Convicted rapist is charged with murder in killing of Conn. nurse

A convicted rapist was charged with murder and attempted sexual assault Friday in the killing of a visiting nurse at a Connecticut halfway house for sex offenders in October — a crime that spurred calls for better safety measures for home health care workers.

Authorities added the charges against Michael Reese, 39, as he appeared in state court in Danielson for a related larceny and drug paraphernalia case. Police arrested him on those allegations as he was leaving the Willimantic halfway house on the day when Joyce Grayson was found dead in the basement on Oct. 28. Officers said Reese had some of Grayson’s possessions on him.

Grayson, a 63-year-old mother of six and a nurse for 36 years, had gone to the house to administer medication to Reese. Police responded there when someone reported she had missed later appointments.

Reese was charged with murder, felony murder and attempted first-degree sexual assault, according to the court clerk’s office. Additional details of the allegations were not immediately available.

Reese’s public defender did not immediately return phone and emails messages seeking comment Friday.

Grayson’s family was relieved that the murder charge was filed, said their lawyer, Kelly Reardon.

“They would like to thank the police for gathering the evidence needed to, hopefully, ensure that Michael Reese is convicted of this horrific and senseless crime,” Reardon said in a statement.

New details of the killing emerged Friday with the release of the arrest warrant for Reese. Grayson was strangled and was found naked from the waist down, except for her socks, according to the warrant. She also had blunt-force injuries to her head, torso and extremities, the warrant said, citing an autopsy by the chief medical examiner’s office.

Testing also showed that DNA found on Grayson’s body was highly likely Reese’s DNA, the warrant said.

Police also said the Department of Correction recorded phone calls Reese made while detained on the larceny and drug paraphernalia charges that appear to implicate him in the killing.

“Basically, bro, it was a robbery gone wrong, bro. A robbery gone accident, that’s it,” Reese said on one of the calls, according to the warrant.

Grayson was a nurse for the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for 26 years before serving as a visiting nurse for over a decade, according to her family. She also was a beloved foster parent, taking in nearly three dozen children and being honored with the state’s Foster Parent of the Year award in 2017.