A convicted rapist was charged with murder and attempted sexual assault on Friday in the October slaying of a visiting nurse at a halfway house for sex offenders in Connecticut – a crime that has sparked calls for better security measures for sex offenders. home health.
Authorities added the charges against Michael Reese, 39, when he appeared in state court in Danielson on a related theft and drug paraphernalia case. Police arrested him on those charges as he was leaving the Willimantic halfway house the day Joyce Grayson was found dead in the basement on Oct. 28. Officers said Reese had some of Grayson’s belongings with him.
Grayson, a 63-year-old mother of six and a nurse for 36 years, went to the house to give Reese medication. Police responded there when someone reported she had missed later appointments.
Reese has been charged with murder, manslaughter and attempted first-degree sexual assault, according to the sheriff’s office. Additional details of the allegations were not immediately available.
Reese’s public defender did not immediately return phone messages and emails seeking comment Friday.
Grayson’s family was relieved by the murder charge, said his attorney, Kelly Reardon.
“They would like to thank the police for gathering the evidence necessary to hopefully ensure Michael Reese is convicted of this horrific and senseless crime,” Reardon said in a statement.
New details of the murder emerged Friday with the release of the arrest warrant for Reese. Grayson was strangled and found naked from the waist down except for her socks, according to the warrant. She also suffered blunt force injuries to her head, torso and extremities, the warrant said, citing an autopsy performed by the chief medical examiner’s office.
Tests also showed that DNA found on Grayson’s body was highly likely to be Reese’s DNA, the warrant said.
Grayson’s daughter called police to request a well-being check after Grayson missed some appointments after Reese, the warrant said. The daughter said she used a phone tracking app and reported that Grayson was at the halfway house address, according to the document.
Police also said the Department of Correction recorded phone calls made by Reese while he was being held on theft and drug paraphernalia charges that appear to implicate him in the murder.
“Basically, bro, it was a robbery gone wrong, bro. A robbery gone wrong, that’s what it was,” Reese said in one of the calls, according to the warrant.
In another phone conversation, Reese said he had started using drugs again and that led him to do “what happened,” the warrant said. He also said he would accept a plea deal, according to the document.
“I will accept the first offer you make to me, as long as the accusations are correct,” he said, according to the warrant. “I don’t care, like, I’ve already come to the conclusion that this is it for me.”
Grayson was a nurse with the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for 26 years before serving as a visiting nurse for more than a decade, according to her family. She was also a beloved foster mother, fostering nearly three dozen children and being honored with the state’s 2017 Foster Parent of the Year award.
After his death, state and federal lawmakers renewed efforts to prevent violence against health care workers.
Reese, who was on parole after serving more than 14 years in prison for stabbing and sexually assaulting a woman in 2006 in New Haven, was taken into police custody upon leaving the halfway house the day Grayson was killed. He was released from prison in late 2020 and sent back to detention twice for violating probation, state records show.
Authorities said he had some of Grayson’s belongings, including credit cards, and was accused of violating probation, larceny and using drug paraphernalia.
The warrant said he drove Grayson’s car to a local bank and convenience store and used Grayson’s debit card to withdraw more than $400 before returning home and being arrested. Police said surveillance video showed Reese at the bank and the store, and his GPS monitoring device for his probation showed him near those locations at the same time.
On Friday, a judge set bail at $2 million on the new charges. Reese has been held on bond since his arrest. He is due back in court on June 7.
Reardon said Grayson’s family, who believe his death was preventable, will soon file a lawsuit. She declined to name the defendants but said the family is seeking answers to a series of questions, including whether there were failures in the state’s supervision of Reese, including probation officials and the company that runs the halfway house.
The state Judiciary, which oversees parole, says it does not comment on cases involving possible litigation.
The family also wants to know whether Grayson’s employer, Elara Caring, adequately protected her. Elara president and chief executive Scott Powers said the company’s workers were shocked and saddened by Grayson’s death and that the company was reviewing existing safety protocols.
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