Gatlinburg police say a 16-year-old girl who was first reported missing after a triple homicide in Buncombe County, North Carolina, was found at a hotel in Tennessee with a 28-year-old man.
Authorities said the teenage girl and Devan Loving, 28, now each face three counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
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Investigators said three family members were found shot to death inside a Fairview, North Carolina, home. Both suspects were taken into custody in Gatlinburg and are expected to be extradited to North Carolina.
Gatlinburg police arrested the pair in a room at a Motel 6.
"We were in contact with authorities in North Carolina to get their information on what we were getting involved in," said Chief Ronnie Barrett with the Gatlinburg Police Department.
Barrett said the man and teenager had been in the Motel 6 "a while."
"We do suspect they were there four or five days at least," Barrett said.
He said the door to the motel room was locked, so officers forced their way inside. The suspects were found in a bed, he said, before officers pulled them out and separated them.
Loving went before a Tennessee judge and indicated he may not fight extradition back to Asheville to face the charges.
"I figure I should go back to North Carolina," he said.