Investigators quickly ruled out suicide and identified Howard as a suspect. They believe he stabbed her multiple times in the 45 minutes before their arrival, according to his arrest warrant.

Howard was located the following day in Lenoir City, Tennessee, Dallas police said.

According to the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee, traffic cameras picked up Howard’s vehicle in the area, and his phone was tracked to a home on Get Good Hollow Road. He tried to leave the property when deputies arrived and led them and Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers on a brief pursuit before being taken into custody, the sheriff’s office said.

Howard has since been extradited to Georgia and was booked into the Paulding County jail Thursday.

“On behalf of our entire agency, we would like to thank the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and all members of the community who assisted us during our investigation,” Dallas police Chief Joseph Duval said in a statement Friday.

— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.