No bond for Golden Gate Estates man who shot victim, then buried him

Reporter: Tiffany Rizzo Writer: Melissa Montoya
Published:
Michael Pritchard. Credit: Collier County Sheriff’s Office

A man accused of killing a roommate and burying him in his backyard will remain in jail with no bond.

Michael Allen Pritchard, 35, who was arrested on Friday had his first appearance hearing on Saturday morning.

Judge Kyle S. Cohen presided over the hearing.

Collier County Sheriff’s Det. Dean Fredericks testified that the cause of the death for the victim was a gunshot wound to the head.

Fredericks said Pritchard owns firearms in the home that will be analyzed.

According to a prosecutor, Pritchard told the victim’s brother that he kicked the victim out but it wasn’t true.

Pritchard did not appear in court, but an attorney spoke on his behalf.

Cohen ordered that Pritchard relinquish his guns.

Pritchard, of Golden Gate Estates, is accused of killing his roommate after he found the man “masturbating into Pritchard’s girlfriend’s underwear,” according to an arrest report.

Pritchard, according to the report, confessed to the killing to at least one witness.

He was taken into custody after detectives found the body buried in a shallow grave on his property on 10th Avenue NE.

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