KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A judge found probable cause during a preliminary hearing Wednesday to charge a man with first degree murder in connection to the killing of his 18-year-old girlfriend.
Juan Carlos Diaz Perez, 21, is accused of killing his girlfriend Suceli Perez Cruz in July. Cruz's autopsy report said a heavy blade was used to continually "chop" her face and head. Perez Cruz was the mother of a 2-year-old girl, according to her family.
During Diaz Perez's preliminary hearing, the judge set his bond at $250,000. Jail records show an immigration hold has been placed on Diaz, which played a factor in his bond amount. Prior to the hearing, he was being held without bond. An interpreter was also present at the hearing.
The prosecution called Knoxville police homicide detective Thomas Turner as its only witness. During testimony, he detailed going to the home on 1226 Mercer St. in July. He said blood splatter and human tissue were found on the driveway.
Turner said when Diaz Perez's white pickup was found in Oak Ridge they discovered Perez Cruz's body in the bed of the truck along with a machete covered in blood and strands of black hair.
Police said Diaz Perez abandoned the truck and was eventually taken into custody after trying to hide from authorities. He called a relative in Honduras to tell her he'd killed his girlfriend and planned to take his own life, a warrant states.
According to testimony, Perez Cruz had some sort of roofing knife on her. The defense argued Diaz Perez could have been acting in self defense. During an interview with police, Turner said Diaz Perez admitted to hitting Perez Cruz with a machete and provided different reasons about why and how.
The defense cross-examined Turner for about an hour and the prosecution kept objecting to the questioning due to it being a probable cause hearing. The judge sustained almost every objection.
The defense implied Diaz Perez wasn't getting a fair hearing due to the judge sustaining all of the objections. The prosecution said the hearing wasn't an opportunity for the defense to compile a witness or evidence list through questioning the witness.
The defense wanted to call Knox County Medical Examiner Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan to talk about the conflicting number of injuries to Perez Cruz found in her report, versus the anthropology examiner's report. The judge denied the request saying it has nothing to do with probable cause.
