St. Louis man killed, woman injured in machete attack

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- A northeast Missouri man attacked two people in his home with a machete, killing one of them and leaving the other badly injured, police said Monday.

Kent Gollaher, 34, of Hannibal, was arrested after a five-hour standoff Sunday morning at his home. Charges had not been filed as of midday Monday.

Killed in the attack was Steven Stricklin, 53, of St. Louis. Stricklin's girlfriend, Rose Reed, 58, of Hannibal, was in stable condition. Both suffered multiple cuts from the machete attack, police Capt. Lyndell Davis said.

The incident began around 2 a.m. with a domestic dispute between Gollaher and his girlfriend, Kimberly Reed, 30, of Hannibal, who is the daughter of Rose Reed. Kimberly Reed suffered cuts and bruises to the face but had not been attacked with the knife, Davis said.

Rose Reed and Stricklin were also staying at the house. At some point during the domestic dispute, Gollaher went to other rooms in the house and attacked the older couple, Davis said.

"It is unclear what motivated the suspect to act out so violently," Davis said. "He became violent toward the girlfriend and turned violent toward the deceased man and the woman."

Davis said Gollaher called 911 shortly after the attacks. He continued to hold Kimberly Reed hostage, but allowed police to tend to the victims.

Gollaher surrendered peacefully after more than five hours of negotiations, Davis said.

Neighbor Joe Lain said the suspect had lived in the home for only a few months and "was always a good neighbor. He borrowed tools and returned them."

Davis said the incident was the first in Hannibal involving a hostage in several years. He credited the department's Special Response Team with bringing the situation to an end without the use of force.