North Carolina Husband, Wife Charged With Luring Friend To Louisiana To Beat Him In Alleged Love Triangle

A Houston-area man who traveled to the New Orleans area to meet his college friend for a fling this summer allegedly found himself instead the victim of a vicious beating by the woman — and the husband he didn't know she had.

Mishanda Reed and Malcolm Reed of Durham, North Carolina were arrested by U.S. Marshals in their hometown on July 14, according to a release by the Kenner Police Department in Louisiana. However, according to the New Orleans Time-Picayune, rather than being extradited to Louisiana, the two were allowed to post bond in North Carolina under the condition that they surrender to the Kenner Police by Aug. 1, which they did.

After being booked on charges of aggravated battery, aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated kidnapping and armed robbery, Malcolm Reed's bond was set at $230,000 and Mishanda Reed's bond was set at $150,000, according to the Times-Picayune, and both bonded out of custody.

Malcolm Reed and Mishanda Reed Photo: Kenner Police Department

The Kenner police say that the couple's victim was a 45-year-old man from Houston, who had known Mishanda Reed in college and, according to the Times-Picayune, had been in touch with her over social media in the weeks prior to the assault. She told the victim that she was going to be in New Orleans for a conference in June, and the two made plans to meet at her AirBnb in Kenner — which is near the New Orleans airport, about 12 miles from the city center — according to the newspaper.

But when the man arrived at the AirBnb, located on the southeast side of the airport, on June 27, he was confronted by Malcolm Reed, who held him at gunpoint, zip tied him to a chair and "interrogated" him about his relationship with Mishanda Reed, according to police. The man was allegedly beaten with an aluminum baseball bat and a hammer, cut with a knife and robbed before the Reeds put him in Malcolm Reed's car, drove him approximately two miles to a location a few blocks southwest of the airport and dumped him on the side of the road, according to the paper and the Kenner Police.

Passersby called for help for the man around 9:30 pm. The police say the man had a broken leg, a possible broken arm and injuries to his face, in addition to marks on his wrists and ankles consistent with being restrained.

The couple, according to the Times-Picayune, simply returned to Durham, North Carolina, where they were arrested by U.S. Marshals less than three weeks later. They were arraigned on the charges against them on Oct. 28.

Their victim told police that he was unaware that Mishanda Reed was married.