EXCLUSIVE: Mother of Enid accused revenge killer reveals prior knowledge of alleged crime

Editor’s note: Multiple witnesses are named in probable cause affidavits for the four suspects identified in this article. Enid Police indicate in the documents that some of the witnesses had knowledge or communication with the suspect’s about the alleged murder before charges were formally filed. Since the Garfield County District Attorney has not filed additional charges against any other individuals in connection to the case, News 4 is not including those details in this article that were not answered by Lillian Reyes during her interview.

ENID, Okla. ( KFOR ) – The mother of a man accused of killing another man in retaliation for his niece’s disappearance sat down with News 4 to share her side of the story.

Enid Police say Kendra Battelo has been missing since July 2022. Authorities have followed tips and leads, served search warrants and even pinged her phone, but haven’t been able to find her.

“We’ve still got no answers about where she’s at or anything about her,” said Lillian Reyes, Kendra’s grandmother. “We’ve been doing this for two years now.”

Reyes said Kendra dated Colby Sheppard for four years, and while the relationship started off positive, the first few years, things soured. She said Kendra and Sheppard initially started off as roommates before they became more serious.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Enid Police: Man found dead in cellar lured to his own murder

Reyes described multiple situations in which Sheppard would call authorities on Kendra, she would pick Kendra up from his place and then the pair would make up. She alleges that they both suffered from drug use and that Sheppard was physically abusive to Kendra.

A petition for a protective order Sheppard filed against Kendra argued that she was abusive, but Kendra also had a case against Sheppard pertaining to domestic violence while the couple were staying at a hotel in June 2022. That case was dismissed after Kendra had gone missing because she didn’t show up for court.

News 4 asked Reyes if she’s ever seen evidence of physical abuse.

“[Kendra] had bruises, but I thought she had this little machine that she used to put on her face, you know, and so I saw them. But I’ve seen pictures where her whole face was bruised. It wasn’t no little machine.”

Reyes says she hasn’t seen Kendra since July 6, 2022. She said Kendra called her that evening while staying with Sheppard saying she needed clothes and hygiene products so she could take a shower. She said another woman, who hasn’t been charged with a crime, was also staying at the house along with Sheppard and Kendra. Reyes said she noticed Kendra wasn’t acting like herself when she came outside to grab the things she brought for her.

“She was quiet, and I asked her, I said, Kendra, is everything alright,” said Reyes.

Reyes said Kendra told her that Sheppard was acting rude, and that she asked her if she needed to go home with her, but Kendra declined.

Reyes also said she received texts in the early hours of July 7 from Kendra’s phone indicating that she was being thrown out of the home. Reyes says she thought the situation had been resolved until the other woman staying at the home reached out to her to ask about Kendra’s whereabouts days later.

Reyes said the woman told her Kendra and Sheppard had gotten into an argument, Kendra left the house and Sheppard went after her. She said she was told Kendra was heading to Reyes’ home but never showed up.

“She never made it,” said Reyes. “She never made it here.”

Reyes says Kendra’s clothes, purse and other personal items were left at the home she, Sheppard and the other woman were staying in. News 4 allowed Reyes to explain her thought process after hearing about the disappearance, in her own words.

“So I’m thinking that [Sheppard] gave her something and overdosed her,” said Reyes. “Or got into an argument and he hit her in the head with a hammer.”

Enid Police have stressed that authorities have no evidence to connect Kendra’s disappearance to Sheppard, but that hasn’t stopped her family from holding onto hope that they’ll get answers.

A News 4 employee asked Reyes directly if she believes Kendra is still alive.

“Nope,” said Reyes. “I haven’t believed it since day one when they told me she was missing.”

For years Kendra has stayed missing and no suspects have been named to indicate foul play was suspected. Then, in January, Enid Police shared that Sheppard was missing; last seen at an Enid Pizza Hut just after Christmas. News 4 asked Reyes directly what her initial reaction was to hearing that Sheppard was missing.

“You don’t really want to know what I feel,” said Reyes. “I think, whatever’s happened to him, he deserves, he gets, you know? So what I feel, if he’s gone, he’s gone. I don’t mean that to be…I just, I think, like, I think if Kendra’s gone, he should be gone, you know? That’s what I feel. An eye for an eye.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Enid Police: Man found dead in cellar lured to his own murder

On August 27, Enid Police announced they found human remains they believe are that of Sheppard. Court documents allege Sheppard was lured to a party by suspect Heaven Jordan before being beaten by Charles Jordan and Victor Battelo. A fourth suspect, Devin Harris , told authorities he stood guard outside while the beating took place. Victor is Kendra’s uncle and Reyes’ son. Court documents indicate authorities believe Victor may be the mastermind behind the incident and that he told a witness he had to kill Sheppard because of what he did to Kendra.

