‘Somebody killed my brother’: Suicide deemed homicide as divers search Sanford lake for clues

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Dive teams from three counties were out searching the waters of Lake Monroe in Sanford on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The search has to do with a missing persons case in Orange County that results in what was first ruled a suicide.

The body off Bernard Morton, 69, was found in Lake Monroe on Jan. 17. There was no obvious signs of foul play. But upon further investigation by the medical examiner, they have ruled it a homicide.

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Morton’s brother Robert Morton, Sr., said he never believed his brother killed himself. He believes dive crews were searching Lake Monroe for his brother’s cell phone.

“Hopefully they’ll find who did this to my brother, because they were treating it as a suicide until the medical examiner determined it was an actual homicide,” Morton said.

Morton said he and his family have been frustrated by the investigation into his brother’s case.

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It started on Dec. 10 as a missing person’s report in Orange County.

According to the incident report, Bernard Morton’s wife reported the two had a fight on Dec. 5. He left and then returned the next day to retrieve his cell phone and wallet.

That was the last time she saw her husband.

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His car was found at Fort Mellon Park in Sanford weeks after he was reported missing. On Jan. 17, two kayakers discovered his body floating in Lake Monroe. The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office then took control of the case, and it is now being treated as a homicide.

“All the pertinent evidence is gone, and I’m not accusing anybody but somebody killed my brother,” Morton said.

Kyle Krumm, Keith Silverman and Grant Rowars launched their kayaks from the Sanford marina on Jan. 17 for a short trip up the river.

They found some buzzards and noticed immediately what was attracting them: The three friends discovered what would eventually be identified as the body of Morton.

Hear what the kayakers said in the video below:

VIDEO: Kayakers discover body in Lake Monroe in Sanford

Morton’s body had decomposed from the water.

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A spokesperson for the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said as soon as they received word from the medical examiner that Morton may be the victim of a homicide, their investigation into his death ramped up.

Homicide investigators have been searching for clues ever since. It’s now known if dive teams found what they were searching for.

Husband charged in death of wife initially blamed on botched home invasion (NCD)

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