BRAINERD, Minn. — A Brainerd man is facing murder charges after he was accused of killing and burying his daughter's boyfriend, who he believed was abusing her.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Crow Wing County District Court, 43-year-old Michael Laflex has been charged with second-degree murder — with intent — three days after a missing person's report was received by the county sheriff's office.
Laflex's daughter filed the report, informing law enforcement that her boyfriend had not returned after visiting a storage unit rented by her father.
The complaint says that during the investigation, a "concerned citizen" — who wished to remain anonymous — told authorities they had spoken off and on with a family member of Laflex throughout Friday evening. The concerned citizen claimed to know that Laflex had disclosed details of the alleged murder to that family member.
Court documents went on to say Laflex told the family member he believed his daughter's boyfriend had been abusing her, and he shot the boyfriend Wednesday inside a storage unit.
Laflex tried to clean up the unit with bleach and also informed the family member that the body couldn't be found since he buried it, the complaint states.
According to prosecutors, the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office had received a call from the landlord of Laflex's daughter and her boyfriend during the investigation. The landlord told police they had seen Laflex's daughter with "two black eyes," the charges state.
The criminal complaint says Laflex told the landlord that he was going to kill his daughter's boyfriend and "already had the hole dug."
Investigators executed a search warrant on Saturday inside the storage unit, and found blood and a bottle of bleach, the charges say.
On Sunday, law enforcement searched for Laflex's daughter's boyfriend. The complaint says a body — with a gunshot wound to the back of the head — was recovered and taken to a local medical examiner's office for an autopsy. The autopsy confirmed the identity of Laflex's daughter's boyfriend, who died from a "distant gunshot wound" to the head.
Laflex's first court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.
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