
(WPXI) – Police say a man has been arrested after a woman’s body was found Saturday in a shed behind a home in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood. Montel Reed, 26, is charged with homicide, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse in the death of 38-year-old Crystal Leschner. At about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, police responded to a call that someone who lives on Reifert Street had found a body, later identified as Leschner, in their shed. Leschner’s body, which had been wrapped in plastic, was found inside a suitcase in the shed. After talking with Leschner’s family, investigators learned that she had been in a relationship with Reed, who was arrested four times in 2021 for assaulting her. Police said Leschner had paid to rent out a living space above a detached garage behind the home next to the shed where her body was found. Reed lived in the basement of that home. Reed had been released from jail on Dec. 17, 2021, police said. He was arrested again on Jan. 6th. When police questioned Reed, he admitted to stabbing Leschner multiple times in the neck during a dispute on Dec. 27 inside the living space she rented out, according to the complaint. He told police he left and returned early the next morning, at which point he put her body in a wall storage area.