By Phil Benson, KPHO-TV

An arrest has been made in the 2012 murder of Stateline’s Matthew McMaster.

Vrouyr Manoukian, 22, was taken into custody without incident and booked into jail May 31 on a charge of second-degree murder.

The burned body of the 24-year-old McMaster was found July 28, 2012, along a highway in Phoenix.

A witness saw a Jeep SUV pulling a small trailer behind it fleeing from the scene of the fire, police said.

Vroury Manoukian

The medical examiner’s autopsy determined McMasters died from blunt force trauma to the head. Police connected the body to a missing person’s report.

McMaster had been living with Manoukian and Randall Lee Young. Family members said the victim, Manoukian and Young had been in a fight. Manoukian allegedly broke it up by striking McMasters in the head, family members said.

Police arrived at the home and saw a Jeep SUV and trailer matching the description given by the witness. Manoukian and Young were taken into custody for questioning.

Officers said the men placed McMasters on a love seat on the patio in the fenced backyard. Young talked Manoukian out of calling an ambulance, investigators said.

Manoukian admitted that the furniture recovered from the fire scene in the desert belonged to him, police said.

A search warrant was obtained and served on the home. Blood stains were found in the back of the Jeep SUV registered to Manoukian. The blood was sent to the lab and was matched to the victim, police said.

A cigar found near the burned body was analyzed for DNA. The profiles were traced back to Manoukian and Young, investigators said.

Investigators said they were able to tie Manoukian’s vehicle to the crime scene. Blood and several gas cans were recovered at the home.

The investigation is ongoing.