By AP/KWMU
SAINT LOUIS, MO – Newton County prosecutors filed first-degree murder charges on Monday against 52 year-old Eiken Elam Saimon.
Saimon is accused of opening fire inside a church on Sunday, killing three people and wounding five others.
Prosecutors also charged Saimon with with four counts of first-degree assault, felonious restraint for holding the congregation hostage and one count of armed criminal action.
At a hearing on Monday afternoon, Saimon pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Saimon is also a suspect in a reported sexual assault of a 14 year-old girl on Saturday. Investigators say the girl is a relative of Saimon's, but have not indicated how they are related.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 18th.
Saimon is being held on $1 million bond.