DNA On Bloody Conch Shell Cracks 20-Year-Old New Bedford Case

NEW BEDFORD, MA — A New Bedford man and the half-brother of a woman who was killed 20 years ago has been arrested and charged in the incident, the Bristol County District Attorney announced on Thursday.

David Reed, 53, has been arrested in the slaying of Rose Marie Moniz, who was found dead after being beaten to death in her New Bedford home in 2001. Bristol District Attorney Thomas Quinn announced that Reed had been arrested and will likely be arraigned next week.

Reed was also indicted in September in the attempted murder and robbery of another New Bedford woman, Maribel Martinez-Alegria, who has since died, the Boston Herald reported. Both women were struck in the head with heavy objects, robbed and left for dead.

“I’m pleased to announce the indictments related to the previously unsolved cold case homicide of Rose Marie Moniz,” Quinn said in a statement released by his office on Thursday. “She was a mother who was brutally murdered inside the sanctity of her own home.

“Thanks to the efforts of my Cold Case Unit, along with detectives from our state police unit and New Bedford Police, we were able to bring some sense of relief to the victim’s family, all of whom suffered for the past 20 years from not knowing what happened to Ms. Moniz,” he added. “This case highlights what we are doing in regards to cold case homicides and rapes in our effort to bring justice to the families of victims and the entire community.”

Quinn said that detectives working the cold case of Moniz used DNA evidence taken from a Conch shell to link Reed to the crime. The Boston Herald reported that the shell was reportedly used in the attack as a weapon by Reed, who was indicted last week on murder and robbery charges last week by a grand jury.

According to media reports, Reed served as a pallbearer at Moniz’s funeral. Quinn said that Reed likely placed his hands inside of the Conc shell to get a better grip and used the shell to beat his half-sister.

Quinn said Reed’s DNA sample was on file with police after he was arrested and convicted in 2015 on charges connected to a 2003 pursuit and crash with a police cruiser.

Reed had been fleeing authorities who were trying to arrest him for another beating of a woman in a New Bedford shopping plaza. A Rhode Island television station said before he could go to trial in 2004 on the charges, Reed posted bail and disappeared for 11 years.