Father Shoots And Buries Daughter's Boyfriend After Suspecting Him Of Abuse; Arrested

A man who suspected his daughter's boyfriend of being physically abusive towards her is accused of murdering him in Minnesota. The victim's body was found with a gunshot wound in a makeshift grave, four days later.

Michael Lee Laflex, 45, was arrested after the body of 23-year-old Bryce Brogle was found in a makeshift gravesite in Crow Wing County, Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Wednesday.

Brogle was seen entering a storage unit with Laflex on Oct. 26. His girlfriend reported him missing on Oct. 28 and told deputies that he was last seen "going to a storage unit rented by her father," court documents stated.

Armed with a search warrant, investigators went through the storage unit on Oct. 29 and found signs of a possible crime scene. The presence of blood was found on the concrete floor along with a bottle of bleach.

There were also marks on the floor that seemed consistent with something being "dragged across the floor in a similar width to a sled," deputies said.

A public piece of land was searched on Oct. 30 and the missing boyfriend's body was discovered in a makeshift gravesite, with a gunshot wound on the back of his head.

Laflex initially told investigators that Brogle was arrested by cops and his cell phones were taken. He later changed his story and said he threw Brogle's cell phones in the garbage can of a gas station.

The landlord of the residence where Brogle and his girlfriend stayed had contacted the sheriff's office and spoke about a conversation he had with Laflex, ABC 13 reported.

When Laflex asked whether Brogle had hurt his daughter, the landlord said he saw her with two black eyes. The father then allegedly told the landlord he was going to kill Brogle and had already dug a hole out for him, according to the statement given to the sheriff's office.

The father had also informed a family member "that he had disposed of the body and that ... Brogle would not be found as the body had been buried," the sheriff's office said.

An autopsy confirmed that the excavated body belonged to Brogle and determined the cause of death to be a gunshot wound to the head.

Laflex was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He is being held in jail on a $2 million bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 15.