Court documents reveal new details in murder case; suspect waives detention hearing

SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – Newly obtained court documents show what evidence police collected that led to an arrest in the death of 17-year-old Trinity Bostic of Macon County.

According to police, Bostic disappeared on June 29.

Four days later, a Tennessee Department of Transportation contractor was collecting trash and found her remains in the woods off Vietnam Veteran’s Boulevard near New Shackle Road.

Police said they were able to identify Bostic through dental records, adding that she was found with a gunshot wound to the face.

Hendersonville police have named 17-year-old Fernando Perales Mejia as a suspect.

According to court documents, phone records show that Mejia and Bostic were together from about 2:30 p.m. to 10:39 p.m. on the day Bostic disappeared.

The same phone records also show Bostic and Mejia near the area where Bostic was found during this time period.

Police searched Mejia’s home and found an emergency bag containing Mejia’s belongings and a loaded gun in his closet.

Police also found a gun in Mejia’s car and said the gun’s ammunition matched the shell casings found at the crime scene.

Mejia initially told police he had not seen Bostic in two years, but when police presented him with the evidence, he changed his statement “several times.”

During a scheduled detention hearing on Thursday, July 11, Mejia’s attorney waived his client’s right to appear in court and participate in a detention hearing.

Before the hearing, Mejia’s father told News 2 he could not have imagined his son would do such a thing and he has not been able to sleep since his son’s arrest.

Other members of Mejia’s family and Bostic’s sister were also there.

Friends described Bostice as a “firecracker” who had the ability to light up a room.

The next court date for this case is scheduled for the end of August.