Man Convicted of First Degree Murder and Abuse of a Corpse After Beheading Roommate

Shelby County, TN— Julian Summers was convicted of First-Degree Murder and Abuse of a Corpse for the death of Bruce Jefferies. On December 12, 2021, Summers assaulted Jefferies, striking him in the head with a hammer while Jefferies slept in their shared apartment. Following the brutal attack, Summers proceeded to decapitate Mr. Jefferies with a knife. After cleaning up the crime scene, Summers placed Jefferies's lifeless body into a suitcase.

Surveillance footage captured Summers dragging the heavy suitcase through Broadmoor Apartments towards a dumpster, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. Unable to dispose of the evidence at the first dumpster, he carried it to another location. Concerned citizens and officers discovered Mr. Jefferies's remains later that night. Summers was apprehended and admitted to the crime 16 days after the incident.

During the trial, the jury viewed a recorded statement in which Summers confessed to the murder. However, he provided a conflicting testimony during the trial, offering a different version of events than his initial statement to the police three years earlier. The defendant raised the issue of his mental state at the time of the confession. In response, the state presented a rebuttal witness from West Tennessee Mental Health Institute who attested to the defendant's competency and asserted that Summers was malingering—exaggerating mental health symptoms.

The jury deliberated and returned a verdict on Friday, February 16. Regina Lucreziano and Katie Ratton prosecuted the case.