KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Update (7/29 @ 10:45 a.m.):
A man accused in the killing of an 18-year-old woman was arraigned in Knox County General Sessions Court Monday, records show.
Juan Carlos Diaz-Perez was charged with first-degree murder after Suceli Perez's body was found in a truck bed, according to the Knoxville Police Department.
Diaz-Perez will appear again in court on September 4.
Original Story (7/26 @ 10 a.m.):
A Knoxville Police Department arrest warrant provided more details about what took place in the hours after an 18-year-old woman was killed.
KPD said authorities began a homicide investigation Monday, July 22, after responding to a report that 20-year-old Juan Carlos Diaz-Perez had gravely injured his girlfriend at a home on Mercer Street in North Knoxville.
The warrant states that Diaz-Perez told a family member that he'd killed Suceli Perez and that he was going to kill himself. KPD detectives and forensics personnel responded to the home where they found human blood and bone fragments in the driveway.
KPD said Diaz-Perez left the home in a white pickup truck, which was later found abandoned at an Oak Ridge park near Sweet Gum Lane. His arrest warrant said officers spotted what appeared to be human feet in the truck bed. Officers then discovered Suceli Perez's body.
KPD said it's believed Suceli Perez died from blunt-force trauma.
Diaz-Perez led authorities on a day-long manhunt and was eventually taken into custody near the Oak Ridge Quarry by the U.S. Marshals Smokey Mountain Fugitive Task Force.
Suceli Perez had a 2-year-old girl, according to her uncle Jorge Portillo. Police said the child wasn't involved in the incident.
Portillo said the two were no longer romantically involved, but that Diaz-Perez called Suceli Perez on Monday and said he was sick. Portillo said he thought it was a trap to get her to come to his house.
This story will be updated when more information is available.
