Update 2 – Knoxville Police have confirmed that Juan Carlos Diaz Perez is in custody. Perez was arrested near the Oak Ridge Quarry by the US Marshals Smokey Mountain Fugitive Task Force. Perez was wanted in connection to the murder of 18-year-old Suceli Perez.

KPD believes the victim died by blunt force trauma.

Update – KPD reports that the body of the victim was found in the bed of Diaz Perez’s truck that was recovered in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The adult female victim is not being identified. Warrants are on file charging the suspect with First-Degree Murder.

KPD and other agencies are working to locate Diaz Perez in the area of Wisconsin Avenue in Oak Ridge. No other details are available at this time.

Original – The Knoxville Police Department is currently searching for a suspect in connection to a homicide on Mercer Street. KPD reports that its detectives are investigating a suspected homicide.

On Monday afternoon, KPD received a report that a man had gravely injured his girlfriend at a residence in the 1200 block of Mercer Street. Homicide Unit detectives and forensics personnel responded to the home where they found evidence of a potentially deadly assault.

The victim and suspect were not at the scene when officers arrived. KPD has identified the suspect as Juan Carlos Diaz Perez. KPD believes he left the scene in a white pickup truck which was later found by the Oak Ridge Police Department off the Oak Ridge Turnpike near Sweet Gum Lane.

The suspect has not been found. Anyone who sees Diaz Perez is asked to call 911.

 

 

KPD detectives are investigating a suspected homicide that happened at a home on Mercer St.

Law enforcement personnel are actively looking for Juan Carlos Diaz Perez, pictured, in connection to the suspected murder in Oak Ridge, TN.

If you see him, call 9-1-1.

More info here: pic.twitter.com/1uw5RgntPg

— Knoxville Police TN (@Knoxville_PD) July 23, 2024