Arrest made after 2 bodies found in burning truck in Spalding County
Police have arrested a suspect in connection with two bodies that were found Tuesday in a burning truck.
According to the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office, Erik Eduardo Cabrealopez was arrested Thursday in Fulton County.
Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said Henry County investigators reported two men had been missing since April 11 who matched the description of the two bodies found in the truck.
The victims have been identified as Joshua Wyatt, 29, and Carlos Benford, 36. “According to investigators, the males had gone to meet a Hispanic male to discuss a joint business venture and had not been heard from since,” Dix said.
Dix said the investigation led police to a Griffin residence, where they believed Wyatt and Benford had been killed. “The residence had been vacated by the occupants,” Dix said. “The furniture and other items from the house had been burned in a large pile in the back yard, and the interior of the house had been sprayed with bleach in an effort to destroy evidence.”
Arrest made in recent double homicide. See the press release from Sheriff Darrell Dix.
Posted by Spalding County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, April 15, 2021
Dix said crime scene investigators were able to recover enough evidence to secure an arrest warrant for Cabrealopez, who has been charged with several counts of murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, concealing a death and tampering with evidence.
Besides Henry and Spalding counties, Dix said other agencies assisted in the investigation, including the Clayton and Haralson county sheriff’s offices, the GBI gang task force and west metro narcotics unit, the Georgia State Patrol and Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Marie Broder.
Dix said the truck in which the bodies were found was a Chevrolet Z21. “The fire was so intense it completely destroyed the VIN plates, and the truck had no tag,” Dix said. The bodies were taken to a GBI crime lab for identification.
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