Man annoyed with his new roommate kills him over ‘living conditions’, Florida cops say

A man annoyed at his new roommate’s lifestyle resorted to killing him and tossing the body along the road in wooded area, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in western Florida.

Blood found at two crime scenes led detectives to charge Stanley Brown, 61, with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

The two men had lived together less than a week, officials said.

The victim, whose identity has not been release, was found around 8 a.m. Monday, June 13, by two people walking along Sophomore Lane in Fort Myers, the sheriff’s office said. Fort Myers is about 125 miles southeast of Tampa.

Investigators quickly determined the cause of death was “blunt force trauma” and that the victim had died recently in what sheriff officials called a brutal attack.

“The Major Crimes Unit reviewed video surveillance and conducted a door-to-door canvas, which led to a scene on Production Circle in Bonita Springs,” the sheriff’s office said.

“Detectives located a suspect vehicle at that scene, which had blood evidence inside. More blood evidence was detected inside of a building with the use of (forensic) luminol spray.”

DNA testing of blood samples from the various scenes linked the body to Brown’s vehicle, officials said.

Investigators described the two men as acquaintances but didn’t say how long they had known each other.

“They were roommates for less than a week before this incident occurred,” Sheriff Carmine Marceno said at a press conference.

“The reason is: Our suspect did not like the quote ‘living conditions’ with the deceased. So for some reason, whatever triggered it, ... the suspect did not like those living conditions, so he murdered his roommate.”

Details of a weapon in the crime or a time frame were not released. However, investigators believe the body had only been recently left along the road.

This story was originally published June 16, 2022 at 8:33 AM with the headline "Man annoyed with his new roommate kills him over ‘living conditions’, Florida cops say."