Neighbor arrested in "brutal" slaying of Nashville girl Yhoana Arteaga, 12
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Police say a neighbor has been arrested in the August strangulation death of a 12-year-old Tennessee girl.
Metropolitan Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron says 45-year-old Roy D. Coons was arrested Monday after a Davidson County grand jury indicted him on two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of first-degree premeditated murder, attempted rape of a child and aggravated burglary.
Aaron says Coons lived two doors away from Yhoana Arteaga. The girl was last seen Aug. 12, when she had lunch with her mother around 12:30 p.m, reports CBS affiliate WTVF.
Her body was found inside her family's mobile home in Goodlettsville by her mother and two siblings, slightly over an hour after she texted her mother around 5:30 p.m. that someone was knocking at the door.
Police said there was blunt force trauma to her body and her clothing was in disarray.
The killing shocked the community.
"This is a horrible, brutal thing. I've never seen anything this brutal in my entire career," Nashville Sgt. David Kautzman said afer the slaying.
There were no signs of forced entry. Detectives have said their preliminary investigation had led them to believe she knew her killer.
Police tell WTVF scientific evidence links Coons to the murder.
Coons was being held at the Hill Detention Center in Nashville. Jail records didn't indicate whether Coons has an attorney.
