Pretrial hearing set for man accused of killing Troy businesswoman
By Pat Pratt
ppratt@timestribunenews.com
A pretrial hearing is set for November in the case of a man accused of killing a Troy businesswoman nearly a year ago in Farmersville, moving the matter closer to trial following several delays.
Court docket entries show 49-year-old Robert Tarr of Collinsville is set to appear at 1 p.m. Nov 16 in Montgomery County Court, with Resident Circuit Judge Jim Roberts presiding. Tarr is currently awaiting trial in the county jail on $2 million bond.
The pretrial hearing is the first in several months after the case was delayed over the summer due to a change of attorney and filing of several motions — one showing the defendant complaining of the jail population and others related to evidence in the alleged crime.
Tarr is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the death of Troy businesswoman Leslie Reeves and two charges of attempted murder in the shooting of Chris Smith of Farmersville.
Tarr and Reeves had dated in the past, prior reporting and affidavits filed in the case show. Reeves was out on a date with Smith on Nov. 24, 2021. They later went back to his home in Farmersville. On Thanksgiving morning, both were found shot inside the home.
Reeves, who was the owner of All You Studio and Party Place in Troy, was pronounced dead at the scene. Smith spent weeks in intensive care recovering from his injuries.
Tarr has also been charged with additional felonies while awaiting trial behind bars. In September he was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of solicitation of murder.
The indictment reads he sought to hire someone to kill Smith and a sheriff’s deputy investigating the case. A pretrial hearing on those charges is set in conjunction with the Nov. 16 appearance on the charges of murder and attempted murder.
