Deputies: Man wanted in child’s 2019 murder in Hillsborough arrested in North Carolina
Previous booking photo for Claude Brooks. Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
TAMPA, Fla. - A man wanted in the 2019 murder of a young child in Hillsborough County was arrested in North Carolina Monday, investigators said.
Since 2021, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has been searching for 35-year-old Claude Brooks after they said he's responsible for a child's death.
He was caught and arrested in Pitt County, North Carolina and will be extradited to Hillsborough County for trial.
RELATED: Hillsborough deputies search for suspect accused of murdering child in 2019
Deputies said they spent more than a year investigating the death after first responders found the young child unresponsive in a home off of Sunset Drive in Tampa.
A family member found the child like that on December 30, 2019, according to HCSO.
After the child died at Brandon Regional Hospital, investigators said they conducted several interviews, collected forensic evidence and reviewed autopsy results.
They said the autopsy indicated the child sustained serious injuries.