It's not how Eric Hornbeck thought he'd spend his lunch break, Sunday. “There’s been occasional break ins to cars but never anything fire arm related,” he said.
Hornbeck arrived home in the middle of the afternoon to find a crime scene unfolding just doors away. “There were about 10 cop cars here. They had to ask what I was doing here and needed to see my ID to let me through,” he explained.
Spring Hill Police ID Fatal Shooting Suspect
Inside the garage of a home two doors down, Spring Hill police found the body of Phillip Pero, 35, of Hohenwald. His suspected killer, James Rush Huddleston, 34, of Murfreesboro, took off in a 1997 red Cadillac Seville.
“They moved in about a month ago and from what I remember that Cadillac has been here pretty much since they moved in the house,” said Hornbeck.
We learned from Pero's close friend that he was at the Spring Hill home visiting his girlfriend, who we learned lived there with her sister and mother.
“I wish it didn’t have to go this way. I wish there was a way some violence could’ve been avoided,” said Hornbeck.
“He didn’t like to argue, didn’t see the point in it,” Clesha Seiber said.
Seiber has known Pero for years and cannot understand what events led to his death. “Why Phillip, he couldn't’t have done anything to deserve this,” she said.
Seiber told us his daughter will turn 17 years old on Tuesday. His young son is still in grade school. Pero's friends describe him as kind, outgoing and friendly. He's a man that will be missed by many. "I will miss him every day for the rest of my life," Seiber said.
Pero's suspected killer, James Huddleston, was added to TBI's Top 10 Most Wanted list Monday afternoon. He's believed to be driving a 1997 red Cadillac Seville. Call authorities if you see Huddleston.
