Tennessee man arrested after his teen girlfriend’s body is found in truck bed

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (TCN) -- U.S. Marshals recently located and arrested a 20-year-old man on suspicion of killing his 18-year-old girlfriend and fleeing.

According to the Knoxville Police Department, on Monday, July 22, detectives and forensics personnel responded to a home after an individual reported that a man had "gravely injured" his girlfriend. Authorities found evidence of a deadly assault, but they didn’t locate a victim or suspect at the scene.

Upon further investigation, police identified Juan Carlos Diaz Perez as the primary suspect in the case and said he fled the area in a white pickup truck. Oak Ridge Police later found the victim, Suceli Perez, deceased in the bed of Diaz Perez’s truck, but the suspect was not found with the vehicle. Investigators believe Perez died of blunt force trauma, but the medical examiner will perform an autopsy to confirm.

Officials obtained warrants charging Diaz Perez with first-degree murder, and they began searching for the suspect. The manhunt for Diaz Perez continued until July 23 at approximately 5:30 p.m., when U.S. Marshals from the Smokey Mountain Fugitive Task Force located and arrested him near Oak Ridge Quarry. Police said he will be extradited back to Knoxville.