HARDIN CO.—A woman with a notorious history in Hardin County went the way of several 2012 “cannibal” attacks on Wednesday, January 2, allegedly battering a friend who was staying with her and getting jailed as a result.
Martina Olveda Shore-Reeves, 30, was in her home in Elizabethtown on that night when the incident occurred, leaving an injured Layla S. Shell, 32, having to travel to the hospital in Rosiclare for treatment to several bite wounds to her face, arm and hand.
Staying with Martina
Police reports indicate that Shell was staying with Shore as a “roommate” at the time.
Disclosure has learned that Shell, a longtime friend of Shore’s, had actually come to the home a few days before because “Martina was having a hard time with things.” The report was that Shore, on New Year’s Eve with others in the house, had held a knife to her wrist readying to slash it, and her five-year-old daughter had walked in on her, whereupon Shore had told the girl to “get the f— out, I’m gonna kill myself!” Shell had then come to stay with her friend following this incident.
Police reports show that on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 2, at some point in time approximately between 8-8:30 p.m., Shell was talking to an ex-boyfriend on her phone, this in the presence of Shore and Shore’s two children (the other one age 2) at Shore’s house, located behind the Hardin County sheriff’s department/Elizabethtown police department.
As Shell ended the call, Shore got up from where she had been sitting, appearing as though she was going to merely pass in front of Shell.
However, in mid-stride, Shore allegedly leaped on Shell and began attacking her.
Reports from the statement Shell gave indicate that Shore attacked her “completely unprovoked.” Shore, statements show, pulled Shell’s hair and bit her several times on the right side of her face, on her arm, and on a finger.
Didn’t fight back
Shell reportedly did not “fight back,” but didn’t sit there unresisting, either. Shell reported that all she tried to do was “get her off me.”
Shell reported that Shore’s father, Fernando Olveda, was present, watching the attack, along with the two young children, who were frantic.
Somehow, Shell was able to get away from Shore and ran toward the back of the house, where she was reportedly tackled by Shore and was “slammed down” in the bathroom, hitting her head on the bathtub in the process, which almost caused her to lose consciousness.
At that point, Shore is reported to have left Shell and went to the kitchen, where she got a knife—reportedly the same knife she’d used just a couple of days earlier to threaten to kill herself.
Screaming to her father that she was going to kill Shell, Shore also screamed that she knew she was “gonna lose my kids” but seemed to think the attack was worth it.
Shore reportedly then slashed out at Shell, attempting to slit her throat.
Shell was able to get away and ran out into the front yard, where she paused, screaming in an effort to alert police nearby in case she was unable to continue running away from Shore, who was pursuing her.
Shore’s Shell game
Shore, however, ran to the police department and reported to them that it was Shell who attacked her.
According to reports, Shore told authorities that when Shell had been talking on the phone “complaining either to, or about a boyfriend,” Shore “got in her face, to calm her down, and Layla jumped on” Shore.
Shore elaborated that Shell had told her “if she hit her on top of the head, the cops wouldn’t see any marks.”
Authorities noted a slight scratch on Shore’s right forearm and the knuckles of both her hands were scratched as well. Shore advised that her father was there; asked what he would tell if he was asked for his version, Shore said that “he’d seen the entire thing” and had yelled “Get off my daughter” and pulled Shell off her.
“I can’t help it if someone picks a fight with me and I kick their ass,” the belligerent Shore told police.
Cannibalistic wounds
Shell, police noted, was bleeding from the right side of her face when they went in to interview her. Her injuries were described as “redness, bruising and swelling on the entire right side of her face” and a “bite mark on the inside of her left forearm.” Photos were taken to document her injuries.
Shell reported that she had been staying with Shore for a couple of days, that “Martina flipped out and attacked her for no reason,” and that Fernando Olveda had seen the incident but “probably wouldn’t make a statement.”
Both women filled out statements for authorities. But when Fernando Olveda arrived at the police station, he claimed he had “been asleep and hadn’t seen anything.” He then changed that to “I heard (Layla) jump on Martina.”
When told that authorities would have to make an arrest based on physical evidence since there wasn’t a witness, and that Shell had been severely beaten and would need medical treatment, Olveda opined that this “wasn’t fair.” However, he wouldn’t make a voluntary statement.
Despite Shore continuing to insist that she was attacked and that she “would drop her charges if Layla dropped hers,” Shore was transported to Massac County jail, where she was booked on preliminary charges of Domestic Battery, Aggravated Battery, and Disorderly Conduct. Shell was transported to the hospital in Rosiclare, where she was treated with antibiotics for the bites, and where it was discovered that she was lacking feeling in the finger that was badly bitten.
Disclosure has learned that there may be a DCFS case being opened on Shore in order to ensure that her children are not going to be in danger of being returned to her.
The beating of Norma Jean
Shore was allegedly involved last summer in the beating of local woman Norma Jean Cox, who was found unconscious in or near a ditch that runs outside of Shore’s house.
Cox was hospitalized for a lengthy amount of time; it’s unclear whether or not she ever identified who beat her, but Shore was reportedly under suspicion of it.
No one was ever charged in the beating; law enforcement and the state’s attorney’s office were all in a state of flux at the time, with Joyce Cullison sort of serving as sheriff, problems ongoing within the Elizabethtown police department even seven months after the death of former town marshal Ed Conkle, and Missy Presser traveling up from Pope County to do prosecutorial duties just before she gave birth, at which time other attorneys were handling the state’s attorneys duties, as Roger Ralph up and left the office a few months before.
The death of Junior Tolbert
Shore is notorious for being peripherally involved in the incidents surrounding the murder of Wilson “Junior” Tolbert in 1995, when Shore was but a teen.
Shore’s mother, Chrissy Reed Olveda, was charged in the shooting death of Tolbert, along with James (Liz Tolbert’s brother) and Junior’s wife, Liz, who was originally from California.
Liz Tolbert, being an “outsider,” ultimately was tried and found guilty of her husband’s murder, even though Chrissy Olveda was implicated by Junior just before his death (he was shot at from a distance and paralyzed; then when his wife found him and went for help, someone—said to be Olveda—shot him again but with a different weapon than the first, killing him), she was only charged and convicted on Obstruction and spent a short time in prison, this despite the fact that she knew where the murder weapon was and lead police to it.
Martina was with her mother, James, and Liz in Oklahoma when the three adults were arrested and brought back to Illinois to face charges. The three had self-admitted or at least publicly-known crystal meth issues prior to Junior’s death.
Chrissy Reed Olveda died a few years ago.
Friends of Martina Shore’s, including Shell who was reached for comment, say Martina is “crazy” and that her upbringing had a lot to do with it.
“She’s crazy, but she’s never done anything bad to me,” Shell said. “I love her; I feel sorry for her. But I’m pretty disappointed by the whole situation. She chased me out of the house with that knife; if we hadn’t been so close to the police department, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”