John Jefferson
Inset: Accused murderer Amy Lejeune (Gillespie County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The winery where Amy Lejeune retreated to after allegedly shooting Lance Reid (KXAN/YouTube).
Authorities in Texas have indicted a woman on murder charges for allegedly gunning down a man she says tried drugging and kidnapping her earlier this year near a winery, according to police.
“She’s advising that she just [shot] somebody … she’s been drugged and she’s been kidnapped as well,” a 911 operator reported being told by a winery manager who encountered suspect Amy Lejeune after the March 15 slaying, according to local NBC affiliate KXAN.
“She said she shot him all over,” the operator reportedly said.
Lejeune, a Montgomery resident who was 45 years old at the time, told police she had recently met 49-year-old victim Lance Reid — a Houston native — and the two of them were getting ready to go on a weekend trip together when he allegedly attacked her in a car they were driving in Fredericksburg.
“On Friday, March 15, 2024, at approximately 12:42 p.m., the Gillespie County Sheriff’s Office, Fredericksburg Fire & EMS, and the Stonewall Volunteer Fire Department responded to a 911 call where a woman said she was kidnapped and drugged, and that she had shot someone,” police said in a statement at the time. “Her whereabouts were briefly unknown until it was determined to be near a winery in the 10800 block of East U.S. Highway 290. The woman was able to describe a vehicle in which she was associated and the weapon that was used.”
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Deputies said they found Reid dead in the front seat of the car, with Lejeune standing outside and nearby. She allegedly retreated to the winery and asked the manager to call police after the shooting. It’s unclear whether the weapon that was used belonged to Reid or Lejeune.
“We don’t really know other than what she’s explaining to us, what may have occurred in their travels,” Gillespie County Sheriff Buddy Mills told KXAN in March.
Now, investigators say it was Lejeune who allegedly had the deadly intentions. She was charged with murder on Oct. 8 and released on Oct. 15 via a $100,000 bond, according to jail records. She’s due to make a court appearance on Jan. 9.
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