Man sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to 2018 murder

WARNER ROBINS — A man was sentenced on May 28 for the killing of a 29-year-old woman in Warner Robins, the Houston County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

According to the DA’s office, Rodney Helms, 43, pled guilty to malice murder. Superior Court Judge Katherine Lumsden sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole. 

The charges come from an investigation of a murder that took place Nov. 13, 2018. The victim, Natasha Reyes, was found dead in her kitchen with multiple gunshot wounds. According to witness statements, Helms, who was homeless, was at Reyes’ house earlier that day.

Investigation revealed that Reyes let Helms into her Maplewood Drive home to eat and stay out of the rain. While inside, Reyes caught Helms attempting to steal a .40 caliber handgun from her bedroom and personal items from her home.

When Reyes confronted Helms, he shot her multiple times with the handgun before fleeing the scene with the stolen items. He was found shortly after walking toward a convenience store on Feagin Mill Road and arrested.

Assistant District Attorney Alicia Gassett of the Houston Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case and commented on the roles the police and DA’s Office played in the case.

“I am thankful for the Warner Robins Police Department for doing an outstanding job investigating this case and bringing Helms to justice. I also want to thank our office’s investigators, Tom Daly and Jeffery Kujawa, for going above and beyond tracking down witnesses and helping me prepare this case for prosecution,” Gassett said. “Reyes was a kind young woman who thought she was helping someone in need only to have her life brutally taken from her. I hope and pray that this sentence will bring her family peace and closure to this difficult chapter in their lives.”

Houston County District Attorney Will Kendall also congratulated law enforcement and the DA’s office, and spoke on the case’s tragic nature.

“A job well done by the WRPD and staff at the DA’s Office. This case is especially tragic in that Ms. Reyes opened her home to a homeless man to offer shelter from the rain and food, and as a result she was murdered,” Kendall said. “We cannot bring back Ms. Reyes, but we hoped to have played a small role in seeking justice and removing a monster from our street. Those who prey on others and take advantage of their kindness should be held accountable for their actions, in this case Helms will spend a minimum of the next 30 years in prison.”