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Justin Smith, 26, was arrested by the Atlanta Police Department on Sunday, March 9, after a high-speed vehicle pursuit turned into a desperate foot chase, police said. The Philadelphia man had been evading authorities since 2021, when investigators say he shot 21-year-old Dianna Brice, his girlfriend and the mother of his unborn child, in the head multiple times before dumping her body like trash in a wooded area.
Brice, who was three months pregnant, was reported missing to Upper Darby Police on March 30, 2021. She was last seen alive getting into Smith’s Ford Fusion that afternoon. Just hours later, his car was found engulfed in flames at the corner of Florence Avenue and Cobbs Creek Parkway in Southwest Philadelphia—but Brice was nowhere to be found. Her lifeless body, riddled with bullet wounds, was discovered five days later, dumped near the 5800 block of Eastwick Avenue, police said.
Investigators believe Smith executed Brice inside his car, then conspired with his accomplice, Tylydiah Garnett, to dispose of her remains and cover his tracks. Surveillance footage allegedly captured Garnett buying gasoline before Brice’s body was stuffed into a vehicle and discarded. Garnett was later arrested and charged with arson, abuse of a corpse, and conspiracy, authorities said.
Despite a national manhunt and a $25,000 FBI reward for his capture, Smith remained at large for nearly four years, with alleged connections in North Carolina, Delaware, Florida, and Georgia.
That changed on March 9, 2025, when Atlanta Police stopped a vehicle on the 800 block of Oak Street for an expired registration. Smith, who was behind the wheel, attempted to flee but was chased down and taken into custody after a dramatic pursuit, authorities said.
Smith is now facing murder charges and will be extradited to Philadelphia, where prosecutors are preparing to bring him to justice for Brice’s brutal execution. More details are expected to be released as the case progresses.
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