Missing man’s body found wrapped, decomposing in car trunk, affidavit says
The man’s tattoos had been cut away and his body was in an advanced stage of decomposition, according to the report.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A man was found dead inside a car at an Antioch home just days after he was reported missing, according to an arrest report from the Metro Nashville Police Department.
Police said Brandon Rivas-Noriega was reported missing on Oct. 5. Rivas-Noriega was last seen driving his mother’s gray Ford Focus and had been going to 4660 Fanning Dr. often, according to police. On Oct. 10, police executed a search warrant at a home on Fanning Drive concerning a separate homicide investigation, according to the report. Police said they found Riva-Noriega’s driver’s license and paperwork that led to another address, 1385 Rural Hill Road.
Officers went to Rural Hill Road, where they found the gray Ford Focus behind a trailer on the property. Police said they noticed an “obvious smell of decomposition” coming from the car. After obtaining a search warrant, police said they found a body in the trunk of the Ford Focus. Rivas-Noriega’s body was wrapped in multiple lawn water barriers, in an advanced stage of decomposition, according to the report.
According to the arrest report, the body could not be identified by sight. Police gave the medical examiner’s office a photo of Riva-Noriega with his tattoos. The medical examiner noticed that areas of his skin were removed, according to the arrest report.
Officials noticed the areas where the skin was removed were the same areas where Riva-Noriega’s tattoos were located, according to the report.
Police determined that Riva-Noriega was killed after being shot several times.
Police arrested Kevin Joel Castro-Garcia for the death of Brandon Rivas-Noriega, according to the report. Witnesses told police they saw Castro-Garcia shoot Riva-Noriega, according to the report.
Castro-Garcia was charged with criminal homicide and abusing a corpse, according to the arrest report. He’s also charged in the death of 37-year-old Elmer Nahum Miranda-Martinez. Police said Castro-Garcia is a native of Honduras and had twice been deported from the United States. He is now jailed in lieu of $1.1 million bond.
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