CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. — A man who escaped from the Chesterfield County Detention Center this weekend appeared before a judge Wednesday morning.
Emanuel Bedford, who’s accused of kidnapping and murdering Pageland mother Deidre Reid, was in jail awaiting trial.
Reporter Tina Terry has covered the case since 2021. She was in the courtroom Wednesday morning, where she saw Bedford being pushed into the room in a wheelchair. He seemed to have been hurt when he crawled through a window and escaped from the jail.
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In court, Bedford had bandages on his arm and foot. He sat quietly in court as Deputy Solicitor Kernard Redmond talked about his recent jailbreak.
“This past Saturday, the defendant managed to escape from the custody of Chesterfield County Detention Center,” Redmond said.
Bedford was in an isolation cell to protect him from other inmates.
Redmond said his office had worked to move Bedford to a more secure state facility for many reasons, but he said new rules required a mental evaluation.
“We had reached out to (Department of Corrections) to try and get him moved into safekeeping,” Redmond said.
A judge was working on signing off on that evaluation when Bedford made his escape.
Bedford was making a phone call, slipped away from a guard, climbed through a window, and over a barbed-wire fence.
Officers found Bedford hours later a few yards away.
Diedre Reid’s brother, James Reid, said he wants Bedford moved to a more secure facility.
“We do want to see Emanuel locked down 24 hours a day, which he should have already been locked down,” Reid said.
In court Wednesday, the judge agreed to give Bedford that mental health evaluation. Once complete, and if accepted by the Department of Corrections, Bedford would be moved to a state facility.
Meanwhile, Bedford will remain in the Chesterfield County Detention Center.
“We’ve added extra security to him as you can see in the courtroom today,” the sheriff said. “We’ve taken measures to make sure that what he did this weekend won’t happen again.
The solicitor wants Bedford tested quickly so the DOC can decide whether to take him into safekeeping.
READ MORE ABOUT THE DEIDRE REID CASE:
- Judge denies bond for man accused of killing Chesterfield County mother
- Officials: Person of interest in case of missing SC mother now charged with murder, kidnapping
- Pageland mom’s car found days after disappearance, state says; person of interest denied bond
- Person of interest in Pageland mom’s disappearance brought back to SC
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