The suspect behind the killing of an Asian-American student from Lawrenceville, Silling A. Man, and left her decomposing body inside a vacant food court stall in Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth, Georgia, last December was recently arrested by authorities.
The man was identified as 21-year-old Emmet Davis, who is believed to be the 19-year-old student’s boyfriend. Davis was taken into police custody on Thursday, June 14, and was charged with aggravated assault and felony murder, according to Atlanta Journal Constitution.
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Man, who was a sophomore at Georgia State studying psychology and was a Zell Miller scholar who planned to become a nurse, first went missing on October 8. Her family was able to find her and she returned home the next day after contacting the police.
However, Man went missing again two days later. No one filed a missing person report to the police this time. It was reported that she left with Davis where they spent several months living out of hotels near the mall.
She was last seen on Nov. 20, 2017 when she picked up her last paycheck at a store in Perimeter Mall, Dunwoody, as noted by the Gwinnett County police. Her remains were discovered a month later on December 21 at the mall’s food court area.
“Everybody agreed it was suspicious and suspicious specifically as a homicide,” Gwinnett County Police Sgt. Jake Smith said.
Authorities think that the 19-year-old sophomore was asphyxiated by Davis, and that her chest was “restricted to the point where she couldn’t breathe, as if someone sat on her,” Smith added.
Police interviewed Davis several times after they became aware of him when Man’s body was identified. However, at the time of the investigation, there was not enough evidence to charge the suspect, but they had already obtained warrants after lab results were released as well as subpoenas for phone records.
The suspect reportedly left Georgia for New York after authorities identified Man’s body. He spent some time there before he eventually returned to Lawrenceville recently, police reported.
“We did suspect the boyfriend all along so this news didn’t really come as a surprise,” the victim’s aunt, Bunny Cruz, said to Channel 2 Action News.
The suspect is currently being held at the Gwinnett County Detention Center without bond.
Feature Image via Twitter / Gwinnett Police Dept
