A Minnesota dad allegedly killed his daughter’s boyfriend before burying him in a makeshift grave – after he suspected his daughter was being abused.
A man named Michael Lee Laflex, 45, has been charged with second-degree intentional homicide in the death of Bryce Brogle, whose body was found Sunday.
Brogle, 23, went missing on Oct. 28 after his daughter reported it to police that she hadn’t heard from him since two days earlier when he went to a storage unit with her father.
A subsequent search of the storage unit resulted in blood and bleach being found on the concrete floor, as well as drag marks.
An anonymous “concerned citizen” reported to investigators that Laflex previously told a relative that Brogle was abusing his child, according to a probable cause statement filed Nov. 1.
In addition to admitting to shooting Brogle, the family member told the reporter that Laflex had moved his body with a sled, saying he “would not be found.”
Moreover, Brogle’s landlord told police that the dad had called him recently asking if his tenant had harmed his daughter.
After the landlord told Laflex he had seen her with two black eyes, Laflex replied that he was going to kill Brogle and had already dug the hole.
Laflex was booked into Crow Wing County Jail on Saturday, and Brogle’s body was found the following day during a foot search. Where exactly his remains were found is unclear.
According to the Brainerd Dispatch, an autopsy revealed that he had been shot in the back of the head.
Currently, Laflex is being held on an unconditional bail of $2 million.
Brainerd Police Department arrest records indicate that this is not Laflex’s first run-in with the law. In September 2018, he pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal sexual conduct after being accused of having homosexual relations with a vulnerable adult with a developmental disability.
It was claimed that the mentally impaired victim refused to have sex with Laflex, but later agreed at his own urging. His trial set for late September was canceled after the judge granted a stay of proceedings.