On the afternoon of June 2, 2018, at approximately 2:23 p.m., the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office received a call from an employee of the Rousseau Farms located near Glendale Avenue and the 303 freeway. The employee was out checking the irrigation canal on a large corn field when he found a body wrapped in a blanket.
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Deputies responded and confirmed the object in the blanket was that of a deceased adult male. MCSO Homicide detectives were called out, responded and assumed the investigation. The body was identified as that of 56 year old Tim Harnack.
Detectives gathered evidence at the scene and started following leads in an attempt to determine the cause surrounding the death of Tim Harnack. Evidence gathered at the scene and tips from the community helped detectives identify and confirm their main suspect to be Katrina Mitchell. Based on information detectives received Tim and Katrina knew each other and they were friends.
On June 4, 2018 at about 8:00 a.m., the Phoenix Police Department responded to a neighborhood in Phoenix after receiving a call about a suspicious vehicle, which turned out to be that of the decedent. MCSO detectives executed a search warrant on the vehicle and found that there was a large amount of blood in the rear compartment. There was also evidence from the vehicle that matched evidence at the crime scene.
On Friday, at approximately 10:54 a.m., detectives arrested 20 year old suspect Katrina Mitchell for the murder of Tim Harnack and booked her into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office 4th Avenue Jail on one count of murder 1st degree and one count abandoned/concealed dead body/parts. Her initial appearance was scheduled for 2:00 a.m., on June 16.