Tennessee Sex Offender Arrested as Suspect in Bikini Murder Case

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The registered sex offender arrested in connection with the bikini strangulation death of a Clemson University junior waived extradition Wednesday in a Jefferson County, Tenn. court.

Jerry Buck Inman, 35, will head back to South Carolina to face charges of murder, rape and kidnapping in connection with the death of Tiffany Marie Souers. Tennessee police arrested Inman during a traffic stop late Tuesday near his parents' home in Dandridge, Tenn., according to Jefferson County Sheriff David Davenport.

Warrants had been issued for Inman's arrest Tuesday and police had staked out the Dandridge residence of Inman's sister, 13th Circuit Solicitor Bob Ariail told The Greenville News on Wednesday. Ariail is prosecuting the case.

Inman was taken to county jail and no further details of his arrest were immediately available.

Click here for Jerry Inman's sex offender profile.

Prosecutors used DNA evidence to link Inman to Souers' Central, S.C., apartment, said Robert Stewart, division chief of the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division. Inman, a construction worker, is a registered sex offender in North Carolina and Florida.

The body of the 20-year-old civil engineering junior from Ladue, Mo., was discovered May 26 in her off-campus apartment, wearing only a bra with the bikini top still around her neck. Ariail said she was bound by her wrists and neck, which led to the kidnapping charge.

Souers' brother said he was smiling from ear-to-ear when he learned Inman had been arrested.

"I gave my mom a hug and she said she felt happy for the first time in a while," 16-year-old Trevor Souers said. "I was just really relieved."

The construction worker was registered as a sex offender in Florida in September after he was released from prison for kidnapping and sexual battery. He also was registered in North Carolina. His last address is listed as Dandridge, Tenn.

His mother, Vera McArthur, told The Greenville News earlier Tuesday that her son is bipolar and often suicidal, and had no idea South Carolina authorities were looking for him. She said he had been doing construction work in Tennessee and hasn't been in South Carolina recently as far as she knows.

"He just takes off and is gone a couple of days," McArthur told the newspaper.

Souers' father was impressed with how quickly authorities were able to capture Inman after they matched his DNA, which was announced Tuesday. "The speed was incredible," Jim Souers said.

The slaying shook the Clemson community. Tears began streaming down the face of Ashley Ellis, a 20-year-old business student, when she saw Inman's picture on TV.

"It could have been any one of us," Ellis said. "There hasn't been one night I haven't had a nightmare."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.