Kriti Mehrotra
When Leslie Reeves went out on a date with a man named Christopher “Chris” Smith after connecting with him on Facebook, she never could have imagined the night would end in tragedy. After all, as explored in CBS’ ’48 Hours: Fatal First Date,’ both individuals went silent upon going to his home in the tiny village of Farmersville, Illinois, only to be found shot the morning after. By the time paramedics and Montgomery County Sheriff Deputies arrived at the scene, the former had unfortunately long passed away. Her date, though, was still alive, albeit barely breathing.
Chris Smith Was Shot in the Back of His Head Inside His Own Home
Although a divorced father of two, Illinois native Chris Smith admittedly led a great, stable life in the early 2020s as not only a successful general contractor but also a hobbyist musician. Therefore, when he came across Leslie Reeves on Facebook around mid-November 2021 and realized they had a natural connection after almost a week of texting, he didn’t hesitate to ask her out. According to reports, they finally met at the bar just down the street from his residence before eventually making their way to his place together to meet his beloved dog, Tiki, and have some pizza.
Neither Chris nor Leslie knew that her ex-boyfriend Robert “Bobby” Tarr had actually placed a tracker on her vehicle and followed her that night to see why she had gone all the way to Farmersville. As per court documents, when he realized she was on a date, he fell into such a blind rage that he decided to break into the home and open fire on both individuals before leaving them to die.
While Chris was ambushed and shot in the back of his head in his kitchen, her date was shot and killed in the same way behind the Christmas tree in his living room. His dog was left unharmed. By the time their loved ones realized something was amiss, over 13 hours later on Thanksgiving morning, Leslie had sadly already passed away, whereas he was fighting for his life in every sense.
Chris Smith Does Not Remember The Events of the Fateful Evening
When officials found Chris in a pool of blood in his kitchen, he had almost no pulse and a body temperature of 72° Fahrenheit, so he was immediately rushed to a hospital in nearby Springfield. That’s where he remained for months because of complications, including his falling into a coma, 3 strokes, as well as paralysis of his left side. It is believed he is alive thanks to his dog Tiki, who refused to leave his side that fateful night and gave him some warmth.
It was on January 12, 2022, that Chris awoke from his coma, only for officials to soon find out that he had no recollection of Leslie, his date with her, or any of the events from November 24, 2021. In fact, when he was asked about her, the first thing he said was, “Who the heck is Leslie? … I don’t know Leslie,” and nothing came back to him even as the days, weeks, and months passed by. What’s worse is that his doctors believed he would never be able to walk again since his left leg was partially paralyzed, even after some rehab, and fragments of the bullet remained in his brain.
According to Chris’ doctors, they couldn’t operate to remove these small fragments as they were too close to his brain and could actually do more harm than good by causing further damage. Therefore, over time, he decided to focus on the things he could improve – he devoted himself to strength training as well as physical rehab and actually made a miraculous recovery. He did have to move back in and depend on his mother for a while, but now, from what we can tell, he is back to his independent self with zero cognitive issues or recurring troubles with his partial paralysis.
Chris Smith Has Since Turned His Pain and Grief into Motivation and Positivity
Although Chris did not attend his assailant Bobby Tarr’s trial because he was admittedly too angry, he was there for his sentencing hearing to tell the judge how the shooting impacted his life. As per his own accounts, he lost his “life without being killed” as his house was looted while he was in a coma and then sold at an auction before being razed, during which period he also lost his car. The world also lost a good woman as well as a mother of two, so Bobby was ultimately given a total of 85 years in prison on the counts of murder and attempted murder, with firearm enhancements.
Since then, Chris has actually turned over a new leaf by not only becoming a published author but also establishing his own organization for his new-profession as a motivational speaker. His tell-all memoir, ‘My Fatal First Date: A True Life Story of Survival, Tragedy, Inspiration, Triumph, and Faith’ was published on April 11, 2025. So, most recently, he has been focusing on providing motivational and inspirational speaking services for businesses, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and much more. His talks reportedly center around hard work, positivity, and perseverance to help one become unstoppable by achieving any goal they have set for themselves.
Coming to Chris’ personal standing, he is honestly thriving here too. Now residing in O’Fallon, Missouri, he is looking forward to spending the rest of his life with his forever love, Michelle Albrecht. As per his own accounts, they met while he was still early in his recovery process, only for her to soon become his support and for them to fall head over heels in love. It’s imperative to note that this 50-something-year-old lead singer in a rock band has since proposed to her, so they are engaged as of writing and can’t wait to start spending the rest of their lives together. We should also mention that while he has relied on a wheelchair ever since his hospital discharge, he continues to engage in strength training in the hopes of one day walking without assistance again.
