GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - A man has been arrested in connection with a 2012 slaying just moments after he had been released from prison, police said.
Jack Leon Coker Jr., 27, who was arrested Tuesday, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Paula Joy Nicks, 33, whose body was found behind a church, Greensboro police said in a news release on Wednesday.
Police said Nicks died of blunt force trauma.
Greensboro police spokesman Ron Glenn said Coker was released from state prison on Tuesday, where he was serving a sentence following his conviction in 2015 for attempted second-degree rape in Kinston. His arrest came within moments of his release, according to Glenn.
Glenn said new information led detectives to Coker, who was living in Greensboro in 2012 when Nicks was killed. Glenn said he could not discuss details about the new information given to detectives or how it was obtained.
Police said family members identified Nicks in September 2012 after seeing her composite sketch in local media.
Coker was jailed without bond and was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. Online records didn’t indicate whether he had an attorney.
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