By Nicole June
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Many Middle Tennesseans are familiar with the name of Paul Dennis Reid, the notorious “Fast Food Killer” who slaughtered seven innocent people during the spring of 1997 in Nashville and Clarksville.
But the victims who lost their lives at the hand of this man have disappeared into the shadows over the years, their stories reduced to mere mentions in passing. This is exactly what true crime novelist Judith Yates hope to remedy.
Reid received the death sentence in 1999 after being found guilty in the murders of:
• Sarah Jackson, 16, and Steve Hampton, 25, at the Captain D’s in Donelson
• Andrea Brown, 17, Ronald Santiago, 27, and Robert Sewell Jr., 23, at the McDonalds in Hermitage
• Angela Holmes, 21, and Michelle Mace, 16, at the Baskin-Robbins in Clarksville
Reid was awaiting execution on Death Row when he died from a medical condition at a Nashville hospital in November 2013.
Yates, whose extensive criminal justice background spans more than 25 years, published When Nashville Bled: The untold stories of serial killer Paul Dennis Reid in October of 2014. By reaching out to the families and friends of the victims, she was able to paint a picture of those who were lost to these tragic crimes, as well as uncover the hard truth about what survivors must endure during the healing process.
She wanted to shift the focus away from the criminal himself.
“We as a society are so interested in crime and criminals,” Yates said. “They’ve been made into these rock stars. Are we to blame for that? Do we make them into rock stars? Because truly the stars of this ‘show’ are the mother who lost a child, but she continues on; the grandmother who has become an advocate for victims because she lost a grandchild; or the sister who continues on with her studies and has become an advocate in the name of her family member.”
Yates will present a lecture on her true crime novel Thursday, March 12 at Daymar College in Clarksville. Her goals include engaging the public in a conversation about what can be learned from this widely publicized case and debunking many of the rumors surrounding it.
“The main focus is on those who were lost, who became known as ‘the victims of Paul Reid’, and who they were as people, because they were more than just the victims of Reid or victims of a crime,” she said.
Yates said some may ask why she has chosen to revive the topic following Reid’s death.
“Why bring it up? He’s dead, he’s gone, we’ve moved on. Well these people (the survivors) have not,” she said. “These people wake up every day missing their friend or their family member and we need to think about that. Every day people in Clarksville are going to drive by that Baskin Robbins. What can we learn from that?”
Yates will present her lecture at 5 p.m. with a Q&A session and book-signing afterward. Copies of her novel, which has been nominated for a Silver Falchion Award by Killer Nashville, will be available for purchase.
Those who cannot attend the event can purchase the book here.
Judith Yates is also the author of “The Devil You Know” (winner of the 2014 for True Crime) and “How to Recognize the Devil.” Find more information about her books here, or find her on Twitter and Facebook.
*Headshot courtesy of rachelstephensphotography.com