A suspect in Teresa Michael’s murder was taken into custody in South Carolina on a vehicle theft charge, according to the Bloomington Police Department. A press release on Friday said Eric Quentin Johnson, 30, is in a South Carolina prison waiting to be transferred to Monroe County.
Michael, 32, was found strangled to death in an apartment on January 28, after police initially responded to a call about a fire in the apartment.
Monroe County coroner Joani Shields released a statement on February 1 that preliminarily determined the cause of Michael’s death as a strangulation and the form of death by homicide, according to the press release.
BPD identified Johnson as a person interested in Michael’s death, according to the press release. The press release did not say why Johnson was a suspect in the case. The investigators determined that Johnson had left Bloomington and was believed to be close to Waycross, Georgia. BPD detectives traveled to Waycross on February 9 to locate Johnson and a 2007 Dodge Caliber that Michael was driving before his death, according to the statement.
Investigators found that Johnson was traveling north toward South Carolina on a bus bound for Columbia, South Carolina. BPD contacted the Columbia Police Department, and Johnson was located on the bus and was arrested by CPD on 9 February, according to the press release.
Johnson was detained at Richland County Jail in South Carolina on charges of vehicle theft, a level 6 crime. Johnson is waiting to be transferred back to Monroe County, according to the press release. .
The investigation into Michael’s death is ongoing and anyone with information should contact BPD detective Chris Scott at (812) 349-3382.