Decomposing Body Discovered In Virginia Man's Trunk After Palmetto Expressway Crash
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- A Virginia man involved in a single car accident on the Palmetto Expressway is now charged with murder after a dead body was found in his trunk.
According to police, Robert Coltrain, 25, got into an accident on Sunday afternoon, October 25, on SR 826 just south of NW 154th Street near Miami Lakes.
When FHP troopers arrived, they immediately smelled a "foul odor emitting from the rear of the 2009, Silver, Acura RL," according to the police incident report. The car had a Virginia license tag registered to Coltrain.
Due to road conditions and rain, the car was towed to the parking lot of the Westland Mall in Hialeah.
When they got there, he told police he wanted to take some belongings from the car, including a gun, which he admitted to troopers belonged to him.
According to the police report, troopers opened the trunk "as a result of the continuous foul odor and insect presence."
That's when they discovered a body, later identified as 25-year-old Brian Trotter, who disappeared from Triangle, Virginia a week earlier.
The body was wrapped in a piece of fabric and was in an advanced stage of decomposition, according to the police report.
Coltrain then told police "the body in the truck of his vehicle was a male."
Investigators determined Trotter was last seen alive on October 17 after being picked up at his Virginia apartment by Coltrain, who was a friend.
On October 18, Trotter was reported missing by family members.
The vehicle, with the body inside, was towed to the Medical Examiner's Office where a preliminary examination revealed "he sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his torso."
With a search warrant, police recovered a Glock .45 caliber hand gun. Police also recovered a casing and a projectile which "suggested that the victim was shot at least once inside."
During a recorded call at the Homicide Bureau, Coltrain apologized and told his sister the shooting took place on Oct. 17 in Virginia.
Detectives are still trying to determine a motive for the killing.
Coltrain was booked into the Miami-Dade jail on Monday afternoon charged with 2nd Degree Murder and illegal transport of human remains.
