TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — A woman's body was found buried under a burn pit in Leander on Nov. 2, according to the Travis County Sheriff's Office (TCSO).
The sheriff's office said the suspect in the case, 52-year-old Peter Perius of Leander, is in custody and has been charged for allegedly driving without a license. Perius was also later charged with murder.
According to the TCSO, the investigation started on Oct. 31 after the sheriff's office received a tip reporting a homicide may have happened at a home in the 23000 block of Windy Valley Road.
Deputies said the person who reported the tip provided second-hand knowledge that a woman may have been killed and her body was still on the property.
The woman was identified by the TCSO on Nov. 8 as 36-year-old Natalie Rennee Pearce of Austin.
The affidavit stated that the person reporting the tip received information regarding the incident from her cousin, who is related to Perius. She was informed that Perius had picked up a woman in the Rundberg Lane area and brought her back to his home to get high on methamphetamine. An incident occurred between the two and "[Perius] beat the woman until she died ... [and] then wrapped the woman in a tarp and reached out to a family member to help him with the body."
Detectives launched an investigation to corroborate the information provided, determining soon after that the information was credible and that a murder had happened.
The affidavit stated that Detective Boland with TCSO reached out to Perius' nephew to confirm the details. The nephew stated that he was at Perius' home on Oct. 13 and was told by Perius to look under a tarp, where Pearce had been wrapped in for two days. The nephew left Perius' home shortly after being told the information because it "was freaking him out due to the way he [Perius] was acting and the things he [Perius] was telling him," the affidavit reported.
Detectives were instructed that Perius had met with Pearce in an H-E-B parking lot on North Lamar and then drove to the Cash America Pawn, also on North Lamar, where the two went inside and spoke to a few customers before leaving and going to Perius' home. Management at the Cash America Pawn location confirmed to TCSO that Perius was there with a woman that was seemingly "under the influence of narcotics" and continually entered and exited the store, the affidavit stated.
Perius was seen driving a gold Suburban when he left the Cash America Pawn store, and it was later discovered at his home. TCSO deputies conducted a traffic stop, discovering that the Suburban had an expired registration and Perius was driving on a suspended license, the affidavit confirmed.
When Perius was interviewed by TCSO detectives, he informed them that his nephew and the person who submitted the tip was making it up and lying. Later in the interview, Perius was asked about the tarp and the various text messages sent to his nephew regarding Pearce.
The affidavit stated that detectives looked at the messages and read them aloud, stating that Perius was upset and asked his nephew to help him clean up, and "did not want to spend the second half of his life in prison."
Perius' nephew responded to him stating Perius kept "his mind straight and mouth shut and do what was needed," the documents detailed.
A search warrant was secured after the interview with Perius and the property was searched on Thursday, leading officials to the body of Pearce, who was wrapped in a blue tarp. An autopsy was conducted on Nov. 3, officials said.
The TCSO said this is the 12th homicide it has investigated this year.
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