Small town in shock over love-triangle killing of deacon

<p>At Thad John Glenn Reynolds' funeral, church members choked up as they leafed through a memorial brochure featuring full-color photos of the slain deacon happily posing with his wife.</p><p>They spoke of how Reynolds only put his faith above his family, working the early shift at a distribution center to spend more time with his wife and four little girls.</p><p>"I don't know if I know anybody who loved his family more than Thad," said the Rev. David Harper, pastor at the Hollywood Baptist Church, where Reynolds was a deacon and volunteer marriage counselor.</p><p>While an important part of Reynolds' life, his wife missed the funeral.</p><p>Michelle Sullins Reynolds is in jail, accused of plotting her husband's killing along with the church's assistant pastor and her alleged lover, Richard Scott Harper.</p><p>Authorities say it was a love triangle that turned deadly. Harper, who is no relation to the church's senior pastor, allegedly stabbed Reynolds 19 times last week at the Frito-Lay distribution center where Reynolds worked. The 36-year-old deacon's wife is accused of helping plan the attack via phone calls and computer messages.</p><p>Residents of this northwest Georgia city of 35,000 people used words like "soap opera" to describe the killing that has ignited rumors and shaken the community, which prides itself on a small town life without big city problems.</p><p>"You never know, do you?" said Marguerite Bryant, a longtime Rome resident who lives just behind the church. "It's like it happened out West or something."</p><p>The victim and suspects were leaders in the 500-member church, a complex of low-rise brick houses, trailers and a gymnasium that anchors a working class neighborhood about five minutes south of downtown Rome.</p><p>Several church members spoke about a tight-knit group that tends to each other. Pictures of new members line the walls of an entranceway along with their phone numbers, and churchgoers are encouraged to welcome them into the "Hollywood community."</p><p>It was at this church where police say Reynolds and Harper became close friends, and it was here where their two families would see each other each Sunday morning.</p><p>While authorities won't say how long they believe Mrs. Reynolds and Harper had been romantically involved, they are checking out the numerous tips that have inevitably surfaced since Reynolds was killed July 5.</p><p>"Rumors have been flying," said Police Chief Bill Shiflett. "Any time when you're involved with other family members, it's particularly devastating."</p><p>Prosecutors say they will seek murder indictments against Harper and Reynolds, who are being held without bond. The grand jury, which issues the indictments, won't meet again for two weeks.</p><p>Several times throughout the funeral Monday, friends prayed for Reynolds' four children, ages 12, 6, 4 and 1. The community has set up a fund for the children as well as Harper's three children and wife.</p><p>"I feel so sorry for these people's families," said Rome resident Jeanette Carnes. "I don't feel sorry for them."</p><p>This has been a particularly rough week for this small community as police are investigating four deaths in the span of a week. Officers found the body of Gina Rebecca Davis in her trailer in nearby Kingston last Wednesday, along with the bodies of her 12-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. A pistol was found next to the mother, who police said was suffering from a terminal illness.</p><p>The killings have forced officers to work overtime and the district attorney's office has struggled to deal with media calls and investigate the case.</p><p>"Only God, as we turn to him in prayer and forgiveness and ask support of those who hurt, can change this chaos into divine order," said Dora Haney, who works at a bible bookstore in downtown Rome.</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/7/164913