Suspect held after dead body found in trunk

At 7:35 a.m. Wednesday, a man was reported missing from his Barrow County home. Two hours later, police found his car just over the Gwinnett County line. His body was in the trunk.

A suspect in the man’s death was found at the deceased’s home, Barrow County Capt. Ryan Sears said. He is currently detained at the sheriff ’s office headquarters in Winder, Sears said.

The man is “currently the suspect in the death of the missing person and the investigation is ongoing,” Sears said in a media release.

The victim has not been identified. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is not identifying the suspect because he has not been criminally charged.

The Barrow County Sheriff ’s Office is investigating the case as a “possible homicide.” While the body was found in Gwinnett County, Barrow County deputies determined that the primary crime scene was contained to the missing man’s home on Chimney Trace Drive in Winder, said Cpl. Wilbert Rundles, a spokesman for the Gwinnett County Police Department.

The victim’s body was covered with a blanket in the trunk when police found it, Rundles said.

Around 11 a.m., it was determined the crime primarily occurred at the Chimney Trace Drive home, giving the Barrow County Sheriff ’s Office jurisdiction. Deputies began searching the home and examining the body and the trunk at that time.

When authorities came to the house at 7:35 a.m., the suspect ran because of possible drug charges, Sears said. He was caught by a K-9 officer.

The cause of death has not been disclosed.

JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM Barrow County Sheriff investigators at Whitley and Kilcrease Roads examine car where a body was found in the trunk of a car nine miles east of Lawrenceville.