MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man has been convicted of first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence after his roommate was killed, decapitated and left stuffed in a suitcase, prosecutors say.

The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office says on December 12, 2021, Julian Summers struck the victim, Bruce Jefferies, in the head with a hammer while he slept in their apartment on Cleveland Street in Midtown.

After the attack, they say Summers decapitated Jefferies with a knife, cleaned up the crime scene, and placed Jefferies’ body inside of a suitcase.

Summers was caught on surveillance video dragging the heavy suitcase through the Broadmoor Apartments toward the dumpster, leaving a trail of blood behind it. The DA’s office says when Summers could not put the suitcase in the first dumpster, he went to another location.

The remains were discovered later that night. The body was positively identified as Jefferies on December 20.

According to the DA’s office, Summers was apprehended and admitted to the crime 16 days later.

Jefferies was 63 at the time of the crime. Summers was 30.

During the trial, the jury viewed a recorded statement of Summers confessing to the murder, but the D.A.’s office said Summers provided conflicting testimony during his trial with a different version of events than his initial statement.

When Summers raised the issue of his mental state at the time when he confessed, the state presented a rebuttal witness from the West Tennessee Mental Health Institute who attested to his competency and asserted that Summers was malingering — exaggerating mental health symptoms.

The jury returned a verdict on Friday, February 16. Court records show Summers faces sentencing on March 7.