WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — A couple was arrested Wednesday evening and charged with the murder of a missing 28-year-old pregnant woman whose body was found in a suitcase earlier this week.
The Wake County Sheriff’s Office identified Thomas Clayton Johnson, 37, and Emmalei Trevathan, 24, as the two people responsible for the death of Brittany Samone Smith.
Smith’s family said they last saw her alive on Feb. 4 in Wendell. On Feb. 8 they feared the worst when investigators informed them a body had been found stuffed in a suitcase near the Neuse River Trail.
The State Medical Examiner later determined that the victim was Smith.
Investigators arrested Johnson and Trevathan during a traffic stop in Raleigh, according to WTVD. They were both charged with murder, murder of an unborn child and concealment of a body.
The couple is currently being held at the Wake County Detention Center.
According to the medical examiner’s office, Smith died by strangulation, the sheriff’s office said during its news conference.
“It’s safe to say that this is no accident,” Wake County Sheriff Gerald Baker said at the news conference.
Investigators have not released information about a possible motive in the case.
Cox Media Group
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