MIAMI LAKES, FLA. (WSVN) - Miami-Dade Police have arrested a Virginia man accused of killing another man and storing the body in his trunk.
According to an arrest report, Florida Highway Patrol troopers responded to a crash in the southbound lanes of the Palmetto Expressway, just south of Northwest 154th Street, Sunday afternoon.
When they arrived, troopers found 25-year-old Robert Avery Coltrain and a silver 2009 Acura.
Police said that troopers could smell a foul odor coming from the rear of the vehicle.
Detectives said due to the crash and the rain, the car was towed to the parking lot of Westland Mall where, due to the foul odor and an insect presence, troopers opened the trunk and found the body of 26-year-old Brian Trotter.
Police said Coltrain also told troopers that the body in his trunk was a male.
Detectives said an investigation revealed that Trotter was last seen alive on Saturday, Oct. 17 after he was picked up at his apartment by Coltrain, who they said was Trotter’s friend.
Trotter was reported missing in Virginia by his family the next day.
According to the arrest report, the medical examiner determined that Trotter had been shot multiple times in the torso.
Police obtained a search warrant and said they found a gun inside the car, casing that’s consistent with the ammunition in the gun and a projectile that suggested the victim was shot at least once inside the vehicle.
Coltrain has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder and illegally transporting human remains.
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