FBI: Man linked to 6 murders charged

By KMOV Staff

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    ST. LOUIS (KMOV) — A St. Louis man who is a suspected serial killer has been arrested for crimes that span Missouri.

Perez Reed, who turns 26 on Nov. 10, is accused of shooting six people, four fatally, with the same .40 caliber gun. He was arrested Friday while he was traveling from Kansas City to St. Louis. He was taken into custody when he got off a train in Independence. When he was arrested, Reed reportedly had the .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol on him that matched the shell casings found at unsolved shootings in St. Louis City and County in September 2021.

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Reed with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault and three counts of armed criminal action. In The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Reed has been charged with one count of interstate transportation of a firearm with intent to commit a felony. St. Louis City police told News 4 warrants against Reed in their jurisdiction were being applied on Monday morning.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner released the following statement Monday afternoon regarding the investigation:

“The Circuit Attorney’s Office has been working closely with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department from the beginning on this investigation. This is a complex multi-jurisdictional case. The cases in the City of St. Louis are currently under investigation to ensure the most important goal – that justice is brought to the many victims and their families; and the person responsible is held accountable for these heinous crimes.”

Reed’s alleged crime spree began on Sept. 12 at a bus stop on Chambers Road in St. Louis County. Police said Reed shot a man who was waiting for a bus multiple times in the chest. The man was left with serious injuries and a permanent disability.

The following day, Reed is accused of shooting Marnay Haynes, 16, at least two times in a “distinctive manner,” killing her in the 9900 block of Glen Owen Drive.

Three days later, police said Reed shot a 28-year-old woman in the face behind a building in the 4500 block of Adelaide. Officers found the woman at a BP gas station on West Florissant looking for help. She survived the shooting but was unable to speak to detectives. However, documents show a blood trail led investigators to where the shooting took place.

Within two hours, detectives in north St. Louis linked the suspected serial killer to another woman’s death — 49-year-old Pamela Abercrombie. She was found wounded lying on the sidewalk in the 3800 block of West Florissant. She died at the hospital.

After Abercrombie’s death, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department sent a public safety alert warning that some sex workers were being targeted by an unknown gunman.

On Sept. 19, Reed is accused of murdering 24-year-old Carey Ross, who was found shot in a vacant lot near the intersection of 15th and Mullanphy just after 12 p.m.

Then, on Sept. 26, detectives identified a familiar distinctive manner while investigating the shooting death of Lester Robinson in the 1700 block of Barbados Lane in St. Louis County. The shooting had similarities to the Haynes’ murder.

Reed then allegedly made his way to Kansas City, where he is accused of killing Damon Irvin, 35, on Nov. 1 and Rau’Daja Fairrow, 25, a day later. Both lived in apartments at the Wyandotte Towers and were shot to death, investigators said.

Evidence linking Reed to murders

In court documents, the FBI detailed the evidence used to link Reed to the Missouri crimes.

In the Kansas shooting deaths, investigators obtained surveillance video from the apartment building. A still photograph from the video showed a man with a crescent tattoo on his forehead, which matched a booking photo of Reed that showed a crescent tattoo on his forehead.

Surveillance video from Oct. 28 reportedly showed Reed and Irvin entering the apartment building together. The duo then went into Irvin’s apartment around 11:15 p.m. that night. Just after 6 a.m. the following morning, Reed left Irvin’s apartment alone, according to police.

A security guard at the Kansas apartment complex told investigators a man who entered the apartment building with Fairrow on Oct. 29 presented a Missouri driver’s license for Perez Reed. Phone records that matched Reed’s listed number showed the suspect called Fairrow 652 times between Oct. 5 and Oct. 29. After Oct. 29, Reed’s phone no longer called Fairrow’s phone. Investigators said they could not find any witnesses who reported seeing Fairrow alive after Oct. 29.

Upon Reed’s arrest, a gun that matched was consistent with the one used in the September 2021 shooting sin St. Louis was seized from him. The FBI said Reed still had a crescent tattoo visible on his forehead when he was taken into custody.

When he was interviewed by investigators, Reed reportedly admitted to giving his driver’s license to the security guard at the Kansas City apartment complex. He also admitted to knowing Fairrow. But, he denied hurting anybody.

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