2 charged with murder after body found in car trunk at Palmetto park, deputies say
Two men are under arrest on murder charges after Palmetto police officers found a body in the trunk of a car early Sunday morning, deputies say.
Officers with the Palmetto Police Department were patrolling the Palmetto Estuary Nature Preserve when they found 32-year-old Manuel Escobar shot dead in the trunk of a car at around 2 a.m. Sunday, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies with the sheriff’s office arrested 25-year-old Freddy Sandoval on Monday in connection with the shooting and issued a second-degree murder arrest warrant for Idus Murkerson, 20.
Shortly after announcing the search for Murkerson, the sheriff’s office announced the Florida Highway Patrol Florida Highway Patrol arrested Murkerson Monday morning in Santa Rosa County in North Florida.
Homicide detectives said they determined Murkerson shot Escobar in East Bradenton in an argument over money on Saturday. Escobar’s body was later left in an abandoned car at the nature preserve, according to a news release.
Around 10:20 a.m. Monday, divers with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office were at the Palmetto Estuary Nature Preserve. Further information about the murder investigation was not immediately available.
This story was originally published August 26, 2024 at 10:56 AM.
