Troy Driver has been charged with the murder of 18-year-old Naomi Irion, investigators announced.
The body of Ms Irion was found in a remote region of Nevada on Thursday three weeks after she vanished from a Walmart parking lot near Reno.
A 41-year-old man arrested last week for kidnapping Ms Irion was charged with murder with a deadly weapon along with burglary and destruction of evidence after DNA evidence from the teen’s gravesite matched the suspect, according to News 4.
Mr Driver was allegedly seen in video surveillance getting into Ms Irion’s car in the Fernley parking lot, about 30 miles (48 kilometres) east of Reno, on 12 March.
He was booked on first-degree kidnapping before an anonymous tip led investigators to a gravesite where Ms Irion’s body was found on Tuesday.
An autopsy the next day confirmed her identity, but authorities have withheld the cause of death saying it could compromise the investigation.
“We would like to extend our sympathy and condolences to the Irion family and thank all the volunteers for their hard work in trying to find Naomi and bring closure to the family,” Churchill and Lyon County sheriff’s offices said in a joint press release.
Mr Driver remains in custody on a $750,000 bond and has not entered a plea.
