MELBOURNE, Fla. – Melbourne police arrested a man Tuesday who they said killed his roommate with a wooden elephant statue last month.
Police said the victim Michael Barlow was found dead in his Palmetto Avenue home on March 22 by his two roommates. Investigators determined that Barlow had died on March 18 from blunt force trauma to the head.
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Detectives arrested Barlow’s roommate, Roger Goodrich, 57, Wednesday after an interview with Barlow’s other roommate, who told investigators about a “large, heavy, wooden elephant statue” in their living room, according to the arrest report.
Goodrich used the object to kill his roommate on the morning of March 18, according to the arrest report.
Police said they found probable cause to believe that Goodrich killed Barlow.
He was booked into the Brevard County Jail. Barlow is charged with first-degree premeditated murder and one charge of felony contempt of court.