Yhoana Arteaga Murder: Neighbor Arrested In 'Brutal' August Murder Of Goodlettsville 12-Year-Old

NASHVILLE, TN — A 45-year-old man was arrested Thursday for the August 10 murder of 12-year-old Yhoana Arteaga in a Goodlettsville mobile home park.

Roy Coons, 45, is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of felony murder, attempted rape of a child and especially aggravated burglary. He is being held without bond. Coons lived two doors from Arteaga, police said, and has been convicted of more than 30 felonies and misdemeanors since 1992.

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Arteaga was found in distress by her mother on the floor of her family's mobile home on Old Dickerson Pike around 6:30 August 10. After a 911 call, first responders were unable to resuscitate her and declared her dead at the scene.

"The autopsy determined she died as a report of strangulation...and blunt force trauma," Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron said at a news conference Monday at the Midtown Hills police precinct. "This case remains very sensitive ... we are very limited in additional information we can give you."

MNPD Chief Steve Anderson said that Coons was "brought to our attention" early in the investigation and "has been monitored from that time forward."

“This afternoon, we have been able to bring about relief to the Old Dickerson Pike neighborhood and Nashville as a whole. I am grateful to our team of detectives, crime scene experts, and importantly, the scientists in the TBI and MNPD crime laboratories for the countless hours of work on this case since August 10,” he said.

Scientific evidence linked Coons to the murder, Aaron said.

At an August news conference, veteran MNPD Sgt. David Kautzman said "I've never seen anything this brutal in my entire career."

There was no indication of forced entry into the mobile home and during a conversation with her mother before her murder, Arteaga said someone was knocking on the door. Arteaga had been staying home from Liberty Collegiate School due to a roller-skating injury.

This is a developing story. Stay with Patch for updates.

Image via Metro Nashville Police