MIAMI — Police found the body of a Virginia man inside the trunk of someone he had been friends with for more than 10 years.
Robert Deupree Avery Coltrain, 25, was arrested Sunday and charged with second-degree murder and illegal transport of human remains after his friend, Brian Trotter, was found dead inside the vehicle, The Associated Press reported.
According to the Miami Herald, Coltrain’s car was towed Sunday after he crashed on a rain-soaked highway near Miami Lakes, Florida.
The Florida Highway Patrol was dispatched to the scene, and the vehicle was towed to a nearby mall parking lot.
Officials became suspicious when Coltrain asked to remove his belongings from the car and was seen collecting a Glock gun case, according to an arrest report obtained by the Herald. Authorities also noticed flies around the trunk of the car and a foul odor.
A report filed by Miami-Dade Detective Omar Manresa said police found a body “wrapped in a piece of fabric and in an advanced stage of decomposition."
According to officials, 25-year-old Trotter was reported missing about a week ago. Trotter’s father told the Herald Coltrain came to the Trotters’ Virginia home on Oct. 17.
Trotter’s father said Coltrain, who had been friends with Trotter for more than 10 years, was “distant and nervous and antsy" when he arrived at the home. The two friends said they were going to Washington, D.C. for the day, a drive of about 30 miles.
Days later, when Trotter didn’t return home, his father called Coltrain and asked about his son’s whereabouts. Coltrain said he had dropped Trotter off with another friend. When none of Trotter’s friends knew of his whereabouts, Trotter’s father filed a missing persons report.
Missing Black male Brian Trotter from Triangle VA. There’s a search planned for 10/24: pic.twitter.com/ia4B9b04bf
— #socialjusticenerd (@BreRVA) October 23, 2020
“No one can understand what happened,” Trotter’s father said. “Hopefully, police can shed a light on what made a friend of over 10 years decide to commit something like that.”
Trotter’s father said his son was an aspiring hip-hop artist who went by the stage name “Kent Won’t Stop.” He said he believed Coltrain and his son were going to Washington, D.C. to take promotional photos for their music.
No motive has been determined yet.
NEW: A decomposing body was found in a trunk of a car that crashed on Miami's Palmetto highway.
— David Ovalle (@DavidOvalle305) October 26, 2020
A Virginia man has now been arrested for murdering Brian Trotter, who went missing Oct. 17 https://t.co/0u15die2KG
Cox Media Group
