Garner woman goes from victim in internet scams to suspect in a plot to kill her mother

Detectives who believe a 65-year-old woman is the victim of internet scams say they have uncovered messages on her phone about a plan to murder her mother.

Roxanne Reed, who lives on Atchison Street in Garner, was arrested Sunday and held on $500,000 bond on a charge of felony conspiracy to commit murder.

Reed is 65, and her mother is in her 80s, police said Monday.

The alleged conspiracy involved internet contacts with a man who was supposed to be named Scott Humpal, according to the charge. It refers to Humpal as an “online persona.”

Police said Monday that the investigation is ongoing, and one aspect of it is an attempt to find out if Humpal is a real person.

Nonetheless, the messages that detectives found pointed to “an intricate plan that had developed,” and police believed they had to act, Capt. Joe Binns, a police spokesman, said.

Reed lives with her mother, police said.

Detectives were going through Reed’s phone because she has been the victim of internet scams, Binns said.

This story was originally published August 13, 2018 at 11:48 AM.