According to authorities, a suspected serial killer was charged in connection with a seventh murder after witnesses recognized him by his distinct crescent moon forehead tattoo.
The 26-year-old suspect, Perez Deshay Reed, of St. Louis, has been accused of six other killings and was given a first-degree murder charge for what is believed to be his seventh on Friday, the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office shared.
The charge is in relation to the fatal shooting of Stephon D. Johnson in November 2021. Johnson's body was found stuffed inside a closet in his Kansas City, Missouri, apartment. Investigators reported Johnson had been shot in the back of the head.
Witnesses reported to investigators they saw a man with a crescent moon forehead tattoo with Johnson, after they recognized him on TV from St. Louis.
DNA from the scene connected Reed to the murder, along with a key they found on him while arresting him that fit in the deadbolt lock at Johnson's apartment. Bullets recovered from the murder were also determined to have been fired from a gun in Reed's possession.
Reed was arrested in St. Louis County, where he also allegedly killed Marnay Haynes, 16, on Sept. 13, 2021, and Lester Robinson, 40, on Sept. 26. He has also been charged for two St. Louis Killings, Pamela Abercrombie, 49, on Sept. 16 and Carey Ross, 24, on Sept. 19.
Across state lines in Wyandotte County, Kansas, Reed is charged with the deaths of Rau'daja De'Naya and Damon Washington Irvin, who were killed in October.
Officials shared that most of the victims were women, some being sex workers, and four of them were shot in the head.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations had been searching for Reed since his killing spree began. Finally, they were able to arrest him while he was spotted exiting a bus in Independence, Missouri.
The investigation into the murders is ongoing, and Reed is being held without bond in St. Louis.
Related
