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New documents unveil details surrounding Yolanda Reyes’ murder

Posted at 8:50 PM, Sep 16, 2014
and last updated 2014-09-16 23:48:13-04

WALKER, Mich. -- He's a convicted murderer behind bars after breaking into a Grandville home accused of sexually assaulting an elderly woman inside.

As that case makes its way through court, new court documents have been unsealed in a neighboring city that detail Shawn Jarrett's connection to the murder of a Grand Rapids mother of four, Yolanda Reyes.

We knew Jarrett worked with Reyes prior to the murder, but until now didn't know his behavior toward her during the four months they spent on the job.

They include actions and traits police have connected to Jarrett's prior murder conviction in Pennsylvania more than 30-years ago.

The search warrant affidavit begins with Reyes' husband dropping her off at work the morning of April 24. He notes a lone suspicious car in the parking lot.

Reyes never punched in for work that day, though her coworkers found her coat on the floor.

Several calls from her family went uncharacteristically unanswered; it was even stranger when she didn`t call at lunch as she did every day.

The mother of four’s phone case was found on a service drive behind the greenhouse. Her phone was found in a wooded area nearby, smashed with the battery removed.

Police say Shawn Jarrett left work early that day and had planned for the next day to be his last at Neal Mast & Sons Greenhouse. But, when uniformed police arrived that day Jarrett quickly left, saying he was ill and could no longer work.

During a police interview Jarrett told investigators he didn`t know who Yolanda was, though employment records show they had worked the same shift in the same building for four months.

One employee told police that Jarrett was a 'group leader' and would favor Reyes. She said he would look at her differently than the other employees and that his feelings were not accepted by her.

Cell phone records show Jarrett was in the area of the greenhouse during the time Reyes disappeared and that the suspicious car was driven by him.
A quick look into Jarrett`s criminal history reveals several rapes dating back to 1979 along with a murder conviction. Jarret served 30 years for that murder and was released in 2012.
The woman Jarrett murdered was missing a watch he later gave to a witness.
Police say Reyes’ earrings were missing when her body was found along with at least one ring.
When Jarrett was released from prison in Pennsylvania in December 2012, he prison psychiatrist noted Jarrett was a sociopath and that he would kill again, saying it was just a matter of time.

Jarrett is currently being held in the Kent County Jail without bond facing charges of home invasion and sex assault for the case out of Grandville.