Dateline: Unforgettable - Who was Thad Reynolds and what happened to him?

Thad Reynolds
Representative image via Unsplash/Jason Jarrach

The horrific murder of Thad Reynolds, the Deacon at Hollywood Baptist Church in Rome, Georgia, shocked the community when he was found stabbed to death in his office on Calhoun Road early one July morning. As the investigation progressed, police suspected marital problems due to Thad's rocky marriage history.

Evidence, including a knife sheath and glasses, pointed to youth minister Richard Scott Harper. The Dateline: Unforgettable episode titled The Secret Life of the Homecoming Queen will air on July 26, 2024, at 8 p.m. EST, highlighting the murder and the love triangle involved.

The official synopsis reads,

"To many, it seemed like a romance between a former football player and homecoming queen. However, when it ends in death, police investigate. Dennis Murphy reflects on a secret relationship that led a churchgoing couple down a dangerous path."

Who was Thad Reynolds? Details explored

Thad John Glenn Reynolds was born on January 21, 1968, to parents Wilburn Reynolds and Kittie McClurd Reynolds Walker in Rome in Floyd County, Georgia. He grew up in Rome and attended the Coosa High School. He was an active part of the football team and the wrestling team and he graduated in 1986.

Thad was a Deacon at the Hollywood Baptist Church (Image via Facebook/Hollywood Baptist Church)
Thad was a Deacon at the Hollywood Baptist Church (Image via Facebook/Hollywood Baptist Church)

Thad Reynolds met Michelle Sullins Reynolds in high school and the two were prom dates as well. Michelle became the 1986 homecoming queen at Pepperell High. The two continued to see one another after school till Thad proposed marriage to her on January 28, 1986.

The young couple married soon after graduating out of high school at the Hollywood Baptist Church on August 15, 1987. Both Thad and Michelle were regulars at the Baptist Church and devoted members of the Church as well. Together, they had four children - Olivia Reynolds, Lydia Reynolds, Emma Reynolds, and Jenna Reynolds.

While they remained married for over two decades, Thad and Michelle got a divorce in 1993 but remarried after counseling in 1997. After they re-exchanged their vows, the couple built a home for themselves and settled down. Thad's friend and fellow Church goer, Greg Polley, reportedly shared with The Rome News-Tribune,

"He’d always jump right out and just pet the dog. To all the young men who (Reynolds) helped, step into the gap, help fill the hole that’s left.”

Thad had become the Deacon at the Church and had been aspiring to become a full-time minister. He had been working as a district manager for the Rome/Cartersville area at Frito-Lay for six years and taught at Sunday School.


What happened to Thad Reynolds?

On July 5, 2004, Thad Reynolds' body was discovered by a colleague at the Fito-Lay distribution center warehouse. According to WSBTV, the police determined that he had been stabbed a total of 19 times in the early hours of the morning.

The Rome News-Tribune reported that Floyd County Police Sgt. Dallas Battle shared that the incident took place around 4 a.m. local time. The authorities had determined early on that robbery had not been a motive in the murder as nothing was found missing from the crime scene.

Thad was attacked while he was close to his car and the officers discovered a hunting knife's sheath and a pair of prescription glasses at the scene, per NBC News.


Catch all the details of Thad Reynolds' murder as the Dateline episode airs on Oxygen on Thursday.

Edited by Divya Singh
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