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Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12

Man suspected in Cleveland woman’s September slaying returned from Texas

  photo  Bradley County Sheriff’s Office / Dayren Lopez-Roque, 41.
 
 

The Cleveland, Tennessee, man wanted in connection with the September slaying of a woman found dead in a home has been returned to Tennessee to face charges.

Dayren Lopez-Roque, 42, is back in custody on a charge of first-degree murder after being transferred from Texas, where he was arrested in Zavala County, about 30 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a news release from the Cleveland Police Department.

“Lopez-Roque was extradited back to Tennessee by the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office and is currently in custody at the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office Justice Center, awaiting trial for first-degree murder in the death of Dayana Garcia, age 25,” Cleveland police spokesperson Lt. Evie West said in a news release.

(READ MORE: Authorities now say woman was driving in crash that killed two Cleveland High students)

Garcia’s body was found Sept. 8 at a home on Northcrest Drive, near the intersection of North Ocoee Street and North Lee Highway, West said in the initial news release on Garcia’s death and the ensuing investigation. Police named Lopez-Roque as a suspect the day Garcia was found dead, and investigators determined her death was a homicide. He reportedly fled the state and turned up more than 1,100 miles away in South Texas.