Officials in Cochise County say a man was discovered dead on the evening of July 12 near a homeless camp in the southern part of the county, close to the Arizona–Mexico border. Bisbee Police were alerted just before 8 p.m. about a possible body in or near a homeless encampment located south of Highway 92 behind a business center. When officers arrived, they searched the area and located an individual who was not breathing; county investigators later determined the death to be a homicide.
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Booking photo released by Cochise County authorities of the 52-year-old man arrested on a murder charge after a body was found near a homeless camp on July 12.
Law enforcement agencies that responded to the scene included the Bisbee Police Department and personnel from the Cochise County Sheriff's Office. According to the sheriff's office, its investigators took charge of the inquiry after officers from Bisbee located the body. The sheriff's office later classified the death as a homicide; however, officials have not released the identity of the person found at the camp. At the time of the initial notification to police, dispatchers were told the possible body was in or near a homeless camp immediately south of Highway 92 and behind a business center, and officers conducted a search of that area upon arrival.
In the hours following the discovery, police located and detained a suspect. The sheriff's office and Bisbee Police identified the man taken into custody as 52-year-old Miklejon Nelson, who is described in arrest records as homeless. Nelson was found in a Bisbee neighborhood at 11:13 p.m. on July 12 and was arrested by Bisbee officers. He was subsequently booked into the Cochise County Jail on a murder charge and, according to jail records provided by authorities, is being held without bail.
Investigators have released limited information about the circumstances that led to the death. Beyond confirming the discovery around 8 p.m., the time of the arrest later that night and the name and age of the person arrested, officials have not provided additional details about how the victim sustained injuries, whether there were witnesses, or what may have led to the fatal incident. The Cochise County Sheriff's Office is the lead agency identified in the case and carried out the investigation that resulted in the homicide determination.
Authorities have not made public the identity of the deceased. No further identifying information about the victim has been released, and officials have not provided a timeline of events leading up to the discovery beyond the times reported for the initial alert to police and for the subsequent arrest. The scene was described in initial reports as being in or near a homeless encampment located just south of Highway 92 behind a business center in the Bisbee area.
The arrest and the homicide determination were confirmed by investigators after the on-scene response and follow-up work by the Cochise County Sheriff's Office. Arrest records show the suspect was taken into custody late the same evening the body was found and taken to the county jail on a murder charge. Booking photographs have been released by county authorities showing the man booked in connection with the case, and local law enforcement agencies involved in the response were identified as Bisbee Police and the Cochise County Sheriff's Office.
Officials say the person arrested is being held without bail at the Cochise County Jail. Beyond that status and the charge of murder, details about court dates, any formal charging documents, or other procedural steps have not been released in the information provided to the public. The limited public statements available identify the date and time the body was reported, the location near the homeless camp south of Highway 92, the later arrest of the 52-year-old suspect in a Bisbee neighborhood at 11:13 p.m., and the booking of that individual on a murder charge.
The facts released by law enforcement are confined to those points: a body was reported and located just before 8 p.m. on July 12 near a homeless encampment south of Highway 92 behind a business center; the Cochise County Sheriff's Office investigated and ruled the death a homicide; 52-year-old Miklejon Nelson, described as homeless, was found and arrested at 11:13 p.m. in a Bisbee neighborhood; he was booked into the Cochise County Jail on a murder charge and is being held without bail; and the identity of the victim has not been disclosed. No additional details about the circumstances of the incident have been released by authorities.
KGUN 9 reported that the victim was an unhoused man, though authorities have not publicly identified the deceased as the Cochise County Sheriff's Office investigation continues.
Officers searching the area located the man’s body in a camping space that contained a tent and other personal items.
The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office conducted multiple interviews during the follow-up investigation, which investigators say led them to identify the camp resident, Miklejon Nelson, as a suspect.