Murder suspect found Tuesday near Oak Ridge Quarry

Juan Carlos Diaz Perez, the man accused of murder in the slaying of a woman in Knoxville, was found and arrested near the Oak Ridge Quarry late Tuesday afternoon by the U.S. Marshals Smokey Mountain Fugitive Task Force.

He was taken to Knoxville following his capture, according to the Knoxville Police Department. Warrants had been issued Monday charging him with first-degree murder.

"The KPD appreciates the U.S. Marshals Service, Oak Ridge Police Department, Blount County Sheriff’s Office and the 7th Judicial Drug Task Force for their assistance," the Knoxville Police Department (KPD) said in a statement posted to its Facebook account Tuesday.

As reported earlier in The Oak Ridger, Oak Ridge police found the body of 18-year-old Suceli Perez Monday in the bed of a white pickup truck off of the Oak Ridge Turnpike near Sweet Gum Lane on the west end of the city. Knoxville police think she died from blunt force trauma after they searched a home on the 1200 block of Mercer Street in Knoxville.

The KPD said they received a third-party report Monday that a man had gravely injured his girlfriend. Detectives and forensic specialists went to the home and found evidence of "a potentially deadly assault," they said. Police say the 20-year-old suspect left Knoxville in a white pickup truck.

Mercer Street is in the Western Heights area of Knoxville, northwest of downtown, according to Scott Erland, KPD spokesman.

The Oak Ridger's News Editor Donna Smith covers Oak Ridge area news. Email her at dsmith@oakridger.com and follow her on Twitter@ridgernewsed.

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This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Murder suspect found Tuesday near Oak Ridge Quarry