A man from Texas has been arrested by
police after his wife’s body was found in the
trunk of a vehicle he drove to go visit a love
interest he met online.
Dequalan Dejuan Harris, 35, and his wife
Tamara R. Harris, 33, were in the process of
getting a divorce when she was found dead
in the trunk of her own car which was
driven by her estranged husband. Cedar Hill
police disclosed that the couple has a
previous non-violent call history to 911.
Tamara, from Cedar Hill, Texas had been
reported missing on Friday. Her relatives
who had not heard from her or her young
child for several days were the ones who
notified Cedar Hill police that she was
missing. Officers used the OnStar system in
her 2015 Chevy Traverse to try and find her.
They were able to locate her car in
Mansfield, Ohio, about 1,150miles away
from Cedar Hill and they notified Mansfield
Police.
Mansfield Police found the car parked on the
street on Saturday morning while Dequalan
was inside one of the homes with another
woman. The woman was Demika Rucker,
who Dequalan met online. He had driven 17
hours from Texas to Ohio to meet her.
Demika said Dequalan arrived her home at
about 3.30pm on Friday.
When Dequalan was asked about his wife’s
whereabouts, he told police he hadn’t seen
her since Thursday when he picked up her
child from her home. Mansfield Police
arrested Dequalan after he tried to run
away. Before towing Tamara’s car, officers
found her body in the trunk.
Dequalan is being held on charges including
resisting arrest, obstructing official business
and abuse of a corpse, which is a fifth-
degree felony. He pleaded not-guilty at his
video arraignment at Richland County Jail in
Ohio Monday. Mansfield Municipal Magistrate
Phil Naumoff ordered bond be set at $
1million. Naumoff also ordered a personal
recognizance bond and electronic
monitoring.
The child who was found with Dequalan is
in custody of Children’s Services in Ohio
while other family members are being
tracked down with the help of Texas Child
Protective Services.
The Mansfield Police Department is
investigating Tamara’s death with the help
of Cedar Hill Police. An autopsy on the dead
woman’s body will determine the cause of
death.
