BEAUFORT COUNTY, N.C. (TCD) — A 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of a 19-year-old female was found in the trunk of an abandoned car.
According to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), on Wednesday, Jan. 17, a tow truck company was called to move a car that had been left in the parking lot of a private business on U.S. Highway 264 East. The driver towed the vehicle to the facility, where an employee opened the trunk and discovered the body of the victim, who they believe is Amarriah Smith.
Investigators allege the suspect, Jordan Thomas, left his vehicle containing Smith’s body in the parking lot, then stole another truck. Officials located the truck at Eastern Carolina University Health Beaufort Hospital, where they also found Thomas. The SBI said he was initially arrested on charges of larceny of a motor vehicle and concealing the death of a person.
He was charged with murder on Monday, Jan. 22.
The SBI said detectives believe Smith was killed at a different location, then placed in the car. Officials reportedly found evidence at Thomas’ residence, but said it was “unclear at this time if the murder happened there or at another location and the manner in which the victim was murdered.”