Damon Washington Irvin, a 35-year-old Black/African American male, was found deceased on November 1, 2021, in his Kansas City, Kansas, apartment. A lifelong resident of the area, Irvin was known for his love of music and his ability to play several instruments. He had earned an associate's degree in music and was described by loved ones as a spiritual man with a joyful personality and a smile that could brighten anyone's day.
The circumstances surrounding his death were deemed a
homicide. His body was discovered at the Wyandotte Towers apartment complex. In the same week, the body of another victim, Rau'daja De'Naya Farrow, was also found in a separate apartment within the same building. This discovery prompted a wider investigation that would soon connect to a string of violent crimes in another state.
The investigation into the deaths of Irvin and Farrow led law enforcement to a suspect named Perez Reed. Surveillance footage from the apartment building reportedly showed Reed entering Irvin's apartment on October 28, 2021. Reed, who was 26 at the time of the charges, was already under suspicion for a series of killings in the St. Louis, Missouri, area, leading the FBI to label him a suspected serial killer.
In November 2021, Perez Reed was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Damon Washington Irvin and Rau'daja De'Naya Farrow. Authorities alleged that Irvin was killed between October 28 and October 29. Reed was apprehended on November 5, 2021, in Independence, Missouri, as he was boarding a bus. At the time of his arrest, he was allegedly in possession of a handgun believed to be linked to the shootings in the St. Louis area. He has since been charged in connection with multiple homicides in both Kansas and Missouri.
