Suspected serial killer pleads not guilty to 2 St. Louis murder charges

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - Suspected serial killer Perez Reed pleaded not guilty in a St. Louis court Wednesday to murder charges and multiple assault charges.

Still in jail, Reed appeared in St. Louis Circuit Court over video call Wednesday.

Family of Pamela Abercrombie, who Reed is accused of killing, watched in the court room. Wednesday marked the first time they saw Reed.

“We didn’t like the fact that he was smirking, like you on trial for murder,” Abercombie’s cousin, Tillonni Hamilton, said after the hearing.

Reed is believed to have carried out a killing spree that began September 12 and stretched from St. Louis to Kansas City, Kansas. Investigators tied Reed to six killings. The FBI defines serial killings as a series of three or more killings having common characteristics to suggest they were committed by the same person or persons.

The 26-year-old was arrested early November while he was traveling from Kansas City to St. Louis. He got off a train in Independence and took a bus before he was arrested in Kansas City.

In court Wednesday, Reed’s lawyer said Reed has an extensive history of mental health issues

In addition to charges in the City of St. Louis, Reed has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault and three counts of armed criminal action in St. Louis County. In the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Reed was charged with one count of interstate transportation of a firearm with intent to commit a felony

On Nov. 23, he pleaded not guilty to federal unlawful use of weapon charge in federal court.

He is currently being held without bond for the charges in St. Louis City. In St. Louis County his bond was set at $2 million but he has not been arraigned in that case.