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Another Dateline episode titled Deadly Devotion, explored the case of the brutal murder of an Army Captain, killed in her home in West El Paso. She was 6 months pregnant when murdered and was 30 years old. Captain Lynn Armstrong Reister's body was found by her husband, Roger Reister, and their 4-year-old son on 24 May 2001.
Lynn was stabbed to death with multiple defense wounds. Later, Roger, 27, was arrested and convicted for murdering his wife along with his 25-year-old younger brother Rodney. The case appeared on Dateline and is known for its extraordinary twists. Let's explore the case in detail.
What happened to Capt. Lynn Armstrong Reister in Dateline NBC?
When the prosecutors arrived at the crime scene, they found Lynn's body severely wounded with traces of defense wounds indicating that she fought for her life. She was stabbed 6 times on her neck and head region. Later, the investigation revealed that 2 more soldiers were aware of Roger's plan to kill his wife—Patrick and Brian.
During interrogation, Patric confessed that it had been since 2000 that this thought was brewing in Roger's head. Brian confessed that when he heard about Roger's plan, he didn't believe it at first. He convinced his brother by tempting him with Lynn's insurance money amount of $250,000 he could get for helping Roger. During the 2000s, Lynn was serving in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, Roger also suspected his wife of having an affair overseas, and he feared that she might get custody of their child if they divorced each other.
Why did Roger want to kill Lynn Armstrong? Who confessed the crime in the Dateline episode?
Rodney confessed to the crime during interrogations that Roger compelled him to murder Lynn. This happened when the prosecutors found strong proof against Rodney—his handprint on Lynn's arms.
Roger was having an affair with a 20-year-old Franklin High School graduate, April Lamphere. She was pregnant with Roger's child, and Roger feared getting punished by the army for adultery as he was a sergeant. He also feared that if Lynn and Roger considered a normal divorce, he might not get his son. April delivered Roger's child a month after Lynn was killed. The horrific event has scarred Lynn's loved ones for life.
Moore, Lynn's closest friend, credits her for bringing out the best version of people.
“Lynn was very intelligent,” Moore recalled. “She knew how to bring out the best in people.”
However, military life is in itself very challenging, especially for couples, as they need to endure long patches of disconnectivity when they are deployed in remote areas. This was creating a rift between the couple. The prosecutors found a message on the couple's answering machine in which Lynn is complaining that their marriage can't take another period of not being together anymore.
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Roger was then sentenced to four life imprisonments, and his brother was sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the murder. Another army captain and a friend of Lynn also proved that Lynn had no affair going on.
“I think it was important to Lynn that her family stay together and that her son be raised by you know, a mother and father, and that she would work it out,” Moore said in the Dateline episode as per Oxygen.
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