Bond reduction hearing set for Scott County fire chief charged with murder
FOX23 News at 9 p.m
SCOTT COUNTY, Mo., (KBSI) — A bond reduction hearing has been scheduled for a Scott County fire chief charged with second-degree murder in connection with the 2025 death of his wife.
Court records show Jeremy R. Perrien, 45, is scheduled to appear at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2, before Judge Amanda Oesch in the Scott County Associate Division.
Perrien was arrested Aug. 21 by Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers following a more than yearlong investigation into the death of his wife, Shelby Perrien.
He is charged with second-degree murder, felony harassment, second-degree domestic assault and two counts of tampering with physical evidence in a felony prosecution. He has been held in the Stoddard County Jail without bond.
The charges stem from Shelby Perrien’s June 29, 2025, death, which was initially reported as a possible self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to a probable cause statement filed in Scott County Circuit Court, Jeremy Perrien told investigators his wife pulled a .380-caliber handgun from the center console and shot herself while the couple was traveling southbound on Interstate 55.
Investigators later cited cellphone evidence, body camera footage, blood evidence from the vehicle and messages between the couple as part of the investigation.
The probable cause statement alleges investigators recovered a video from Shelby Perrien’s phone showing Jeremy Perrien assaulting and threatening her weeks before her death. Investigators also said Perrien acknowledged deleting messages from both phones after the shooting.
At the time of Shelby Perrien’s death, Jeremy Perrien was a reserve deputy, assistant coroner and fire chief in Scott County, according to Sheriff Derick Wheetley.
Because of those connections, the Scott County Sheriff’s Office turned the investigation over to the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control. The case was later submitted to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which filed the charges.
The allegations have not been proven in court. Perrien is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Related Link: Scott County fire chief charged with murder in wife’s death – KBSI FOX23 News Cape Girardeau News | Paducah News
