Bond denied for man accused of kidnapping, murdering S.C. mother

PAGELAND, S.C. (WBTV) - A judge denied bond for the man accused of kidnapping and murdering a South Carolina mother.

41-year old Deidre Reid was reported missing from Pageland in September. She was headed to the Greyhound station in Charlotte.

Family members say Reid was taking Emmanuel Bedford - the father of her youngest child - to the bus station. However, they say he never got on the bus and Deidre’s body is still missing.

Last month, he was indicted on both murder and kidnapping charges in this case.

Emmanuel Bedford pleaded not guilty to both murder and kidnapping charges. These are in addition to his grand larceny and obstruction of justice charges he got for stealing her car and lying to police.

His lawyer says he wants a jury trial, but until then he will stay in jail.

Before the decision was made, both sides argued in front of the judge about what should be done with Emmanuel Bedford as he awaits trial.

“We respectfully request that the bond be denied,” said Deputy Solicitor Kernard Redmond.

Redmond laid out the case for the judge, telling him that the evidence points to Bedford as the culprit.

“He’s obviously a flight risk and also a danger to society based on what took place,” explains Redmond.

But Bedford’s lawyer, Josh Koger Jr., asked the judge for a reasonable bond so his client could go home to Augusta, Georgia and find employment. He says Bedford would agree to house arrest and an ankle monitor if released.

Koger also argued that some of the evidence presented by the prosecution was circumstantial.

He says there was no telling who could have had access to Bedford’s car when it was impounded for three months.

He also says the SLED report states that in both the Greyhound and Flying J pictures, the agent says there was no way of telling if Reid was in the car in the pictures.

Koger further argued that a sighting was reported at the end of September calling this “still a missing persons case.”

He also said media and social media reports have made Bedford’s stay in jail dangerous as other inmates question his motives.

“This case is gonna be tried in the courtroom. It’s not going to be tried in the media. It’s not going to be tried in the newspaper. It’s gonna be tried in the courtroom,” says Koger.

It was not until Deidre Reid’s brother, James Reid got up to speak that the emotional dam broke and the courtroom erupted with sobs.

“This is pain. This is not fear. A part of me is wherever she’s at. I’m lost,” says James Reid.

WBTV caught up with the Reid family after the bond denial. Their one wish - to give their beloved sister a proper resting place.

“I would wish this on no one the way I feel. Or the way my siblings feel,” says James Reid.

Some of the family members taking it the hardest are Deidre’s kids. Her twin daughters holding on to their aunt for comfort while we asked questions.

“There’s nothing like your mother’s love. We can tell them we love them all day long, it’s not going to hit the same as it coming from your mother,” says Reid.

The Reids are still holding out hope that one day they can get the closure they’ve longed for months.

“This just feels like it’s not real. I hate that we have to go through this. I wish my sister would just come back. But we all have that feeling deep down inside that we just know she’s no longer with us,” says Reid.

Redmond hopes to have a trial start soon since most of the evidence is already in-house

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