Killing for Cars: The Murder of Bill Reynolds

Gina Westfall
Mar 27
4 min read

A friend of sixty-nine-year-old Bill Reynolds was shocked when he found him lying dead in his front yard in southern Indiana on September 27th, 2015. A 911 call soon followed with a police investigation starting quickly thereafter. The man was clearly dead already, with a bullet wound to the head. There was no weapon found, indicating that this certainly was not a suicide. A homicide investigation had begun that September day.

William “Bill” Reynolds was born July 28th, 1946, in Dayton Ohio. He had a rough childhood with a broken home and less than privileged childhood. Despite that, Bill managed to make something out of his life. As an adult, he moved to southern Indiana, Scott County to be exact. He soon married and became a father to two sons. He was drafted to into the Vietnam war, serving his country proudly.

After his time in the service, Bill worked at a lumber mill and then as a truck driver. As a hobby, he liked to work on vehicles. He was proud of his Nissan 300Z. As he grew older and vehicles became more expensive as a hobby, Bill found another hobby. He started to collect die cast cars. His collection was quite extensive and worth over $100,000. It included some highly collectible items.

His marriage didn’t last more than about a decade, however. Bill maintained a good relationship with his sons and was an excellent father. In 2013, he met a red headed woman that reminded him of Reba McIntyre. He fell in love with Dalene Cates and the two soon married. He became a stepfather to her daughter Johnetta Hall and a step grandfather to her children as well, including her daughter Amaris Bunyard and a special needs son.

In 2014, Bill was diagnosed with throat cancer. The cancer would be another challenge for Bill. He fought the cancer hard. His treatments were rigorous and painful. Eventually, he was well enough to go home. Upon returning home from the hospital, however, he was surprised to see that many of his belongings had been packed up. Not only that, but his vehicles had also been taken out of his name put into Dalene’s name while he was hospitalized. Bill was upset about how his affairs were handled while he was sick. It was as if his wife expected him to die while he was hospitalized.

The events had upset Bill so much so that he decided to file for divorce. Initially, he moved out of the marital home, his home, to live with his son. He let Dalene and her family stay while the divorce was worked out in through the court system. Eventually, the courts ruled that Dalene, Johnetta, and the children needed to vacate the home by September 20th, 2015. A week later, Bill would be dead.

When Bill’s sons entered his home immediately following the murder, they found the home covered in animal feces and all of Bill’s prized possessions gone. His die cast collectibles and other valuables were nowhere to be found. They quickly pointed the finger at Dalene for the crime. Dalene provided an alibi; She stated she was at her new home with her daughter Johnetta cleaning. Johnetta confirmed the alibi. She stated that if she had done it, it would be more personal and she would probably use knife or a bat.

The detectives next questioned Johnetta Hall about her whereabouts after cleaning. She said that she was driving around a wilderness area trying to “get lost”. The GPS records from her cell phone confirmed her odd story. GPS records of Dalene’s cell phone records were a dead end as well. Neither connected the women to the scene of the crime.

However, surveillance camera footage of Johnetta at the grocery store that day showed her meeting two men. The footage was clear enough to get a license plate and trace it back to Jacob Mathis who identified the other man as Kerry Heald. Jacob eventually told investigators that Kerry was the boyfriend of Amaris Bunyard, the granddaughter of Dalene Cates. Jacob confessed to the shooting of Bill Reynolds. He stated that he and Kerry were hired by Johnetta Hall. He did not implicate Dalene. Jacob stated that he was supposed to be paid $100,000 from the NASCAR and Die cast collectibles that Bill owned as well as a third of Bill’s $300,000 life insurance policy. He was also promised Bill’s Nissan 300Z. When Kerry was interviewed, he said that Johnetta told him that Bill sexually abused Amaris, a statement that was blatantly false per Amaris.

Amaris Bunyard was present during some of the planning of the crime and admitted to that. She also testified that her grandmother, Dalene, had no awareness of the plan. She was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for conspiracy. She has expressed remorse for her role in the murder. Jacob Mathis was sentenced to thirty years in prison for his role in the crime and has also expressed remorse. Kerry Heald was the gunman and was sentenced to fifty-five years in prison.

Johnetta Hall’s first trial ended in a mistrial. During her second trial, Kerry Heald refused to testify and was held in contempt of court. Despite that, his deposition was read to the court. She was found guilty of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus thirty five years to run concurrently.