7/24/24 UPDATE: Wanted Juan Carlos Diaz Perez has been taken into custody. He was located and arrested near the Oak Ridge Quarry by the U.S. Marshals Smokey Mountain Fugitive Task Force. Diaz Sanchez is being transported back to Knoxville. 

The KPD appreciates the U.S. Marshals Service, Oak Ridge Police Department, Blount County Sheriff’s Office and the 7th Judicial Drug Task Force for their assistance. 

7/23/24 UPDATE: The victim from the murder at a home in the 1200 block of Mercer Street has been identified as Suceli Perez, 18. It is believed that the victim died by blunt force trauma, pending Medical Examiner’s Office autopsy.

Update: Warrants are on file charging Diaz Perez with first-degree murder. 

The body of the victim was found in the bed of the Diaz Perez’s truck that was recovered in Oak Ridge. The identity of the victim, an adult woman, is being withheld at this time. 

Efforts remain ongoing to locate Diaz Perez in the area of Wisconsin Avenue in Oak Ridge. The search has been assisted by the Oak Ridge Police Department, Roane County Sheriff’s Office, Blount County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshal Service. 

Anyone who sees Diaz should not approach him and call 9-1-1. 

Original Story: Knoxville Police Department detectives are investigating a suspected homicide that happened at a home on Mercer Street.

On Monday afternoon, KPD received a third-party report that a man had gravely injured his girlfriend at a home in the 1200 block of Mercer Street. Homicide Unit detectives and Forensics personnel responded to the home, where they located evidence of a potentially deadly assault.

The victim or suspect were not at the scene when officers arrived.

The suspect has since been identified as Juan Carlos Diaz Perez, who is shown in the attached picture. He left the scene in a white pickup truck, which was located by Oak Ridge Police Department officers at a park in the Oak Ridge area a short time ago, off of the Oak Ridge Turnpike near Sweet Gum Lane. The suspect was not found with the truck and efforts are underway to locate him.  

Anyone who see Diaz Perez is asked to call 9-1-1.

The investigation remains ongoing at this time.