What to Know
- FHP troopers found a decomposing body in a car trunk after a crash on the Palmetto Expressway Sunday, officials said
- The body was later identified as Brian Trotter, a Virginia man who disappeared on Oct. 17
- The driver of the car, Robert Coltrain, was arrested and charged with Trotter's murder
A Virginia man is facing a murder charge in the killing of his missing friend whose body was discovered in the trunk of a car after a crash in Miami-Dade, authorities said.
Robert Avery Coltrain, 25, was arrested on a second-degree murder charge in the killing of 25-year-old Brian Trotter, an arrest report said.
The report said Florida Highway Patrol troopers responded to a single vehicle crash on The Palmetto Expressway southbound near Northwest 154th Street around 4 p.m. Sunday and encountered the driver, Coltrain.
Troopers immediately smelled a foul odor coming from the rear of Coltrain's Acura, and the car was towed to the parking lot of Westland Mall in Hialeah, the report said.
The troopers watched as Coltrain removed some belongings including a Glock gun case containing a firearm from the car, the report said.
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The report said the troopers continued to smell the odor coming from the car so they opened the trunk.
"As a result of the continuous foul odor and insect presence, FHP troopers opened the trunk of the vehicle and discovered a body," the report said.
The body was later identified as Trotter, who had been last seen alive on Oct 17 after he was picked up at his home in Triangle, Virginia, by Coltrain, the report said.
Trotter, an aspiring rapper, had been reported missing by family members the next day.
Trotter's body was wrapped in a piece of fabric and in an advanced stage of decomposition, the report said.
A preliminary examination by Miami-Dade Medical Examiner found Trotter had been shot multiple times in his torso, and evidence showed Trotter had been shot at least once inside the car with the Glock, the report said.
Coltrain was arrested and booked into Miami-Dade jail, where he was being held without bond Monday, records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.
