Murderer Drives For Days With Body In Trunk, Gets Life In Jail

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — A man was sentenced to life in prison without the chance for parol after a jury took 30 minutes Friday to convict him of a 2016 murder.

Tremaine Washington, 20, was sentenced by Judge Kathryn Schrader after a four-day trial. It was revealed in court that Washington killed Robert Jesse Purcell and stuffed him in the car's trunk for several days while bragging about it online and in-person. Purcell was living out of his car at the time and working at Marco's Pizza on Centerville Highway in Snellville.

Washington shot and killed Purcell for his car, where he was living out of his car behind the pizza place. Washington was convicted on charges of murder, armed robbery and aggravated assault.

After a 911 call on May 28, 2016, Gwinnett County officers responded to the Marcos Pizza location to investigate the call and noticed several personal items in a parking space behind the business along with an apparent blood stain on the pavement. The manager of the location informed officers that one of his employees, Robert "Jesse" Purcell, had not shown up for work that morning which was unusual. He also informed them that the personal items in the parking lot appeared to belong to Purcell who had been living out of his car in the rear of the business for some time.

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Surveillance videos from nearby businesses revealed that in the early morning hours of May 27 , two individuals, Washington and his co-defendant, approached Purcell’s vehicle and, a short time later, appeared to place something in the trunk of the car.

On May 28, a ping of the victim’s cellphone indicated that it was located in the area of Hugh Howell Road andHighway 78 just inside DeKalb County. When GCPD officers responded to the area, they located Purcell’s 1997 black Honda Civic on the Hugh HowellRoad exit ramp from Highway 78. Officers located Purcell’s body inside the trunk of the vehicle with an apparent gunshot wound to the chest and hand and several injuries to his head.

On May 29 GCPD went to Washington's home in Snellville to take him into custody. After a brief foot chase, officers located and arrested Washington. After giving multiple stories, Washington eventually admitted to detectives that he and his co-defendant had woken the victim while he was sleeping in his car and robbed him at gunpoint. During the robbery, Washington shot Purcell and he and his co-defendant decided to place the body in the trunk. As they were moving Purcell’s body, it was apparent that he was still alive, so they slammed his head into the pavement at least twice to make sure he was dead.

Washington tried to explain to detectives that he shot Purcell in self-defense but admitted that he initiated the confrontation by robbing him. During trial, Gwinnett County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Terry testified that the injuries to Purcell’s head occurred at or near the time of death and that the gunshot wound to his chest was fatal.

Evidence at trial showed that, in the days after May 27, Washington drove the victim’s car around with the body still in the trunk and used the victim’s cellphone to look up videos on how to drive a stick shift car and to call the victim out of work sick. Washington and his co-defendant ultimately sold the cellphone at an EcoATM for $45 cash. Several witnesses testified that they saw Washington driving and cleaning the car on May 28 and heard him talk of trying to sell the car for cash. A search of Washington’s home revealed several items of the victim’s property, including his driver’s license and clothing, and also a spent shell casing that matched the bullet recovered from Purcell’s body. Both the bullet and the shell casing were ultimately matched
to Washington’s .380 Ruger pistol. Detectives were also able to access Washington’s text messages which showed him bragging to individuals about shooting a man and taking his car.

The original 911 call was a woman who notified police of a man on her front porch bragging to her nephew about killing someone behind the Marcos Pizza. The caller said the man was driving the victim’s car, an older rmodel black Honda Civic, and saw paperwork in the name of Robert JessePurcell being removed from the car.

Photo courtesy Gwinnett County Police Department