New Bedford Cold Case Murder Suspect’s Arraignment Postponed Due to COVID-19

The arraignment of a man charged with the 2001 New Bedford murder of his half-sister that was scheduled for Friday, December 10 has now been postponed because the suspect has been exposed to COVID-19.

The Fall River Superior Court Clerk’s Office informed prosecutors from the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office that David Reed had been exposed to COVID and due to “close contact” protocols, the scheduled arraignment was postponed with no new date yet scheduled by the court.

Reed, 53, is indicted on charges of murder and armed robbery in the previously unsolved March 2001 killing of Rose Marie Moniz in New Bedford. Moniz, Reed’s half-sister, was bludgeoned to death with a fireplace poker, a conch shell, and a kettle.

The case went cold until new DNA evidence came into play in 2019, leading to Reed’s indictment.

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Reed was also arraigned in October in connection to the 2003 beating and robbery of Maribel Martinez-Alegria in New Bedford, charged with armed assault with intent to murder and armed robbery. He was deemed dangerous by Judge Gregg Pasquale and ordered held without bail. He has been in custody ever since.