Man sentenced to 75 years in prison after body of rapper found dead in trunk of car in Florida

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — A man is facing decades in prison for the murder of a Virginia rapper whose body was found in the trunk of a car days after he was reported missing. 

Editor's Note: The video above was published on October 27, 2020. 

Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth said 27-year-old Robert Coltrain pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of 25-year-old Brian Trotter on June 28, 2022. Coltrain was sentenced to 75 years in prison with 30 of those years suspended on Friday. 

Trotter was reported missing by his family on October 17, 2020. His father says he gave his son a hug and told him goodbye before getting into a car with Coltain to go to D.C. It was the last time he would be seen alive. 

Nine days later, officers with the Florida Highway Patrol found a body decomposing in the trunk of a car after a crash in the Miami-Dade area. The body was later identified as Trotter.  

Coltrain was arrested in Hialeah, Florida. In court documents, Florida authorities described how a “continuous foul odor” led them to the discovery of Trotter’s body in the trunk of Coltrain’s Silver 2009 Acura.

Coltrain was eventually extradited back to Prince William County to stand trial for the murder where he pleaded guilty in 2022.

“This was such a troubling case because of the lack of motive and the friendship that the victim and defendant shared. My heart goes out to the Trotter family for the loss of their son," said Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth. "Although nothing will bring Brian back to his family, we can rest assured that justice has been served for his murder.”