Man charged with murder twice in a week after bodies found in car trunks, TN cops say

One suspect has been charged in connection with the deaths of two men found with gunshot wounds in the trunks of cars, Tennessee police say.

One victim’s tattoos had been cut off, and the other’s body was burned, according to an Oct. 16 news release from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

Nashville police said in an earlier release that they received a call Sept. 27 of a vehicle that was found still smoldering after it was completely burned. A worker discovered the vehicle in the woods while clearing brush and alerted police, who found the body of 37-year-old Elmer Nahum Miranda-Martinez in the trunk.

Further investigation revealed he had been shot and killed before being put in the vehicle, according to police.

Kevin Joel Castro-Garcia, 31, was charged with criminal homicide in connection with the death on Oct. 10. Then on Oct. 16 he was charged again with the death of a man who disappeared earlier this month, police said.

Brandon Rivas-Noriega was reported missing Oct. 5 after his family received messages from him saying he was in trouble and needed money, Nashville police said. He had last been seen two days prior, driving his mom’s Ford Focus.

When police began investigating his disappearance, they said they found paperwork connecting him to a property in southeast Nashville. Detectives visited the property and found the Ford Focus sitting behind an abandoned trailer, according to police.

Inside the trunk of the car, police found decomposing remains, which were later identified as those of 26-year-old Rivas-Noriega. Police believe he was shot at another location several miles away.

Rivas-Noriega died of multiple gunshot wounds, and some of his tattoos had been cut off, police said.

Castro-Garcia was charged with criminal homicide and abuse of a corpse in connection with Rivas-Noriega’s death, Davidson County court records show.

McClatchy News could not immediately reach the public defender listed as his representation.

Castro-Garcia is being held in lieu of bond of over $1 million.

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