On the night of April 20, 2015, in Marion, Illinois, 30-year-old Michael Aaron Reed was shot multiple times at about 10:40 p.m. in the 300 block of West College Street. He was taken to a local hospital and later died; public notices list his birthdate as September 19, 1984, and note he was a Marion resident with roots in Memphis, Tennessee.

Police quickly identified 34-year-old Jack Thomas Jr. as a possible suspect, circulated information about a maroon 2004 Chevrolet pickup and its license plate, and located the truck the next day in Hamilton County. Thomas was arrested at an apartment in Carmi and charged with three counts of first-degree murder; authorities said the shooting followed an argument at Reed’s home and that Reed was shot while sitting behind the wheel of a truck.

At trial Thomas argued self-defense, but a Williamson County jury convicted him of first-degree murder in May 2018. In December 2018 the court imposed a 65-year prison sentence. Does anyone have additional information about Reed’s life in Marion or about what led to the argument that night?