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Man accused of killing victim found in orchard Police: Elkin, Terry were acquaintances By CHRIS BRISTOL A Phoenix man has been arrested in connection with the baffling death of a man whose car apparently had been stolen twice by the time his body was found in an orchard last week. Michael Edwin Terry, 29, was taken into custody Monday and charged with the murder of Kevin Steven Elkin. A prosecutor said the men knew each other and that Elkin, 39, died from a kick to the head. In court Tuesday, Terry was arraigned on charges of murder and car theft. He was assigned a court-appointed attorney, and did not enter a plea. He remained in the Jackson County Jail without bail. Jackson County Judge Patricia Crain set a preliminary hearing for next Tuesday. Prosecutors expect an indictment by then, which would offset the need for a hearing. The arrest capped an intensive six-day investigation that began Nov. 3 when a worker at the Crystal Springs Orchard west of Phoenix discovered the body. Jackson County sheriff's deputies mustered a multi-agency task force, which began looking for Elkin's yellow Camaro. An autopsy revealed Elkin died from "blunt force trauma" to the head. The case took a strange twist when detectives learned that firefighters had responded to reports that Elkin's Camaro had crashed into a ditch Oct. 31 -- a half-mile from the orchard -- and was still there two days later. It was gone by the time the body was found, only to be found a day later near the Rogue Valley Livestock Auction at Vilas and Table Rock roads. Authorities now say Terry stole the car after killing Elkin and abandoned it in the ditch, where it was then stolen again. Deputy District Attorney Allan Smith said a man and a boy who allegedly stole the car from the ditch have been cleared of involvement in the homicide. "Basically they stole a stolen car," he said. "It was a coincidence (that) didn't have much to do with this case." Details in the homicide case remain sketchy. Smith said Elkin and Terry were acquaintances and that witness statements and evidence found in the orchard linked Terry to the crime. "We had a lot of leads and a lot of possible suspects," he said without elaborating. Authorities believe Elkin died on Oct. 31, the day his car crashed into the ditch. According to court records, Terry is no stranger to the police or the courts. In fact, court records show that he pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge on Nov. 4 -- the day after Elkin's body was found. A judge put him on 18 months' probation and ordered 40 hours of community service. Court records also show that Terry has two recent convictions for domestic violence involving his then-girlfriend, who obtained a restraining order against him last year. In an affidavit, the woman accused Terry of attacking her several times and said he had threatened to kill her more than once. "He has been involved with speed, which appears to make him violent and aggressive," she wrote. "Speed" is slang for methamphetamine. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA