Accused Krishna Gets a Change of Venue
A state judge in Moundsville, W.Va., has granted a request for a change of venue in the case of a Hare Krishna devotee from Los Angeles accused in the 1983 murder of another member of the religious group.
The Marshall County prosecutor’s office did not resist the motion approved this week by Marshall Circuit Judge Richard Warmuth to hold the trial for Daniel Reid in another county because of potentially adverse publicity. Reid was returned to West Virginia from Los Angeles last week.
Reid, 31, is accused in the death of Charles Saint Denis. While no body has been found, authorities believe a murder occurred near the Krishnas’ New Vrindaban community near Moundsville.
Also charged in the murder is another former New Vrindaban resident, Thomas Drescher, 37, of Ravenna, Ohio, who earlier won a request to have his trial moved.
Drescher also is charged in Los Angeles with the shooting death of Krishna dissident Steven Bryant, 33. Byrant’s body was found May 22 in West Los Angeles.
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