Parole board frees man who killed his father and was convicted of a second murder

Gov. Abigail Spanberger's parole board has voted to release Reginald Shell, convicted of two first-degree murder convictions in Hampton, according to the board's own August 2026 decisions report.

The board's August report lists Shell, 60, as granted discretionary parole, recorded Aug. 28 and certified Aug. 31. His record shows two separate first-degree homicide judgments in 1989: a Hampton Circuit Court judgment dated Aug. 11, 1989, carrying 60 years, and a Newport News Circuit Court judgment dated Sept. 26, 1989, carrying a life sentence. The report estimates he has served 37 years, 4 months and 19 days.

A published 1990 opinion of the Court of Appeals of Virginia, Shell v. Commonwealth, describes the Hampton case. Police found the body of Samuel Rylander, Shell's father, on Feb. 11, 1989, in a house on Victor Street in Hampton. The court said Shell confessed to Hampton detectives that he kicked and beat his father and stabbed him, and the opinion describes multiple stab wounds and a clothes hanger wrapped around the victim's neck. He was convicted of first-degree murder in a bench trial on June 30, 1989, and sentenced to 60 years; the appeals court affirmed. This newsroom did not find a source describing the Newport News homicide, so that case is described only as the board's record shows it.

The rest of the record: Beyond the two 1989 homicide judgments, no other convictions appear in the board's record. The board's listed reasons include "No previous felony convictions," which appears to refer to his record before 1989. Board members said he has been infraction-free since 2015.

Why the board says he should go free: The board's listed reasons included participation in faith or community programs, commitment to personal growth, a low risk-assessment score, infraction-free conduct, completion of treatment, stable family relationships, educational milestones, no history of substance abuse, clear acceptance of responsibility, his age at the time of the offense, demonstrated rehabilitation, emotional stability, no previous felony convictions, significant community support and a documented support network.

According to the Aug. 27 minutes, Victim Services Coordinator Cindy Yadav read a statement from a family member of one of the victims. Shell addressed the board. The minutes record a 5-0 vote; Board Member Valerie Boykin noted his service as a peer mentor. (The August PDF's vote table lists Chair Dion twice and omits Board Member Boykin; the minutes show all five members voting to grant.)

To be fair to the board, every reason quoted above comes from its own record, and members explained their votes on the record at the Aug. 27 meeting. The question for voters is whether those reasons outweigh what the court ordered and what victims told the board.

What the numbers say about Hampton: Violent crime in Hampton has improved over the past decade, according to the state's own figures. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, using Virginia State Police data, reported 278.2 violent index crimes per 100,000 residents in Hampton in 2025, against 324.2 in 2016, down 14%. Property crime stood at 2,912.3 per 100,000 in 2025, down 14% from 3,399.2 in 2016. For comparison, the statewide violent crime rate was 210.5 per 100,000 in 2025, and the median Virginia locality came in at 172.9, according to the August 2026 DCJS report. Newport News, where Shell's second homicide judgment was entered, recorded 801.8 violent crimes per 100,000 in 2025, compared with 472.7 in 2016. DCJS cautions that the figures are subject to revision.

This is what Democratic control of the parole board looks like. Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, appointed every one of the five members who voted in August, replacing the board she inherited, and the Democratic-led General Assembly confirmed them in Senate Joint Resolution 209 in March. Her chair, Shannon Dion, was previously named director of the Department of Criminal Justice Services by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. Board member Tyrone Nelson has run for the Henrico Board of Supervisors as a Democrat. Under Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the board granted parole at a rate of about 1.6% in 2023, according to Bolts magazine. In August alone, Spanberger's board granted 14 of the 44 parole cases it decided, about 32%, according to its own monthly report. Statewide, a Washington Examiner analysis found Spanberger's board had a 13.89% release rate in 2026, more than 10 times the 1.23% rate under Youngkin's board in 2025, and WJLA 7News counted 48 grants in 205 discretionary and geriatric cases since May, about 23%. None of that means the governor personally ordered any individual release; the board votes, and the record shows how each member voted. But the governor picks the board, and the board answers to her: by law its members serve at the governor's pleasure.

Parole is not the end of a sentence. The board can revoke it, and in August it did revoke parole in three cases, while letting six other violators stay on the street. The board's report does not say when Shell will walk out or where he will live, questions Hampton residents are entitled to ask.

Email the Hampton City Board/Council:
Jimmy Gray, jgray@hampton.gov,
Steven Brown, steven.brown@hampton.gov,
Randy Bowman, randy.bowman@hampton.gov,
Carolyn Campbell, carolyn.campbell@hampton.gov,
Michelle Ferebee, michelle.ferebee@hampton.gov,
Hope Harper, hope.harper@hampton.gov,
Martha Mugler, martha.mugler@hampton.gov,

Email the Newport News Board/Council:
Phillip Jones, mayorsoffice@nnva.gov,
Curtis Bethany III, council@nnva.gov,
Robert Coleman, council@nnva.gov,
John Eley III, council@nnva.gov,
Marcellus Harris III, council@nnva.gov,
Cleon Long, council@nnva.gov,
Tina Vick, council@nnva.gov,

Hampton is an independent city in Hampton Roads.

Email the Hampton City Board/Council:
Jimmy Gray, jgray@hampton.gov,
Steven Brown, steven.brown@hampton.gov,
Randy Bowman, randy.bowman@hampton.gov,
Carolyn Campbell, carolyn.campbell@hampton.gov,
Michelle Ferebee, michelle.ferebee@hampton.gov,
Hope Harper, hope.harper@hampton.gov,
Martha Mugler, martha.mugler@hampton.gov,

Newport News is an independent city in Hampton Roads.

Email the Newport News Board/Council:
Phillip Jones, mayorsoffice@nnva.gov,
Curtis Bethany III, council@nnva.gov,
Robert Coleman, council@nnva.gov,
John Eley III, council@nnva.gov,
Marcellus Harris III, council@nnva.gov,
Cleon Long, council@nnva.gov,
Tina Vick, council@nnva.gov,