Arrest made after body found in car trunk outside Walmart in Homestead

Police say Justin Earnshaw strangled Keys man reported missing

HOMESTEAD, Fla. ā€“ A 38-year-old homeless man was arrested Friday after he killed a Florida Keys man whose body was found in the trunk of a car outside a Walmart in Homestead, police said.

Justin EarnshawĀ faces charges of second-degree murder, cocaine possession and giving a false name after his arrest.

Miami-Dade police said the victim's body was found Thursday in the trunk of a white Honda Accord in the store's parking lot.

The victim was identified as Jose Munoz, a 39-year-old Key Largo man who had been reported missing.

According to an arrest affidavit, EarnshawĀ admitted to getting into a fight with Munoz in a hotel room days earlier. Police said Earnshaw confessed to punching Munoz several times in the face and choking him "until he was no longer breathing."

Police said Earnshaw then carried Munoz into the bathtub and strangled him with a telephone cord just to make sure he was dead.

After killing Munoz, EarnshawĀ wrapped the body in hotel bed sheets and a plastic bag and then put it in the trunk of Munoz's car, the affidavit said.

Detective Christopher Thomas said Munoz's brother spotted the car and followed it to the Walmart, where he called police. When officers arrived and searched the car, they found the body in the trunk.