Jennings Woman Indicted For Murder With Baseball Bat

Amanda Sanders-Bolstad is accused of using a baseball bat to kill Yale resident Heath Riley Reams in 2003.

Tuesday, September 18th 2012, 11:54 am

By: News On 6


A Jennings woman has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge, according to documents unsealed by a multicounty grand jury on Tuesday morning.

Amanda Sanders-Bolstad, 31, is accused of using a baseball bat to kill Heath Riley Reams in 2003. Reams was a 26-year-old Yale resident who went missing after visiting a friend's house in Jennings nine years ago, his mother Gwen Reams said.

Sanders-Bolstad, who is currently incarcerated at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center on other crimes, was transported to a Pawnee County courtroom, where she stood handcuffed before Associate District Judge Matthew Henry to hear the charge against her.

The indictment alleges the murder took place on July 26, 2003. However, Assistant Attorney General Megan Tilley said, Heath Reams' body has not been recovered.

According to the indictment, 28 people testified before the grand jury. Witness testimony remains sealed at this time, Tilley said.

Heath Reams left behind a wife and son, who is now 14 years old. Sanders-Bolstad and Heath Reams were acquaintances, his mother said.

The Reamses have waited nearly a decade for answers about their son's disappearance. 

"We finally gave up contacting [authorities], and hoped for the best," Gwen Reams said. "[The murder indictment] is just shocking."

Sanders-Bolstad previously has been convicted of forgery, concealing stolen property, perjury and possession of methamphetamine.

The multicounty grand jury met from February 2011-August 2012, and of the cases considered, issued six indictments. Sanders-Bolstad's was the only indictment returned in Pawnee County.

If convicted, she could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

Her next court date is scheduled for Oct. 2.

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