PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Philadelphia man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend in 2021 has been arrested during a car stop in Atlanta, after years on the run.
According to authorities, police in Atlanta pulled over Justin Smith on Sunday for an expired tag. When they approached, sources said Smith gave them a fake name and date of birth. They said he was questioned about it and then took off. The chase ended in a foot pursuit and the 26-year-old was eventually taken into custody.
Smith is accused of killing his girlfriend Dianna Brice, who was three months pregnant. The 21-year-old Brice was reported missing to Upper Darby Police on March 30, 2021 by her mother. She was last seen getting into a car with Smith that very day.
On that same day, police said Smith’s car was found set on fire near 59th Street and Florence Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia. Brice’s body was found days later in a pile of debris at 5800 Eastwick Avenue, wrapped in a comforter and trash bags.
Officials said Smith was seen on surveillance video pulling his car into a Kensington garage, with another woman, Tylydia Garnett, bringing him trash bags and a comforter. Garnett admitted to then driving Smith down to Florida and pleaded guilty in 2023 to arson, abuse of corpse and hindering apprehension. She spent less than two years behind bars.
Homicide detectives and the FBI’s Violent Crime task force have been searching for Smith in Atlanta, as well as North Carolina, Las Vegas and Miami. He is being held in Atlanta and awaits his extradition hearing, to face murder charges in Philadelphia.