WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The West Palm Beach Police Department (WPBPD) has arrested a suspect in the murder of 56-year-old Laura Lee Willsey.
Willsey was reported missing by her daughter in July 2024, and WPBPD alerted the public of her disappearance from the 5200 block of Garden Avenue.
WATCH: Family seeks answers after suspect arrested in death of Laura Willsey
Upon searching Willsey's residence, detectives found "blood spatter and droplets inside and outside of the home."
Police say security footage of the residence from July 29 also captured an argument between Willsey, 56-year-old Todd Arthur Reichert and 64-year-old Timothy Wyman Smith.
A witness was able to provide additional info about the July 29 incident, telling detectives that Reichert was physically assaulting Willsey in the room she was renting, and they later heard plastic bags being crumpled in Willsey's room and the living room.
The witness told detectives Reichert then drove to Belle Glade in his 2010 Volkswagen, and didn't take his phone to avoid being tracked. A search warrant on Reichert's vehicle found blood that was later confirmed to be Willsey's.
“It's what I thought,” says Laura’s sister, Lisa Lamontagne. “We knew from that night that there was an altercation."
“We didn't know how he did it, but we knew he did, and we told him that from the beginning,” said her other sister, Brenda Willsey.
The sisters say it's nice to know what happened, but that's not all they want.
“I want to know where she is,” said Lamontagne.
As the search for Laura continues, the two women remember her as a spontaneous, outgoing and incredible sister — one they will miss.
“I think this is her peace,” said Lamontagne. “It's not our peace, but it's hers.”
We’re working to learn more about how police connected Reichert to this murder without a body. Willsey's family confirmed that Laura was a confidential informant for the North Palm Beach Police Department. We’re working to learn if that contributed to the murder.
Reichert is facing a first-degree murder charge and is at the Palm Beach County jail, where he was already being held on unrelated charges.
