Inset: Collan Lee Carter (Shelby County Sheriff's Office). Background: The apartment building where Carter allegedly killed his neighbor (Google Maps).
A Tennessee man is accused of stabbing his neighbor to death, then living just one building away as her body decomposed inside her apartment for more than a week before a welfare check led police to the grisly discovery.
Collan Lee Carter, 48, was taken into custody and charged with one count of first-degree murder in the slaying of Tresa Long, court records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by the Memphis Police Department, officers responded to a request for a welfare check shortly after 1:30 a.m. on April 6 at The Villages Apartments on Jackson Avenue in Memphis after concerns were raised about Long's well-being.
When they arrived, first responders said they immediately smelled a "foul odor" coming from her locked apartment. After the Memphis Fire Department forced entry, officers found Long's "badly decomposed" body in a bedroom. Investigators said there were no signs of forced entry into the apartment.
The West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center ruled Long's death a homicide after an autopsy determined she suffered seven to 10 stab wounds to her neck.
Investigators turned to surveillance footage covering Long's apartment door and traced her final known movements. According to the affidavit, cameras captured a man wearing a distinctive black, red and white hoodie with the number "23" on the front leaving Long's apartment at about 3:02 a.m. on March 29 before walking to another apartment in the same complex.
Through leasing records, detectives identified that apartment as belonging to Carter, then matched him to the man seen on video using police databases, the affidavit says.
Investigators continued reviewing surveillance footage through March 31 and later through April 6. During that time, they watched as people repeatedly knocked on Long's door, which was never answered, despite untouched packages piling up outside. Authorities said there were no other signs of life coming from the apartment after the man they identified as Carter was seen leaving.
After obtaining a search warrant for Carter's apartment, detectives took him into custody for questioning.
Carter allegedly admitted he was the man wearing the distinctive clothing captured on surveillance but denied ever going inside Long's apartment, even after investigators confronted him with the footage.
Detectives also said Carter volunteered a critical detail that had never been made public.
Carter allegedly told investigators he "heard that Tresa Long was stabbed multiple times," despite authorities not releasing that information before the interview.
Local residents told Memphis CBS affiliate WREG they had no idea a homicide had occurred in the complex until Carter's arrest months later.
One neighbor told the station he remembered officers canvassing the building after Long's body was found but did not know another tenant had become the prime suspect. Another resident said the case underscored how valuable surveillance cameras can be in solving violent crimes, while others expressed shock that someone accused of such a killing had allegedly remained living nearby.
Police have not announced a motive for the slaying or explained why it took several months to bring charges against Carter.
Carter remains in detention at the Shelby County Jail without bond. He was scheduled to make his initial court appearance Thursday, while his second appearance is scheduled for July 29, records show.
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