Golden Gate Estates man arrested for murder after body found buried on property

A Golden Gate Estates man has been arrested and faces a second-degree murder charge after a body was discovered buried on his property.

On Thursday, Collier County Sheriff’s detectives were given information on a Collier County man who had previously been reported missing by a relative.

A witness told detectives that Michael Allen Pritchard, 35, confessed to having shot the missing man, who is described as disabled, and to burying his body next to his house.

Detectives searched Pritchard’s home and surrounding property on 10th Avenue NE, where they discovered the body of the missing man buried in a shallow grave near the home, as described by the witness.

CCSO is not releasing Pritchard’s address because it could identify the victim, whose identity is protected under Marsy’s Law, a voter-approved amendment to Florida’s constitution that protects victims of crime.

According to an arrest report for Pritchard, the victim was a tenant of Pritchard’s who paid to live in the home.

The arrest report also mistakenly states that Pritchard is an employee of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, but a spokeswoman said, “for clarification, the suspect does not work at the Collier County Sheriff’s Office (and never has). The employment information was entered erroneously on this report.”

Pritchard, who “has a history of erratic and violent behavior,” told witnesses he shot the man because “he caught him masturbating into Pritchard’s girlfriend’s underwear,” according to the arrest report.

Neighbors in the area say they were scared of Pritchard and that deputies were at his home often.

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