Evil Lives Here: Shadows of Death

Publish date: 2024-05-18

Gordon Randall "Randy" Gwathney, or Randy Gwathney, is a convict who was charged with the murders of his mother-in-law and grandparents-in-law on February 13, 2007. Randy shot the three individuals after he visited his estranged wife, Lisa Reeves, and got into a scuffle with her.

Although Lisa was able to escape her attacker and flag him to law enforcement officers, she lost most of her family that night. Her brother, Travis Reeves, was left critically injured, as was a police officer after they were shot at by Randy multiple times.

After being nabbed a few hours later, Randy was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to life without parole plus 40 years in the November 2009 trial. According to The Cinemaholic, Randy is serving his sentence at the Varner Unit in Lincoln County, Arkansas.

Investigation Discovery's season 4 of Evil Lives Here: Shadows of Death will now take up Randy's monstrous action in its upcoming episode that is scheduled to air on Sunday, October 9, 2022.

Evil Lives Here: Shadows of Death: Lisa Reeves and Randy Gwathney split in 2001

Lisa Reeves and Randy Gwathney were married, but their marriage did not last long after the couple separated in 2001 without a divorce. An investigation into the murders revealed that Lisa was toying with the idea of filing for divorce, but could not execute it. The investigating officers did not find any related paperwork to confirm the same.

Sylvia Reeves' grave (Image via Find a Grave)

Lisa returned to live with her mother, Sylvia Reeves, and grandparents, James Oliver and Evelyn Elise, in their rural home in Palestine, Lee County, Arkansas. Lisa lost her father a year before the attack, in 2006.

On February 13, 2007, Randy arrived at Lisa's house and started a scuffle over money. Sylvia interfered only to be shot dead by her son-in-law. Although Lisa escaped and was able to call 911, she lost both her grandparents, while her brother Travis was critically injured after being shot multiple times.

Meanwhile, police officer Tracy Jackson was also injured when he tried to intervene in the shootout that had ensued between Randy and Travis. Randy left the site of the attack and fled only to be nabbed later.

Randy Gwathney attempted to escape into Mexico after the attack

After killing three people and rendering two gravely injured, Randy drove to an ATM near Palestine, Arkansas, and withdrew $100 from his account. The police used the withdrawal timings to track down Randy, who was trying to escape into Mexico.

He was arrested in Laredo, Texas, and was brought back to Arkansas 12 hours after the attack. The police nabbed him in front of a McDonald's outlet there. Although he was armed and tried to resist the arrest, he was captured.

Randy Gwathney was found guilty of the charges against him in 2008, and despite trying to defend himself on the grounds of post-traumatic stress disorder, he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment plus 40 years.

According to a report by Action News 5, Gwathney blamed his actions on the PTSD that he said he developed after his military service in Somalia.

Randy is currently serving his sentence at the Varner Unit in Lincoln County, Arkansas.

Episode 5 of season 4 of Evil Lives Here: Shadows of Death will air on Investigation Discovery on October 9, 2022.

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