Body found in SUV two weeks after it was towed sets off search for killer, police say

A missing person’s case took a grisly turn when police discovered a man’s decomposing body was in his SUV — nearly two weeks after the landlord had it towed, according to police in Tennessee.

The death of 58-year-old Orlando Hernandez has been ruled a homicide, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a Dec. 28 news release.

His body was discovered Dec. 27 “inside an SUV on the lot of a Nashville wrecker service,” police said.

“The male victim had been shot multiple times,” officials said.

“The Chevrolet Blazer had been towed from 52 Tusculum Road on December 15th at the request of the landlord. The 58-year-old man who owned the SUV, Orlando Hernandez, lived at the property, but has not been seen in several weeks.”

Investigators have not said how long Hernandez may have been dead or if there is a suspect.

A wrecker service employee was checking the interior of the SUV and found the body “in the rear seat,” police say.

Hernandez lived in a single-family home in the Antioch neighborhood, about 12 miles southeast of downtown Nashville.

This story was originally published January 2, 2024 at 6:56 AM with the headline "Body found in SUV two weeks after it was towed sets off search for killer, police say."