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MURRAY — Military veteran Johnathon Reeves, 30, was in the recently established veterans treatment court in Salt Lake City and reportedly doing well.
That's why many were shocked when they heard that Reeves shot and killed his fiancée and their 2-year-old son, according to police, before turning the gun on himself over the weekend.
Murray police believe Jaime Salazar, 34, and Jordan Reeves, 2, were killed by Reeves inside their apartment, 224 E. Vantana Court, just before noon on Sunday. Reeves then turned the gun on himself.
Also in the apartment were Salazar's two girls and a boy from a previous marriage — ages 8 through 11. Those children were physically unharmed and are now with their biological father. Police would not say Monday where in the apartment the other children were at the time of the shootings or whether they witnessed any of the violence.
A motive for the shootings has not been released but court records show a history of domestic violence, and some who worked with him in the legal system hint of other unspecified struggles.
In August, Reeves was charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault and domestic violence in the presence of a child.
In that case, as Salazar was sleeping in her bed with one of her children, age 7, she awoke to find Reeves "pointing a shotgun at her" and the child. Reeves said he "wanted to kill her, her children and himself," according to charges filed in 3rd District Court.
When officers arrived, they found Reeves asleep on the couch with a loaded shotgun across his chest. He was also carrying a loaded handgun with one round in the chamber and six in the magazine. Also located in the house in a safe were "several rifles, a handgun, several hunting knives and a large amount of ammunition," the charges state.
Reeves was put in veterans treatment court, a program similar to drug court, which required weekly court appearances. He took a plea in abeyance in January, meaning the charges would be dropped after 36 months of probation and successful completion of VA court.
His most recent court appearance was Thursday. At that time, the court noted that Reeves was in compliance with his probation.
Related:
2 adults, 1 child dead in Murray murder-suicide, police say
A man is suspected of shooting a woman and a child to death before turning the gun on himself Sunday, leaving police to discover the three dead after three other children ran from the home seeking help."He was getting access to services. He was making his court appearances. He was progressing in an incredibly positive way in terms of making use of the services being made available to him," Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said Monday. "He had reconciled with his family. They wanted to be together. His (drug tests) were coming up clean. Objectively speaking, he was performing about as well as you can ask anybody to perform."
In March, the court noted that Reeves was "doing well in treatment, tells about his experiences, can return to work next week and states concerns."
During another hearing on March 19, the court noted: "Mr. Reeves is doing very well and needs (to) continue with further treatment."
Gill said Reeves had regular home visits by authorities and had built an infrastructure of support around him following his 2014 arrest. He had even reached a point where he was helping other veterans. Friends say Reeves was a guitar player and songwriter who also tried to express his feelings through his music.
"Every level of contact and support was there," Gill said. "He was doing exceptionally well."
But the tragedy that happened over the weekend highlights the challenges that some veterans face when they return from their tours of duty and the trauma and demons they suffer through, he said.
"This demonstrates the complexity of what we're trying to address. Nobody has a crystal ball as to why people do what they do. What we can do is recognize that this need is in our community. We've recognized that we need a structure of support," Gill said.
He said he could not go into specifics about Reeves' medical history or what he may have been suffering from.
Reeves' Facebook page lists his employer as the U.S. Army. He was a mission gunner, according to those who knew him.
The 6-month-old veterans court program was established in 2011 to help veterans charged with misdemeanors and some felony crimes steer clear of more serious trouble.
The VA Hospital in Salt Lake City issued a statement Monday saying Reeves had made considerable progress.
"As a Veterans Treatment Court Team, we are heartbroken over the death of one of our members, who also tragically took the lives of his fiancée and child. John Reeves’ progress in Veterans Treatment Court was considerable. He was an example to everyone and his positive attitude, his candid introspection, and his expressions of his successes and struggles through written word and music were inspirational.
"Our veterans, and especially our combat veterans, deserve our best treatment, our best care and our best efforts. Our Veterans Justice Outreach workers and other members of the court team provided John with much support, supervision, treatment and oversight. To say it has been a difficult day would be an understatement. We mourn his loss and the loss of his family."
Help for people in abusive relationships can be found by contacting YWCA, Women in Jeopardy, 801-537-8600 or the Domestic Violence Hotline, 800-897-LINK.
