The 17-year-old boy accused early last month in the death of a 17-year-old girl in Tennessee will be tried as an adult.

Fernando Perales Mejia was arrested on July 6 and charged with the murder of Trinity Bostic, WSMV reported.

Bostic was reported missing in Macon County on June 29, as CrimeOnline reported. A Tennessee Department of Transportation subcontractor picking up trash along the side of a road in Hendersonville found human remains on July 3, and they were identified as Bostic’s two days later.

Mejia will now be transferred out of the juvenile system and into the custody of the sheriff’s office.

Bostic’s friends say Mejia was an ex-boyfriend, WTVF reported. Phone records showed that Mejia and Bostic were together on the day she went missing.

An autopsy revealed that Bostic was shot in the head, and police found a gun and a bag containing her belongings at Mejia’s home.

Mejia will make his first adult court appearance on September 27.

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[Featured image: Trinity Bostic/Hendersonville Police Department]