Documents indicate the suspects killed Sheppard at Charles Jordan’s home before dumping his body in a storm cellar a few blocks away. An affidavit says police found the body wrapped in a tarp and tied together with a rope after getting a tip from an inmate.

News 4 is including part of the unedited transcript of both the questions and answers below regarding Sheppard’s murder case between a News 4 employee and Lillian Reyes:

Reporter: Obviously the elephant in the room with all of this, your own son at this point, Victor, being charged with first degree murder. Did you have any indication that he might be involved in this?

Reyes: Not in killing, not in killing him.

Reporter: What does that mean?

Reyes: That I’m saying he didn’t kill him.

Reporter: Did he harm Colby in any way?

Reyes: They were just trying to get answers, kind of rough him up.

Reporter: Who is they?

Reyes: Those that they’re accusing.

Reporter: The people that have been charged?

Reyes: Yeah.

Reporter: I have to ask this because we’re here. Did you have any indication that they had done this prior to authorities making this announcement to the general public, that they did beat him up, allegedly, and he had died as a result?

Reyes: My son.

Reporter: Your son what?

Reyes: My son told me about it.

Reporter: He told you in detail what exactly happened?

Reyes: Not in detail, he just told me that he was there and that Colby was still alive when he left.

Reporter: So your son told you that he had, I guess, no indication that Colby had died or had been killed?

Reyes: No, not until a couple of days later or three days later.

Reporter: A couple of days later, he knew that Colby was dead and told you that?

Reyes: He said that he thinks he was alive. Still, two or three days later, but he was alive when he left.

Reporter: So did you, I have to ask it, did you know that Colby was no longer alive?

Reyes: I didn’t know nothing about that. I did not know nothing about that. I was gone. I left that place earlier in the day. I was there visiting somebody, but I left.

Reporter: But you knew in the days following that Colby was no longer alive?

Reyes: I didn’t know for sure because I heard so many stories about that day, and about how they had taken him to the hospital and people seeing him on the street afterwards. So I didn’t know if he was or not.

Reporter: Did you care to know, or was it kind of like ignorance is bliss?

Reyes: No, it just, yeah I wondered if he was after what happened. But like I said, I heard that they took him to the hospital. Then I heard people saying they seen him in the streets at the Sonic Drive-In on the east side of town, you know. So I figured he was still alive at that time and somebody would have to be taking care of him. So, who is better to take care of him than his mother? Somebody had to be giving him money because he wasn’t working or anything like that. So I just assumed he was still alive.

Reporter: I have to ask you, as a mother, as a grandmother, dealing with a missing person’s case, your own son being charged in connection to a murder, how do you juggle all of this? How do you reconcile that?

Reyes: I don’t, I just take it one day at a time and it’s just hard. It’s hard. Like I said, I still try to look for Kendra every day, you know, hoping she’d come walking through that door [and say] grandma, I’m home, you know. But I’ve, we’ve heard so many stories about her being buried here and buried there, and they burned a body and buried her there.

Reporter: In terms of the specific charge against [Victor], do you honestly believe that he’s innocent?

Reyes: Yes.

News 4 reached out to Reyes before this story aired informing her of its air date and asking her for a statement from her attorney, but didn’t receive a statement.

Due to the high profile nature of this murder case, News 4 is also including a video clip of the entire unedited interview with Lillian Reyes below.

News 4 received a statement from Sheppard’s family who say they are heartbroken and outraged. The entire statement makes allegations against individuals connected to the suspects families that have not been formally charged with a crime so News 4 is only including part of it below:

We are heartbroken and outraged by the tragic loss of Colby….His life brutally taken by Victor Battelo, Charles Jordan, Heaven Jordan, Devin Harris…at a residence in Enid, Oklahoma. They showed no mercy or compassion, leaving him to suffer inconceivable pain….We cannot comprehend the level of cruelty and inhumanity that drove them to commit such a heinous crime. We call upon the justice system to hold them accountable for their actions and ensure that they face the consequences they deserve. We will not rest until justice is served for Colby.

Colby Sheppard’s Family

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