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Man gets death for killing girlfriend
Dennis Reed has said he doesn’t remember the killing.
NEW CASTLE, Pa. — A man who murdered his girlfriend was formally sentenced to death Friday.
Dennis Reed, whom a jury found guilty in February of the killing of Wendy Miller, 28, did not speak during his sentencing before Lawrence County President Judge Dominick Motto.
Reed was sentenced to death in February by the jury during the penalty phase of his trial.
Miller, who lived in New Castle, was killed by a gunshot to the back of her head in December 2001. Reed left her body in woods near the Neshannock Creek off Neshannock Boulevard extension in New Castle, then took her vehicle and drove her three youngest children to Butler, where they lived out of the vehicle for about a week.
Those children were 5, 6 and 8 at the time. Miller also had a son with Reed. The boy was 12.
In court Friday, Kim Miller, Wendy’s sister-in-law, spoke for the family about the impact the murder has had.
“Your son and Wendy’s three other children want to know why,” she said. “How could you do that to her in cold blood and then say you can’t remember?”
Reed has said he doesn’t remember the killing. He said during his trial that he had a nine-day blackout and doesn’t remember the kidnapping of the children either.
Kim Miller told Reed that the son he had with Wendy, Markece, now 18, will go to college. “Markece Lamar Miller,” she told Reed. “He’ll carry his mother’s name.”
He and Wendy’s other children, Jayla McKnight, now 14; Mark McKnight, 13; and JaVaughn McKnight, 12, now live with an uncle in New Castle.
Kim Miller told Reed she would pray for him “because you pray for your enemies.”
“God have mercy on your soul,” she told him.
Judge Motto sentenced Reed on other convictions that include kidnapping, custody interference, unlawful restraint, not being allowed to possess a firearm and simple assault. The three kidnapping convictions netted Reed five to 20 years each. The three custody-interference convictions drew sentences of two to 10 years, as did the sentence for unlawful firearm possession. For three convictions of unlawful restraint, he was sentenced to one to five years each.
The assault conviction netted six months to two years. All the sentences are to be served concurrently.