Family Went From Christmas Shopping To Father's Murder In Garage, Killer Still Sought

SILVER SPRING, MD — Karis Hastings recalled the night of Dec. 21, 2022, starting off as one of celebration.

"We were finishing up our Christmas shopping. It was four days before Christmas," she said.

Her husband, Charles Joseph Reynolds, had just picked up their youngest daughter from school and the family had gathered to celebrate the birthday of a family member.

"After we left the restaurant, most of us went down to get some ice cream, Joe went across to the parking garage to put the leftovers from dinner into the car," she said.

Hasting's sister, Mary Beth, however, decided that she didn't want ice cream. Instead, she headed to the Wayne Street Parking Garage, where she found Reynolds, in a second floor stairwell, surrounded by a great deal of blood.

"It was literally six minutes between when we left the restaurant and when she called 911," Hastings said. "The rest of us had had gotten ice cream, came back and there's a helicopter overhead. We got to the garage. It was surrounded by police tape, and I was told that it was my husband who was the victim.

"So we, literally, in a six-minute timeframe, went from celebrating and being together, getting ready for Christmas, to then just the unimaginable. That he had been shot, that they were trying to revive him and then they were unable to. Instead of getting ready for Christmas, we were talking to the police and calling funeral homes."

Hastings shared her memories of the night her husband was shot to death, during a news conference hosted by the Montgomery County Police.

"This remains an unsolved homicide investigation that we have been actively working in Montgomery County," Police Chief Joseph Jones said on Tuesday. "Major Crimes detectives have done an extraordinary job of trying to discover information that will help them to solve this case. As much as they have put in many, many hours of trying to conduct this investigation and come up with leads to help solve this particular homicide, they have not been successful."

Police are asking anyone who may have been in the vicinity of the Wayne Avenue Garage and the downtown area of Georgia Avenue and Ellsworth Street on Dec. 21, between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., to contact Crime Solvers of Montgomery County at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

"We're asking your help in reaching out to us or having someone else reach out to us," said Capt. Sean Gagan of the Major Crimes Division. "You can remain anonymous. We're looking for any information that the public may have that's going to help us in trying to identify the person or persons that may be responsible for this homicide."

Related: Homicide Victim Identified As 62-Year-Old Silver Spring Man: Police

Two of Reynolds and Hastings' three daughters were at the garage on Dec. 21 when the family learned of the shooting.

"They other one came the next day and [they] just lost a wonderful father, who unlike me could talk to them about their techie careers and interests," Hastings said. "And I lost a husband who is just everything you could want a husband to be, supportive and caring and would do anything for anyone, and it's a loss to our community, as well."

During the pandemic, Reynolds used his computer skills to help their church conduct Zoom worship services, his wife recalled. He also helped maintain the neighborhood pool and volunteered with CHEER, a community organization assisting children at risk.

"His death is a loss," Hastings said. "Not just for my family, my extended family, but for the larger community. We'd really like to see someone come forward and resolve this. Obviously, nothing's gonna bring him back, but we're hoping that getting the person who did it or persons would at least make the community feel a little bit safer again."