Man’s headless body found in suitcase, Tennessee officials say. Now roommate convicted

A man left a “trail of blood in his wake” dragging a suitcase later found to contain his roommate’s body, Tennessee authorities said.

Now, 32-year-old Julian Summers has been convicted on charges of first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, the Shelby County District Attorney said Feb. 20.

Summers’ attorney Mark Mesler told McClatchy News they plan to appeal on a few issues. One of those came up during the confession, which Mesler said continued even after Summers requested a lawyer.

On Dec. 12, 2021, Summers hit the sleeping man’s head with a hammer at the Memphis apartment they shared, officials said.

Then, Summers was accused of decapitating 63-year-old Bruce Jeffries in what officials describe as a “brutal attack.”

The two were in a “domestic relationship,” a family member told Memphis police, according to an arrest affidavit.

Summers cleaned up the scene before shoving Jeffries’ dead body in a suitcase, officials said.

Surveillance footage from that night showed Summers dragging the suitcase through the apartment complex, authorities said. He tried to dump the suitcase at a dumpster, but it appeared to be too heavy, and he left it in an alley behind a bank, McClatchy News previously reported.

Officers and “concerned citizens” found Jeffries’ body that night at around 10 p.m., Memphis police said.

When investigators searched the apartment, they said they found signs of a struggle, including broken glass and a broken mirror. They also found bloodied clothes in the washing machine waiting to be cleaned, police said in the affidavit.

Sixteen days after the incident, officials said Summers admitted to the killing.

During the trial, Summers gave “conflicting testimony,” prosecutors said, but the state tried to prove that Summers was competent and was “exaggerating mental health symptoms.”

Summers’ defense questioned his mental state when he confessed in 2021.

The jury delivered the verdict on Feb. 16. He’s expected to be sentenced March 7, records show.

This story was originally published February 21, 2024 at 2:28 PM with the headline "Man’s headless body found in suitcase, Tennessee officials say. Now roommate convicted."