For the second time this week, MNPD detectives have charged Kevin Joel Castro-Garcia with murder, this time of a 26-year-old South Nashville man who was reported missing by his mother earlier this month.
Brandon Rivas-Noriega was last seen driving his mother’s 2015 Ford Focus on October 3. He was reported missing October 5 after the family received messages from him that he was in trouble and needed money. During the missing person investigation, led by Detective Anthony Chandler, it was learned that Rivas-Noriega frequented a home at 4660 Fanning Drive. During a search of the residence on Monday, detectives located the owners manual for a Ford Focus, Rivas-Noriega’s driver license, and paperwork for property at 1385 Rural Hill Road. Detectives went there and found the Ford Focus parked behind an abandoned trailer. Decomposing human remains were found in the car’s trunk. An examination of those remains at autopsy led to the identification of the deceased as Rivas-Noriega. Several tattoos had been cut away from the victim’s body. It was determined that Rivas-Noriega died from multiple gunshot wounds.
Castro-Garcia, 31, is alleged to have shot Rivas-Noriega inside 4660 Fanning Drive. He is charged with criminal homicide and abuse of a corpse in this case.
Castro-Garcia was charged with criminal homicide Tuesday for the fatal shooting of Elmer Nahum Miranda-Martinez, 37. His badly burned body was found on September 27th in the trunk of a car that had been set on fire and left in a wooded area off Franklin Limestone Road.
Castro-Garcia is a native of Honduras who was twice been deported from the United States. He is now jailed in lieu of $1.1 million bond.
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Kevin Joel Castro-Garcia, 26