Finally, Reynolds gave in and said, "I'll say so if you want me to". In the weeks that followed, Reynolds embellished this confession with details that were fed to him, deliberately or otherwise. That was enough to convince the prosecutor to charge Reynolds, and to convince a jury to convict him of second degree murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. Four years later, Reynolds was released when Charles Hatcher confessed to three murders to an FBI agent, including that of Eric Christgen. Death On July 29, 1982, 11‑year‑old Michelle Steele was reported missing from St.Joseph. The day after, her uncle found her nude, ravaged body on a bank of the Missouri River. She had been beaten and strangled to death. Hatcher was arrested the following day, as he tried to check in at the St.Joseph State Hospital. While awaiting trial, he confessed to fifteen other murders dating from 1969. The first victim, 12‑year‑old William Freeman, had disappeared from Antioch, California in August of that year, one day before Hatcher was charged with child molestation in nearby San Francisco. In another case, Hatcher penned a crude map that led searchers to the remains of 28-year-old James Churchill, buried on the grounds of the Rock Island Army Arsenal, near Davenport, Iowa. It was then that he also confessed to the murder of Eric Christgen. He was convicted of the Christgen homicide in October 1983, and drew a term of life imprisonment with no parole for at least 50 years. Facing his second Missouri conviction a year later for the murder of Michelle Steele, Hatcher requested a death sentence, but the jury refused, recommending a life term on December 3, 1984. Four days later, Hatcher hanged himself in his cell, at the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. See also List of serial killers in the United States List of serial killers by number of victims Notes References Cited works and further reading 1929 births 1984 suicides 20th-century American criminals American escapees American male criminals American murderers of children American people convicted of murder American people convicted of theft American people who died in prison custody American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment American rapists American serial killers Escapees from Missouri detention Fugitives LGBT people from Missouri Male serial killers People convicted of murder by Missouri People from Mound City, Missouri People from St. Joseph, Missouri People with antisocial personality disorder People with