Metro police arrested Henry James Baxter, 37, Friday morning and charged him with criminal homicide in the killing and decapitation of 48-year-old Erman Thompson.
A mail carrier found Thompson’s decapitated body [1] in a field at 169 Old Hermitage Ave. on Thursday afternoon, and police later identified Baxter as a suspect.
According to police, Baxter admitted to shooting Thompson in the head, then using a shovel to separate his head from his body. Police detectives found the head in a trashcan in an alley outside Baxter’s house at 116 Claiborne St. in South Nashville.
Police believe Thompson was killed last Sunday and that his body was dumped in the field late Tuesday or early Wednesday.
Thompson and Baxter lived at the house with Thompson's wife and her three children. Baxter is being held in lieu of $750,000 bond.
Links:
[1] http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/mail-carrier-finds-decomposing-body-decapitated-man-south-nashville