A man from Texas has been arrested by police after his wife's body was
found in the trunk of a vehicle he drove to go visit a love interest he met
online.
Dequalan Dejuan Harris, 35, and his wife Tamara R. Harris, 33, were in
the process of getting a divorce when she was found dead in the trunk of her
own car which was driven by her estranged husband. Cedar Hill police disclosed
that the couple has a previous non-violent call history to 911.
Tamara, from Cedar Hill, Texas had been reported missing on Friday. Her
relatives who had not heard from her or her young child for several days were
the ones who notified Cedar Hill police that she was missing. Officers used the
OnStar system in her 2015 Chevy Traverse to try and find her. They were able to
locate her car in Mansfield, Ohio, about 1,150miles away from Cedar Hill and
they notified Mansfield Police.
Mansfield Police found the car parked on the street on Saturday morning
while Dequalan was inside one of the homes with another woman. The woman was
Demika Rucker, who Dequalan met online. He had driven 17 hours from Texas to
Ohio to meet her. Demika said Dequalan arrived her home at about 3.30pm on
Friday.
When Dequalan was asked about his wife's whereabouts, he told police he
hadn't seen her since Thursday when he picked up her child from her home.
Mansfield Police arrested Dequalan after he tried to run away. Before towing
Tamara's car, officers found her body in the trunk.
Dequalan is being held on charges including resisting arrest, obstructing
official business and abuse of a corpse, which is a fifth-degree felony. He
pleaded not-guilty at his video arraignment at Richland County Jail in Ohio
Monday. Mansfield Municipal Magistrate Phil Naumoff ordered bond be set at
$1million. Naumoff also ordered a personal recognizance bond and electronic
monitoring.
The child who was found with Dequalan is in custody of Children's
Services in Ohio while other family members are being tracked down with the
help of Texas Child Protective Services.
The Mansfield Police Department is investigating Tamara's death with the
help of Cedar Hill Police. An autopsy on the dead woman's body will determine
the cause of death.
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