MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man is charged with second-degree murder after Memphis Police say he beat and fatally shot his co-worker.
According to reports, on February 4, the Memphis Fire Department found a man inside a silver GMC in the 900 block of South Greer Street.
The man had multiple wounds on his head and face from blunt force trauma. He also had a gunshot wound to the face. He was pronounced dead on the scene, police say.
While on the scene, investigators learned that the victim was on the phone with his acquaintance during the time of the incident. According to her, her boyfriend got into an argument with a man over money. It sounded like the victim laid down the phone and got into a physical fight.
The victim’s acquaintance said the man he was fighting was someone he had been working with for the last two days.
On February 5, investigators went back to the original crime scene. A man stated that the victim was remodeling a house for him. The homeowner told police that he found blood in the house’s front room.
MPD says they found a bloody camouflaged jacket, hammer and other bloody clothing in a stripped vehicle at an abandoned house near the crime scene. The camo jacket had the name “Wurth” sewn into it.
On February 6, investigators got video footage from a grocery store that showed a man wearing the camo jacket on February 3. The man was seen getting out of the victim’s car, with the victim driving. Police say they found out that the man was Derek Rawlings.
On February 7, officers went to the home of Rawling’s mother. She identified the man wearing the camo jacket as her son, Derek Rawlings.
Derek was charged with second-degree murder. He is set to appear in court Friday morning.