she had fed him around 6 a.m., but changed her story when an EMT told her that her son had clearly been dead for much longer, the assistant prosecutor said.”
“A review of the text messages between the defendant and her boyfriend from the previous night reveal that the defendant was becoming frustrated by the boyfriend’s apparent lack of interest,” Gallagher said in court in June 2019. “And witnesses also told detectives that the defendant had expressed the sentiment that her toddler son, the victim [Axel Reynolds], was an obstacle to her relationship with her boyfriend.”
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