Reginald Perkins was born on April 29, 1955, in Woodruff County, Arkansas. He spent his early childhood in Arkansas before moving to Texas at a young age. In the late 1970s, he relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, to be closer to his mother. In Cleveland, Perkins took on various jobs as a laborer, plumber, and truck driver.

While living in Cleveland, Perkins began dating a woman named Ramola Nelson Washington in 1979. They lived together when she moved out of her sister's home in 1980. During this time, he was known to have interactions with members of her family.

In the early 1980s, Perkins faced legal troubles. He was involved in serious criminal activities that would alter the course of his life significantly. He went through a period of incarceration and was paroled in 1990. Following his release, he moved back to Texas and worked for his father's trucking company. His family, including his father and stepmother, provided support and a place to stay.

Reginald Perkins' life was marked by various jobs, a complicated family dynamic, and a history of criminal behavior that would eventually lead to serious consequences. He struggled with financial issues and had a tumultuous personal life, all of which contributed to events in the later part of his life.

Reginald Perkins committed a series of violent crimes over a span of two decades, primarily in Ohio and Texas. His criminal actions began in Ohio in 1980 when he raped a 12-year-old girl. Shortly after this, two related murders occurred. On October 23, 1980, Paula Nelson, a 21-year-old woman who was connected to Perkins, was found strangled in her bedroom. Five days before her death, her sister had overheard Perkins talking about her, suggesting something had happened to her.

In January 1981, two more murders linked to Perkins took place. Jennie Morman, a 43-year-old woman, was found strangled in her apartment. Days later, her neighbor, Jerry Dean Thomas, was also discovered strangled, with her death occurring shortly after she learned of Perkins’s attempted rape of her daughter. Perkins faced charges for the rapes but was never charged for the murders due to insufficient evidence.

After his release on parole in 1990, Perkins moved to Texas. On May 6, 1991, he was implicated in the murders of Hattie Wilson and her niece, Shirley Douglas, both found strangled in their home. They had connections to Perkins through family ties, as he was dating Wilson's granddaughter.

In December 2000, Perkins murdered his 64-year-old stepmother, Gertie Mae Perkins. She was reported missing when she failed to pick up her grandson from school. An investigation revealed bloodstains in her home, and on the day of her disappearance, Perkins pawned her wedding ring. He led police to her body in the trunk of her car, which was found in a parking garage. The autopsy indicated that she had been strangled.

Perkins was arrested for not registering as a sex offender and was later charged with capital murder. During his trial, evidence presented included his prior convictions for the rapes of minors and connections to the earlier murders in Ohio. Witnesses testified about Perkins's admissions regarding his involvement in the murders, including his stepmother's death.

In March 2002, Perkins was convicted of the capital murder of Gertie Perkins and sentenced to death. In November 2008, DNA evidence linked him to the murders of Wilson and Douglas, solidifying his guilt in those cases as well.

Perkins was executed by lethal injection on January 22, 2009. He maintained his innocence until his death, claiming that he was wrongfully convicted and asserting that he never killed anyone.