KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee man is facing a first-degree murder charge after authorities found a body in the back of a minivan he was driving.
Officers with the Knoxville Police Department responded Thursday to a Leon Drive residence regarding the disappearance of 27-year-old Justin Goins, whose vehicle had been parked behind the dwelling alongside a maroon Chrysler minivan, WVLT-TV reported.
According to WBIR-TV, witnesses told police that they attempted to approach the man in the minivan, driven by 25-year-old Darius Smith, but he fled the scene.
Officers located Goins’ abandoned vehicle a short while later.
“The victim’s car had been thoroughly cleaned with a chemical cleaner, but a small amount of blood was found in the cupholder of the victim’s vehicle,” department spokesperson Scott Erland told WVLT-TV.
The minivan was then spotted Friday, but Smith refused to yield to officers who attempted a traffic stop. He crashed the vehicle into a tree attempting to flee and was taken into custody, WBIR-TV reported.
After a search warrant on the Chrysler minivan was executed, officers found Goins’ body in the back of the vehicle. He had been shot six times, WVLT-TV reported.
Smith has also been charged with felony evading arrest and reckless driving, stemming from the police pursuit, the TV stations reported.
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