Florida man accused of killing married man he met on dating app
A Florida man who was charged with murder over the weekend is accused of killing another man after meeting him through a dating app, authorities said Sunday.
Michael Harris Jr., 20, was first connected to the crime when detectives searching for a missing Daytona Beach man found the victim’s car with the suspect in the nearby city of Deland. Authorities then recovered bloody fingerprints in the vehicle linking Harris to the murder.
The victim, identified as 63-year-old Bobby Scott, had been reported missing by his husband on Jan. 17, the same day he and Harris had agreed to meet up, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Scott was never heard from again and his cellphone was found abandoned in Deland.
When he was questioned by detectives two days after Scott went missing, Harris reportedly said the victim had loaned him the car but had not contacted him since. Scott’s husband, who told deputies the couple was in an “open relationship,” said his partner “never loaned his vehicle to anyone,” authorities said.
Scott’s body was finally found on Sunday, a week after he went missing and a day after Harris’ arrest. Authorities have not released the cause of death or any other details about the case as the investigation is still active.
Harris was charged with second-degree murder with a deadly weapon and was being held at the Volusia County Jail.