Police arrested an Atlanta cop at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Aug. 28 for allegedly killing a woman he met online. Tahreem Zeus Rana, 23, met Vernicia Woodard on Backspace.com, a website used to facilitate romantic meetings.
A city employee found Woodard’s body on August 22. Police believe Rana took his 26-year-old victim to a secluded area and shot her several times. Rana, then, set fire to Woodard’s body in an attempt to destroy evidence. Authorities linked the Atlanta cop to the crime through Woodard’s phone records.
Police allowed Rana, who had been placed on a no-fly list, to go through airport security to ensure that he wasn’t armed when they arrested him. He was en route to Mexico in an attempt to flee the United States.
Rana, who was on the police force for three years with no history of disciplinary action, will face kidnapping, murder, and arson charges. He is due in court on Friday.
Woodward was mother to an 8-year-old daughter.