Ashley Reeves, 17 years old, was strangled and dumped in the woods by her former teacher after an argument surrounding a secret sexual relationship.

One afternoon in April 2006, Ashley left home for a job interview at a shoe store 15 miles away. She drove her boyfriend, Jeremy Smith, in an SUV. Her parents last saw Ashley around 3:30 p.m. Several hours later, family and friends were unable to reach her. Ashley did not return home that night. Her mother panicked and called the police.

Shortly after, the car Ashley was driving was found in Laderman Park in Belleville, Illinois. Inside the car were Ashley’s job interview outfit and basketball uniform, but she was nowhere to be found.

Jeremy, Ashley’s boyfriend of nearly two years, said he left town the night she disappeared and didn’t know what was going on. He said Ashley told him she was going to an interview and then playing basketball.

A friend revealed that Ashley often met Samson Shelton, 26, at a park far from school to play football. Sam was a high school driver’s education and physical education teacher and a professional wrestler. Jeremy did not think his girlfriend and Sam had anything to do with each other besides basketball.

However, Ashley’s close friend revealed that she had said she was in a relationship with a much older man and planned to meet him that afternoon.

On the night Ashley disappeared, the family called every phone number on Ashley’s bill to inquire about her whereabouts. They found an unfamiliar number repeatedly appearing. When Ashley’s parents called this number, they realized that the person on the other end was Sam, Ashley’s former middle school teacher, who lived near their home with his mother and grandmother. Neighbors and co-workers described Sam as friendly, sociable, the “perfect boy next door” and a model employee.

Sam said he hadn’t seen Ashley and had no news of her, then hung up.

Based on the evidence provided by witnesses, the police summoned Sam for questioning. During the interrogation, Sam was very cooperative. He insisted that his relationship with Ashley was purely platonic.

When pressed by police with statements from Ashley’s friends, Sam changed his story, admitting that their relationship had gone much further. He said they had had sex but felt “really terrible” afterwards and wanted to end it. Sam also said he had to avoid Ashley for days because she was obsessive and wouldn’t stop calling.

Sam testified that Ashley was in his car the day she disappeared. They argued, Ashley yelled and punched him, so he kicked her out of the car, closed the door, and drove away, leaving her on the side of the road. Sam was later seen dancing at a country club.

After hours of psychological struggle, Sam confessed to the crime. He said he drugged Ashley, took her to a wooded area, and tied a rope around her neck to make it look like she had been strangled.

Sam agreed to take the police to where Ashley had been dumped. That afternoon, Sam dragged the victim deep into the dense woods of the park. But now, in the dark and cold rain, Sam had no direction.

The police searched through the woods for 20-30 minutes, until the flashlight beam fell on a body lying motionless on the ground. It was Ashley.

The police suddenly discovered that she was still breathing. Emergency workers raced to save Ashley. She had been left in the woods for more than 30 hours, strangled to death, her body cold, barely alive, with thousands of insect bites all over her body. Although Ashley was still alive, her prognosis was poor.

Sam testified that the two had an argument and Ashley refused to get out of the car. He used a rear-naked chokehold to strangle her, then heard a “crack” and Ashley’s body went limp. When she stopped breathing, he dumped her in the middle of the woods.

Ashley was lucky to survive despite a broken neck. Photo: Crime Watch Daily

Sam was arrested and charged with attempted murder. Authorities accused him of luring the 17-year-old girl and manipulating her into a sexually abusive relationship. Despite his guilty plea, he was released on bail while awaiting trial. Sam attempted suicide by overdosing on alcohol and prescription pills, with a note written on his chest that read, “Don’t save me.”

In 2007, Sam pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He will be eligible for parole in 2024. Ashley’s family accepted the defendant’s plea deal to spare the victim from having to testify in court.

To this day, Sam has not apologized to Ashley for the crime he committed against her.

Samson Shelton in court. Photo: NBCnews

After miraculously surviving, Ashley slowly emerged from her coma and spent months rehabilitating, relearning how to eat.

Ashley said she can barely remember the horror of that day, but she does remember trying to break up with Sam, and then they got into a fight. “Part of me wanted to try and remember, and part of me thought that was not a good idea,” Ashley said.

In 2021, Ashley’s case was re-enacted in the film Left for Dead: The Ashley Reeves Story .